RWA Principal Protocol Engineer
Description
As a RWA Principal Protocol Engineer, you'll serve as the primary technical author of the Nasdaq Token Design Standard — Nasdaq's canonical specification for representing public equity on-chain. This high-impact role sits at the intersection of smart contract engineering, capital markets, institutional trading infrastructure, and standards governance.
We're looking for a principal -level engineer who combines deep protocol engineering expertise with a strong trading systems mindset. You'll bring experience building low-latency, high-throughput platforms and a deep understanding of market structure, liquidity, and institutional trading workflows.
The ideal candidate has built technology at the intersection of digital assets and capital markets, whether at an exchange, trading venue, market infrastructure provider, or blockchain-native firm. Ideally, you've helped build or scale an on-chain trading platform and can apply that experience to shape how regulated assets are represented, governed, and traded on-chain at institutional scale.
Key Responsibilities
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Map TradFi concepts to on ‑ chain designs and own the design and evolution of the Nasdaq Token Design Standard, including token issuance, transfer restrictions, compliance controls, corporate actions, and record date mechanics.
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Author and maintain the reference implementation library, ensuring backward compatibility, clear versioning, and rigorous documentation.
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Define governance mechanisms for the standard, balancing Nasdaq's stewardship role with the needs of a commercially viable ecosystem.
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Lead chain selection strategy and integration architecture, evaluating public and permissioned infrastructure for performance, settlement finality, and regulatory defensibility.
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Drive architecture decisions for protocol components supporting institutional trading workflows, market structure requirements, and tokenized asset ecosystems.
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Define performance, scalability, and reliability standards for low-latency, high-throughput implementations.
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Serve as technical lead on integrations with custodians, trading venues, market infrastructure providers, and interoperability frameworks.
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Represent Nasdaq externally as a technical authority through industry engagement, publications, standards participation, and partner collaboration.
Required Qualifications
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8+ years of software engineering experience, including 4+ years in smart contract or protocol-level development.
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Expert-level Solidity experience; Rust (Solana/Substrate) experience is a plus.
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Proven deployment of security token or regulated asset contracts on public or permissioned blockchains.
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Deep understanding of smart contract security risks, audit governance, and gas optimization.
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Deep understanding of token standards, corporate actions, record dates, settlement infrastructure, and U.S. equity market mechanics.
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Strong understanding of trading systems, market structure, and institutional capital markets workflows.
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Experience building low-latency, high-throughput distributed systems in trading, exchange, market infrastructure, fintech, or digital asset environments.
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Hands-on experience building, architecting, or integrating with an on-chain trading platform, decentralized exchange, tokenized asset marketplace, or similar infrastructure.
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Proven ability to write technical specifications, influence stakeholders, and defend design decisions with partners, customers, and regulators.
Preferred Qualifications
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Prior authorship or contribution to major Web3 frameworks, protocol Improvement Proposals (e.g., EIPs ), or tokenization standards .
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Familiarity with institutional blockchain initiatives involving DTCC, SWIFT, or similar settlement networks.
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Familiarity with institutional settlement systems, including FIX and ISO20022 messaging.
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Ability to translat e equities trading, lifecycle management and governance processes to on-chain workflows.
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Experience with exchanges, trading platforms, market infrastructure providers, broker-dealers, custodians, or digital asset firms building institutional-grade blockchain solutions.
This position will be located in New York and offers the opportunity for a hybrid work environment at least 3 days a week in-office, subject to change, providing flexibility and accessibility for qualified candidates.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future; Nasdaq will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa)
Come as You Are
Nasdaq is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities.
We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives, experiences, and identities are valued and celebrated.
We ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodation throughout the hiring process.
What We Offer
We’re proud to offer a competitive rewards package that is meaningful, recognizes the unique needs of our employees and their families and incentivizes employees for their contribution to Nasdaq’s overall success.
The base pay range for this role is $155,000 - $287,000. In addition to base salary, Nasdaq provides a generous annual bonus/commission (short-term incentive), and equity (long-term incentive), comprehensive benefits, and opportunity for growth. Exact compensation may vary based on several job-related factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to: skill set, experience, education/training, business needs and market demands.
Nasdaq’s programs and rewards are intended to allow our employees to:
- Secure Wealth: 401(k) program with 6% employer match, Employee Stock Purchase Program with 15% discount, Student loan repayment program up to $10k, Company paid life and disability plans, Generous paid time off
- Prioritize Health: Comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, Health spending account with employer contribution, Paid flex days to support mental wellbeing, Gym membership discounts
- Care for Family : Hybrid home/office schedule (for most positions), Paid parental leave, Fertility benefits, Paid bereavement leave
- Connect with Community: Company gift matching program, Employee resource groups, Paid volunteer days
- Grow Career: Education Assistance Program, Robust job skills training and Professional development opportunities