Application Guide

How to Apply for Trading Growth Lead

at Solana Foundation

🏢 About Solana Foundation

Solana Foundation is at the forefront of blockchain innovation, driving the adoption of Solana as a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain. Working here means joining a mission-driven team that values speed, scalability, and decentralization, with a strong focus on real-world applications like DeFi and institutional capital markets.

About This Role

As Trading Growth Lead, you'll own outbound efforts to onboard and deepen relationships with APAC trading counterparties, from prop shops to OTC desks. Your impact is direct: driving volume, liquidity, and institutional adoption on Solana, making you a key bridge between the protocol and the trading community.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day starts with checking APAC market news and Solana onchain data, then reaching out to potential counterparties via WeChat or email. You'll negotiate terms with a Hong Kong prop shop, relay technical feedback to product teams, and end the day reviewing volume metrics and planning follow-ups for the next day.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Solana Foundation Is Looking For

  • Native Mandarin speaker with deep credibility and existing relationships across Greater China trading firms, funds, and exchanges.
  • Proven track record of moving volume or flow through a strong book of APAC trading relationships.
  • Trading-first fluency: expert in market microstructure, perps funding, margin, spot liquidity, and execution quality.
  • DeFi-literate: understands core primitives like lending, capital efficiency, and RWA tokenization, and can articulate Solana's advantages.

📝 Tips for Applying to Solana Foundation

1

Tailor your resume to highlight specific trading relationships and volume moved, using quantifiable metrics (e.g., 'Onboarded 5 top APAC market makers, resulting in $50M daily volume').

2

In your cover letter, name-drop relevant firms or people you've worked with in APAC to demonstrate credibility.

3

Showcase your understanding of Solana's unique value proposition for traders (e.g., high throughput, low fees, composability) vs. competitors like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain.

4

Prepare a brief pitch on how you'd approach onboarding a specific type of counterparty (e.g., a Hong Kong-based HFT firm) to demonstrate strategic thinking.

5

Include any DeFi or onchain experience, even if tangential, to prove you're not just a TradFi person.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Emphasize your existing APAC trading relationships and how you've successfully moved volume or flow in the past.", 'Highlight your bilingual Mandarin-English fluency and cultural familiarity with Greater China markets.', 'Explain your understanding of both traditional market microstructure and DeFi, showing you can bridge the two worlds.', 'Articulate why Solana specifically excites you, referencing its technical advantages and growth potential.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Study Solana's current ecosystem: top DeFi protocols (e.g., Jupiter, Marinade), trading volumes, and recent partnerships.
  • → Understand the competitive landscape: how does Solana's trading infrastructure compare to Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Sui?
  • → Research recent announcements from Solana Foundation about institutional adoption or market making programs.
  • → Familiarize yourself with the key APAC trading firms already on Solana and gaps you could fill.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk me through how you would approach onboarding a specific APAC prop shop. What would be your first steps?
2 Explain the differences in market microstructure between Solana and Ethereum L2s. How would you pitch Solana to a perps trader?
3 Describe a time you negotiated terms or rebates with a trading counterparty. What was the outcome?
4 How do you measure success in a role like this? What metrics would you track daily?
5 What are the key DeFi primitives on Solana that you'd leverage to attract institutional capital? Give examples.
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't submit a generic blockchain resume without specific trading relationships or volume metrics.
  • Avoid overemphasizing retail-focused experience; this role is about institutional and professional counterparties.
  • Don't neglect to mention your Mandarin fluency and cultural fit—it's a hard requirement, not a nice-to-have.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Solana Foundation!

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