What you'll be responsible for:Circle is the issuer of USDC - the world's most widely used regulated dollar stablecoin - and is building the foundational infrastructure for an open global financial system. We're at an inflection point: USDC is moving from crypto-native rails to mainstream enterprise and sovereign payment flows, and we're structuring the inorganic strategy to match.
This Senior Director role sits at the center of that motion. You'll own working with our product and business colleagues to deeply understand the landscape and positioning to then evaluate, select, and lead the right deals - that means originating, evaluating, structuring, and closing acquisitions, strategic investments, and JVs that directly compound Circle's network position across payments, stablecoins, and institutional financial infrastructure.
What you'll work on:Deal Origination & Coverage- Maintaining a high-signal, always-on pipeline of acquisition targets, investment opportunities, and strategic partnership candidates - sourced from both your own network, collaboration with Circle colleagues, and inbound flow.
- Staying genuinely plugged into what's happening in Bay Area fintech, payments, and AI - founders, fund managers, regulators, and operators - and translate those conversations into actionable strategic intelligence and deal flow for Circle leadership.
- Running proactive build-vs-buy-vs-partner analyses grounded in Circle's strategic pillars, in particular Digital Assets and the emerging AI/agentic commerce stack.
End-to-End Deal Execution- Leading the full deal lifecycle: initial evaluation 1 diligence 1 structuring 1 negotiation 1 close 1 integration.
- Coordinating and aligning cross-functional stakeholders (Legal, Finance, Product, Compliance, Engineering) through structured decision frameworks - you're the one keeping the train on the rails.
- Writing crisp, recommendation-forward analysis, alignment, investment memos, and board materials that distill complex strategic trade-offs into clear risk and decision asks.
- Structuring transactions that account for Circle's specific regulatory positioning, USDC liquidity dynamics, and multi-jurisdictional requirements.
Strategic Intelligence & Organizational Alignment- Developing a synthesized, current view of the competitive landscape: who the relevant players are, where they're headed, and what it means for Circle's inorganic priorities.
- Translating market signals into organizational alignment - helping Circle leadership understand where and how to engage.
- Mentoring and raise the bar for the broader CDV team on deal quality, process discipline, and strategic framing.
What you'll bring to Circle: Core Requirements:- 13+ years in corporate development, investment banking, growth equity, or strategic finance. You've led transactions end-to-end, not just supported them.
- Deep, active network in fintech, payments, and/or crypto - with genuine relationships at the operator, founder, and fund level in the Bay Area. The kind of person who gets calls before a deal is public.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication. You can write a tight, decisive memo and present it credibly to a CEO or board.
- Strong quantitative instincts - you build and stress-test financial models yourself, and you know where the bodies are buried in a cap table or income statement.
- Familiarity with generative AI models (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) and prompt development.
Preferred Requirements:- Experience in crypto, stablecoins, digital assets, or regulated payments infrastructure - either as a practitioner or from deep coverage.
- Track record closing deals in fast-moving, ambiguous environments where the deal thesis is still being written.
- Familiarity with the AI ecosystem - both as an AI practitioner and someone's in the room when AI infrastructure, fintech, and enterprise software deals are being discussed.
- Experience working in or advising companies through regulatory complexity (FinCEN, OCC, international money transmission licensing).
- Prior corporate development experience at a fintech, crypto-native firm, or large-cap tech company.
- Bachelor's degree required with an Economics, Finance, Business, Technology or related discipline preferred.
- Experience/familiarity with Slack, Apple MacOS and GSuite.
Circle is on a mission to create an inclusive financial future, with transparency at our core. We consider a wide variety of elements when crafting our compensation ranges and total compensation packages.
Starting pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to: relevant experience, skill set, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that compensation ranges may differ for candidates in other locations.
Base Pay Range: $245,000 - $307,500
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