Head of OTC, Spot

Building the Future of Crypto

Our Krakenites are a world-class team with crypto conviction, united by our desire to discover and unlock the potential of crypto and blockchain technology.

Kraken is a mission-focused company rooted in crypto values. As a Krakenite, you'll join us on our mission to accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. For over a decade, Kraken's focus on our mission and crypto ethos has attracted many of the most talented crypto experts in the world.

Kraken is committed to industry-leading security, crypto education, and world-class client support through our products like Kraken Pro, Desktop, Wallet, and Kraken Futures.

Become a Krakenite and build the future of crypto!

The Team

Kraken's OTC desk is a market leader in one of the most innovative and fast-growing industries in the world. Renowned for our white-glove service, we provide market-making to clients globally, 24 / 7. Offering deep liquidity for tighter spreads, we deliver a private and personalized service for institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals executing large orders. Our OTC desk ensures discreet, secure, and ultra-competitive execution and settlement services.

We've established ourselves as a dominant OTC desk for spot trading, built an options desk to service institutional clients, and recently launched structured products. Now, we're on the hunt for a new Director who is curious and passionate about advancing the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency and the technology behind it. That's where you come in!

As the Head of OTC, Spot you will lead a unified execution desk that spans both human and electronic coverage, managing client relationships, flow, and execution across a growing range of services. You'll guide the commercial and operational strategy for Kraken's institutional execution business, ensuring best-in-class trading support for our clients.

The Opportunity

Deliver White-Glove Execution - Provide white-glove trading coverage to OTC institutional and private clients. Execute and hedge client flows across multiple venues, optimizing for execution quality and inventory management.

Drive Institutional Volume and Flow - Leverage your market expertise to maximize client engagement, optimize inventory usage, and deepen liquidity relationships. Collaborate with Sales and Account Management to grow volumes and unlock cross-sell opportunities across staking, derivatives, and custody.

Enable 24 / 7 Global Coverage - Support global coverage with flexible working hours and strategic team coordination. Ensure the team is responsive, insightful, and aligned with client needs regardless of timezone or market conditions.

Collaborate with internal teams (operations, accounting, and settlement) to ensure accurate settlement of transactions.

Work alongside other Kraken traders and cryptocurrency researchers to enhance market knowledge and expertise.

Skills You Should HODL

Trading & Execution Expertise - 10+ years of experience in trading or execution within financial services or crypto, with a strong background in Spot, Linear products, or Prime Brokerage. Hands-on experience with both OTC and API-driven execution models. Delta One experience is a plus.

Client Relationship Mastery - Proven ability to manage and grow relationships with institutional clients and HNWIs. Skilled at building trust, understanding client goals, and delivering tailored trading solutions.

Electronic Trading Fluency - Deep familiarity with electronic execution platforms, APIs, and market access infrastructure. Ability to bridge the gap between high-touch sales trading and low-touch execution services.

Risk and PnL Management - Comfort with real-time decision-making around flow management, hedging, and venue selection. Experience managing risk across multiple liquidity pools and volatile market environments. Experience with operational processes and safeguards.

Strong quantitative and analytical skills; proficiency in Python or other coding languages is a plus.

Passion about the cryptocurrency world and most importantly a learning attitude about new crypto-industry trends.

Believe wholeheartedly in the crypto, cypherpunk, libertarian values of Kraken described in our Tentaclements document.

This job is accepting ongoing applications and there is no application deadline. Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Kraken is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate all Krakenites for their diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives. We hire strictly based on merit, meaning we seek out the candidates with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills considered the most suitable for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto!

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. Whether that's based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.