---
title: 'Executive Search Lead at Kraken'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/executive-search-lead-kraken-san-francisco-0dehw5gd8hpp'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Executive Search Lead at Kraken

- **Company:** [Kraken](https://feeny.ai/companies/kraken)
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $127k–$254k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-09-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kraken.com/1a8a2f9a-ecb9-49c5-b628-e7444e43abfa

## Job description

Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our [culture page](https://www.kraken.com/culture) to understand what drives us and how we work. The team

We're an agile, globally distributed talent acquisition team with the creativity, expertise and ambition to revolutionize talent attraction — built around productivity and a 6-star candidate experience. Our norms are direct, our decisions are fast, and we expect people to operate without scaffolding. This role sits in the Talent team and runs as a Payward-wide shared service across Payward, NinjaTrader, Reap and future acquisitions. It reports to our Global Head of Talent Acquisition with a dotted line to our Chief People Officer. Executive recruiting here is its own discipline — smaller rooms, higher stakes, the same directness and speed we expect everywhere else. Discretion is part of the craft: this hire will handle confidential searches, sensitive succession conversations and market intelligence that never leaves the room, and will be trusted to hold all of it. They'll work directly with our Board, C-Suite and broader Payward leadership team on a daily basis.

The opportunity

- Own executive recruiting end to end across the Payward platform spanning C-level, Board, VP+ and bespoke Advisor mandates.
- Partner directly with the Co-CEOs and the executive team on the searches that matter most, absorbing their pace and operating as a trusted advisor.
- Run board and advisory mandates with the discretion they require. Confidentiality here is structural, not a preference.
- Define how executive hiring scales as a shared service across a growing, multi-brand platform.
- Own the external search partner strategy: managing relationships with key retained firms, and ensuring seamless partnership if and when they are engaged.
- Report to the Head of Talent and operate as a member of the talent leadership team, with a dotted line into the Chief People Officer.

## What you bring

- 6+ years of executive recruiting experience, with demonstrable ownership of executive searches (VP, C-level, Board) from mandate through close.
- A selection mindset over a screening one. You calibrate candidates against business strategy and can defend a shortlist to a skeptical executive audience.
- Closing and negotiation strength at executive level: pre-closing, offer construction, equity and comp complexity.
- Experience partnering closely with Compensation & Benefits and the HR business partners to ensure full alignment throughout a search lifecycle.
- Business acumen to understand and pitch a complex platform business credibly. Executive candidates buy the thesis, not the job spec.
- Proven agency and retained-firm management — briefing, accountability and spend control.
- Exceptional written and verbal English at executive register.
- Discretion by default, with a track record of executive searches quietly.
- Comfort operating in ambiguity, with responsiveness to candidates and executives across all time zones.
- Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, given the proximity this role requires to our executives and to board and advisory mandates.

Nice to haves

- In-house executive recruiting experience at a fintech, brokerage, exchange or payments company.
- Background inside a retained executive search firm, in addition to in-house work.
- Experience building executive recruiting as a shared service across multiple entities, or across multiple portfolio companies
- Exposure to crypto or digital assets.

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. 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.

Our commitment Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills 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.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether 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.

Stay connected [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/krakenfx) [Learn on the Kraken Blog](https://blog.kraken.com/#:~:text=Enter%20your%20email%20address) [Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kraken-exchange/)

[Candidate Privacy Notice](https://www.kraken.com/legal/candidate-privacy-notice)

## About Kraken

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kraken is a global cryptocurrency exchange and technology platform that provides secure trading, custody, and financial services for retail and institutional clients.
- **Entity Type**: Private (last known valuation ~$10B as of 2023; multiple funding rounds from investors including Tribe Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and others)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA (operates as a fully remote-first organization)
- **Founded**: 2011
- **Founders**: Jesse Powell (CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Cryptocurrency exchange, digital asset custody, and financial technology.
- Target customers: B2C (retail investors, professional traders) and B2B (institutions, family offices, hedge funds).
- Mission: "Accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion."

## Products & Services
- **Spot & Margin Trading**: Buy/sell 200+ cryptocurrencies with advanced order types and leverage.
- **Kraken Pro**: Professional-grade trading interface for active traders with low fees and deep liquidity.
- **Futures & Derivatives**: Regulated crypto derivatives trading (Kraken Futures) for institutional and qualified retail clients.
- **Kraken Staking**: Earn rewards by staking supported assets directly on the platform.
- **Kraken NFT Marketplace**: Buy, sell, and mint NFTs across multiple blockchains.
- **Kraken Bank (US)**: Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) offering custody and banking services for digital assets.
- **Kraken Wallet**: Self-custodial mobile wallet for managing crypto and NFTs.
- **Kraken Institutional**: Dedicated suite for institutions including OTC trading, custody, and prime brokerage.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed; last reported private valuation of approximately $10 billion in a 2023 secondary transaction (conflicting reports suggest a lower valuation in 2024 due to market conditions).
- **Key Metrics**: Over 10 million users globally; one of the longest-operating exchanges (since 2011); industry-first Proof of Reserves audit; $50+ billion in quarterly trading volume (estimated).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Tribe Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blockchain Capital, Fidelity, Human Capital, and others.
- **Growth Signals**: Grew from ~3,000 to over 4,000+ employees since 2020; entered new markets (e.g., stock and ETF trading in 2024); expanded into NFT marketplace and bank charter; consistently ranked among top trusted exchanges by security and transparency.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Security & Transparency**: Longest-running Proof of Reserves program; never suffered a major security breach; regulated in multiple jurisdictions (US, UK, EU, Canada).
- **Global Remote Culture**: Fully remote-first since inception, hiring top talent from 70+ countries without location constraints.
- **Crypto-Native**: Leadership deeply embedded in crypto ethos; products built for both beginners and advanced traders.
- **Regulatory Compliance**: Licensed in key markets and operates a US bank, giving it an edge as regulatory scrutiny increases.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand Product Suite**: Moving beyond pure crypto into stocks, ETFs, and traditional finance integration (via Kraken Bank).
- **Institutional Growth**: Doubling down on prime brokerage, custody, and OTC services to capture institutional flows.
- **Global Licensing**: Securing regulatory approvals in more jurisdictions (e.g., EU MiCA, UK FCA) to serve local markets.
- **Self-Custody & DeFi**: Investing in wallet infrastructure and decentralized finance capabilities for user sovereignty.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Kraken describes itself as "remote-first, not remote-friendly." Asynchronous communication, radical transparency, and extreme ownership are core. Team members from 70+ countries.
- **Work Arrangement**: Fully remote globally; no headquarters attendance required. Flexible schedule with async workflows.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Competitive salary regardless of location; option to be paid in crypto; equity grants; flexible PTO; wellness program (fitness coach, wellbeing apps); mental health coaching for employees and dependents; remote workstation setup bonus.
- **Hiring Process**: Structured, fully virtual process including CV screen, talent screen, role-specific interviews, and a practical case study. Emphasis on crypto conviction, self-starters, and collaborative humility.
- **Engineering Culture**: High ownership, autonomy, and impact. Decisions documented in writing; performance evaluated on output rather than hours. "Dogfooding" the product is encouraged.

## Sources
1. [Kraken Careers](https://www.kraken.com/careers)
2. [Kraken Job Listings (Ashby)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/kraken.com)
3. [Kraken Culture Page](https://www.kraken.com/culture)
4. [The Kraken Employee Value Proposition - Kraken Blog](https://blog.kraken.com/news/the-kraken-employee-value-proposition)
5. [Remote isn’t a perk. It’s how Kraken operates. - Kraken Blog](https://blog.kraken.com/news/industry-news/remote-is-how-kraken-operates)

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