Business Development Lead, Ecosystem & Partnerships
About onRails
onRails is asset infrastructure that brings assets to Canton. Our mission is to open the world's financial system by enabling assets to move across networks with privacy, compliance, and atomic settlement. The onRails platform includes cETH — a 1:1 representation of ETH on the Canton Network.
The role
We are looking for a Business Development Lead to help drive adoption of onRails and its assets across the Canton ecosystem and beyond.
This is a senior, hands-on role at the intersection of ecosystem development, strategic partnerships, and product feedback. You will represent onRails in the Canton ecosystem, help shape commercial relationships with key partners, and work cross-functionally to ensure the product evolves in line with market needs.
You should be comfortable operating externally with ecosystem stakeholders and partners, while also working internally with founders, marketing, product, and engineering to turn market demand into real business outcomes.
What you will do
- Represent onRails in the Canton ecosystem and work closely with Canton Network participants, the Canton Foundation, and relevant working groups or committees
- Build trusted relationships with key stakeholders across the ecosystem and act as an external representative of the company
- Own business development for onRails from sourcing to signed partnership to launch
- Identify, develop, negotiate, and close new partnerships across wallets, custodians, exchanges, trading firms, lending venues, and institutional DeFi applications
- Manage and grow existing partner relationships, ensuring partnerships remain active, productive, and strategically aligned
- Help drive commercial adoption and support the expansion of assets issued through onRails
- Translate partner, client, and ecosystem feedback into actionable product and integration improvements
- Work closely with founders, product, and engineering to improve partner onboarding, integration readiness, and overall product-market fit
- Support go-to-market planning for launches, integrations, and strategic ecosystem initiatives
- Track market developments, ecosystem needs, and competitor activity to inform business and product strategy
What we are looking for
- 3+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, ecosystem development, strategic accounts, or a similar commercial role
- Strong experience in digital assets, crypto, fintech, market infrastructure, capital markets, payments, or institutional financial products
- Proven ability to source, negotiate, and close complex partnerships
- Experience managing ongoing strategic relationships, not just signing new deals
- Ability to represent a company externally with credibility across partners, industry stakeholders, and ecosystem organizations
- Strong commercial judgment and the ability to prioritize high-value opportunities
- Comfortable working cross-functionally and helping shape product direction through partner and market feedback
- Excellent communication skills in English, both written and verbal
- High ownership and comfort operating in an early-stage environment
Nice to have
- Experience working with blockchain foundations, large dApps, or industry bodies
- Experience participating in committees, governance forums, or ecosystem initiatives
- Experience with tokenization, asset issuance, custody, or institutional DeFi
- Experience selling or partnering around infrastructure rather than retail products
- Experience working directly with founders in a startup environment
What success looks like
Success in this role means building strong strategic relationships across the Canton ecosystem, representing onRails effectively in ecosystem and foundation discussions, bringing in and expanding high-value partnerships, and helping shape a product that is commercially relevant, partner-ready, and positioned for long-term adoption.
Ready to apply?
Send your CV and a brief note about why you're interested to join onRails.
