About D3

At D3, we're transforming the $300B+ domain industry by creating revolutionary domain tokenization standards and infrastructure that enable domain financialization. With over 40 years of combined domain expertise and a track record of managing 20+ top-level domains (including .com, .net, .org, .xyz, .inc, .tv), we're turning domains into composable on-chain assets. Through our innovative DomainFi initiative, we're creating an entirely new financial primitive in the Web3 space while reshaping the future of digital asset ownership.

Position Overview

This is a hybrid role in San Francisco or Los Angeles that offers extraordinary creative freedom and ownership in revolutionizing how domains become financialized assets. As Director of Engineering, you'll have autonomy to design novel tokenization standards, build sophisticated financial primitives, and shape the technical foundation of DomainFi. You'll tackle complex technical challenges like creating composable domain assets, implementing secure cross-chain ownership systems, and developing infrastructure to support domain-backed lending and fractionalization.

Working directly with successful founders who've built and sold multiple domain companies, you'll have the opportunity to learn from industry veterans while building and scaling your own high-performing engineering team. Your work will directly influence how millions of domains are tokenized, traded, and utilized across the Web3 ecosystem. This is a unique opportunity to transform a massive existing industry by creating entirely new markets and use cases for digital asset ownership. 

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Innovation

• Drive technical vision and strategy aligned with D3's mission of bridging Web2 and Web3 domain systems
• Spearhead the development of DomainFi, establishing technical frameworks for this new category in Web3
• Lead the integration of the D3 platform into existing ICANN registry and registrar infrastructure
• Identify and evaluate new technologies and architectural approaches that could benefit D3's platform
• Create and maintain technical roadmaps that align with business objectives and market opportunities

Team Leadership & Development

• Shape and scale engineering culture based on your vision and experience
• Mentor and develop engineers in both traditional and blockchain development
• Foster a culture of innovation that attracts top talent in Web3
• Implement your preferred engineering processes and methodologies
• Drive technical vision and growth strategy for the engineering organization

Technical Architecture & Implementation

• Design and implement novel domain tokenization standards that enable secure financialization
• Architect sophisticated financial primitives for domain-backed lending, fractionalization, and trading
• Create scalable infrastructure for managing composable domain assets across multiple chains
• Develop robust security measures for protecting high-value domain assets and financial operations
• Establish technical standards and best practices for smart contract development and testing
• Build high-performance systems that can handle millions of domain transactions and financial operations

Cross-functional Leadership

• Partner with Product and Design teams to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Collaborate with C-level executives to align engineering initiatives with business strategy
• Lead technical discussions with external partners and stakeholders
• Manage relationships with key technology vendors and service providers

Required Qualifications

Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; Master's preferred
• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with 5+ years in leadership roles
• Deep expertise in full-stack development (JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Node.js)
• Strong experience with blockchain technologies, particularly Ethereum and smart contract standards (ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155)
• Proven track record in building distributed systems and scalable architectures
• Understanding of security best practices in both Web2 and Web3 contexts
• Understanding of DNS protocols and domain name systems

Leadership & Management

• Experience leading engineering teams of 10+ members across multiple locations
• Track record of successful project delivery in fast-paced, startup environments
• Strong strategic thinking and ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Experience managing engineering budgets and resource allocation

Soft Skills

• Outstanding communication abilities across technical and non-technical audiences
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to navigate ambiguity
• Proven track record of building and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders
• Experience in mentoring and developing engineering talent

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in domain name industry or related infrastructure services
• Previous experience in a startup environment, particularly in Web3
• Contributions to open-source projects
• Published technical content or thought leadership pieces
• Experience with multiple blockchain protocols beyond Ethereum

What We Offer

• Autonomy and creative freedom to shape technical direction
• Opportunity to pioneer and build brand new DomainFi applications
• Direct impact on creating an entirely new category in Web3
• Opportunity to shape the future of domain infrastructure and Web3 technology
• Competitive compensation package including equity
• Position based in San Francisco or Los Angeles
• Professional development and conference attendance opportunities
• Chance to work with industry veterans and successful tech entrepreneurs
• Impact on building a new category in the Web3 space

This is a unique opportunity to join a company at the forefront of Web3 innovation while building upon decades of domain industry expertise. The ideal candidate will combine technical excellence with strategic thinking to help D3 revolutionize how the world interacts with domains across Web2 and Web3.