Senior Business Development Manager - dreamDEX

Job description

About Somnia: SOMNIA is the Agentic Chain - a hyper-performance L1 operating at an order of magnitude faster than existing networks. We empower builders and traders to create real-time, autonomous, and fully decentralized products, powered by agents, that were previously impossible and cannot be built anywhere else. It’s where the future of Web3 protocols will be built, so we’re facilitating a new wave of on-chain applications from DEX to Prediction Protocols and much, much more. Somnia is being developed by Somnia Foundation backed by Improbable https://www.improbable.io/, a British tech Unicorn +++ that has been at the forefront of building virtual worlds for over a decade. Somnia received initial funding from MSquared https://www.msquared.io/, which raised $150 million https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220407005101/en/Improbable-Raises-US150m-to-Establish-M%C2%B2-MSquared-a-Metaverse-Network-and-Ecosystem-Powered-by-Its-Morpheus-Technology from a16z crypto, SoftBank, Mirana Ventures, CMT Digital, and SIG. About the Role: DreamDEX makes a hard claim: CEX execution without DEX custody. A fully on-chain CLOB with sub-10ms, zero trading fees, self-custody and transparent rules, competing head-on with Hyperliquid, Lighter and the large centralised exchanges. An exchange wins or dies on liquidity, and early liquidity comes from relationships. Market makers must sign and quote tight. Builders must route flow to us. Institutions must trust a new venue with size. You will own those relationships. You'll run business development for dreamDEX and carry the wider Somnia story (the L1, Somnia Agents, Prophecy) into institutional conversations. You'll work directly with the GTM leads and core team, with a mandate to source, structure and close the deals that put depth on the book and volume through it. We measure every deal by the liquidity, volume and TVL it produces. Key Responsibilities: - Own the market maker pipeline: source, pitch, negotiate and onboard MMs, from DeFi-native firms early on to an anchor tier 1 relationship, structuring deals across CLOB rewards, fee arrangements and liquidity commitments - Get DreamDEX integrated with the major spot and cross-chain aggregators, then manage those relationships so we keep winning flow on price - Build and activate the institutional pipeline: trading firms, funds, family offices, OTC desks, prime brokers and custodians, with white-glove onboarding for qualified institutions - Build an active Builder pipeline: Trading terminals, AI strategies and native apps to drive users and volume to the Dex. - Close liquidity deals that grow TVL: institutional LPs, protocol and DAO treasuries, and vault operators - Land distribution partnerships that feed the exchange: wallets, perp aggregators and bridges - Support broader Somnia BD where your network applies: ecosystem projects, stablecoin partners and treasury deals on the L1 - Feed market intelligence back to product: you hear first what MMs and institutions need (RFQ flow, reporting, credit arrangements, API features) and help shape the roadmap - Represent DreamDEX and Somnia at conferences and in the rooms where these deals get done Requirements: Must Have - Business development experience at a crypto exchange (CEX, perp DEX or spot DEX) covering market makers, institutional clients or listings - A real network across institutions in crypto and/or TradFi: trading firms, market makers, funds, prime brokers and OTC desks. You open doors on day one rather than building a list from scratch - Closed deals with measurable impact on volume, liquidity or TVL, and the ability to walk us through the numbers - A working understanding of exchange mechanics: order books, spreads and depth, perps and margin, liquidations, MM economics and incentive design - Ability to run a full deal cycle alone, from sourcing through structuring and negotiation to post-signature relationship management - Comfort operating early in a venue's life, when you are selling the roadmap as much as the product Nice to Have - TradFi background in prime brokerage, electronic trading or institutional sales - Existing relationships with DEX aggregators, wallets, custodians or vault operators - Experience taking a new venue through cold start; you have solved the empty order book problem before - Experience structuring token or incentive-based deals - Working knowledge of DeFi: CLOB DEXs, vaults, stablecoins and yield products - Experience selling to DAOs and protocol treasuries Why Join Somnia? Design The Future: Join Somnia to work remotely with a global team, earn competitive compensation with token incentives, and help build the future of Web3 at a company where your impact truly matters. First of its Kind: Make Somnia famous as the only hyperspeed L1 with native AI inference. High Stakes: Influence a brand targeting a $1M+ launch budget in the 2026 peak-fragility market. Incentives: Competitive salary + tokens. Role Location The role is remote, but we are looking for someone based on a UK-friendly timezone (+/- 4 hours). Reporting Lines This role reports to the Founder