Crypto Economics Researcher
Job description
Avalanche is one of the fastest and most reliable smart contracts platforms in the world. Its consensus protocol and novel L1's enable Web3 developers to launch highly-scalable solutions. Deploy on the EVM, or use your own custom VM. Build anything you want, any way you want, on the eco-friendly blockchain designed for Web3 devs. The Avalanche Foundation supports the growth, development, and adoption of the Avalanche ecosystem through grants, investments, community programs, and operational infrastructure.
About the Role
We are looking for a Crypto Economics Researcher to join the Economic Research and Ecosystem team to help shape the long-term economic strategy of the Avalanche ecosystem.
This role sits at the intersection of economics, crypto, data science, and strategy. You will work on high-impact questions around ecosystem growth, protocol economics, incentives, capital allocation, and network sustainability. Your research will help the Foundation make better decisions and build a stronger economic foundation for Avalanche.
We are looking for someone who is rigorous, independent, and practical: a researcher who can move from abstract economic questions to actionable recommendations, from ambiguous ideas to clear insights, and from analysis to real strategic impact.
Key Responsibilities
Conduct rigorous theoretical and empirical research on blockchain ecosystems, market dynamics, incentives, and network sustainability.
Contribute to protocol design, evaluation, policy, and improvements based on research.
Build models, datasets, and analytical frameworks that help evaluate strategic and economic tradeoffs.
Analyze on-chain, market, and ecosystem data to generate decision-ready insights.
Translate complex research into clear recommendations, actions, and knowledge resources.
Stay at the forefront of cryptoasset research.
What We're Looking For
A strong candidate will have:
A quantitative background in economics, finance, mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or another related field.
Strong empirical research and modeling skills, including but not limited to a mix of: structural estimation, causal inference, time-series analysis, machine learning, asset pricing models, simulation methods, mechanism design, market microstructure, and game theory.
3+ years of experience in an applied economics, quantitative research, data science, or related analytical role.
Experience building data-driven research products, analytical frameworks, models, and tools that inform strategy, investment, product, or policy decisions.
Proficiency and demonstrative experience with Python and SQL.
Familiarity with crypto, blockchain ecosystems, DeFi, tokenomics, staking, or digital asset markets is preferred.
Excellent written communication skills and analytical judgment. (We care about rigorous thinking, but also care about producing work that helps real decisions get made.)
Comfort owning and addressing ambiguous, open-ended problems from end to end.
About the Team
The Economic Research and Ecosystem team strives to be the reference authority on blockchain economics — the standard the Avalanche ecosystem and the wider field look to when the question is how on-chain economies actually work. We are a small, high-leverage research function where our work can meaningfully influence ecosystem strategy, protocol thinking, and the long-term economic direction of a major blockchain network.
How We Work
We're a fully autonomous team. No micromanagement, no hand-holding, and no tolerance for passivity. This freedom comes with real responsibility. Four behaviors define how we operate and how we evaluate every candidate:
Ownership. You take responsibility for outcomes, not tasks. You own features from design to production and don't hand off problems when things break.
Sense of Urgency. Blockchain moves fast. You prototype, benchmark, and iterate at market speed rather than waiting for the perfect plan.
Collaboration. Need help? Ask. See someone stuck? Jump in. We pair, refactor together, and build shared patterns that make the whole team faster.
Communication. Clear, proactive async communication keeps a distributed team aligned. You write updates, flag blockers, and set expectations without being chased.
Why Avalanche Foundation?
Work at the cutting edge of DeFi infrastructure on one of the fastest-growing L1 ecosystems.
Full autonomy — real ownership of your work, not just a ticket queue.
Small team, high impact. What you build directly shapes ecosystem strategy.
Remote-first, async-friendly culture.
AI-forward engineering culture — we actively use and invest in AI tooling to ship faster.
Interested? Apply and tell us what you've built, what you've broken, and what you learned from both.
Salary Range: $170,000 to $185,000
(**This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, a final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location.)