The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the Ethereum ecosystem in realizing the potential of Ethereum as open, neutral infrastructure for the world. In practice, EF dynamically allocates resources to critical projects when needed and steps back when others can take the lead.

The Project Manager for Academic Engagements will build, scale, and operationalize the Ethereum Foundation's engagements with universities, research institutions, and academic communities worldwide. The role serves as a coordinator between academic stakeholders and the broader Ethereum ecosystem, translating ecosystem needs into structured research and education initiatives.

Responsibilities

Research Priorities and Academic Pathways

• Translate Ethereum research priorities into questions, framings, and research opportunities that resonate with scholars in adjacent fields.
• Identify academic communities and researchers whose existing work intersects with problems relevant to Ethereum.
• Build pathways for relevant scholars and academic communities to engage with the Ethereum ecosystem.
• Work with Ethereum Foundation teams and ecosystem researchers to understand where academic expertise could help advance important open questions.
• Connect ecosystem research needs with the appropriate scholars and institutions.

Partnerships and Academic Programs

• Build and manage strategic partnerships with universities, research labs, and academic consortia globally.
• Design and scale academic programs, including workshops, curriculum collaborations, hackathons, and lecture series.

Research Distribution, Funding, and Impact

• Drive distribution of research through events, publications, and multi-format content so it reaches the right audiences.
• Develop and support funding pathways for academic research in partnership with Funding Coordination and ecosystem stakeholders.
• Track program impact and provide clear reporting on outcomes and ecosystem value.

Requirements

Professional Experience

• At least three years of experience managing academic programs, research partnerships, or university-industry collaborations.
• Demonstrated success coordinating multi-stakeholder projects and programs with measurable outcomes.
• Experience working with diverse, distributed teams across time zones.

Academic and Ecosystem Knowledge

• Ability to understand research problems across disciplines and communicate them in ways that make sense to different academic audiences.
• Ability to identify connections between Ethereum-specific questions and broader scholarly debates.
• Strong understanding of academic research practices, incentive structures, publication cycles, and university administration dynamics.

Skills and Attributes

• Exceptional cross-cultural communication and relationship-building capabilities.
• Strong project planning and execution skills, with comfort managing ambiguity and evolving priorities.
• Proficiency with modern collaboration and project management tools, including Notion, Google Docs, and Google Slides.

Preferred Qualifications

Research and Ecosystem Background

• A PhD and experience conducting academic research.
• Familiarity with blockchain research, Ethereum fundamentals, or related technologies.
• Prior experience in grants coordination or academic funding mechanisms.
• A background in research organization or scholarly publishing.
• Experience organizing academic conferences, workshops, and seminars.

How to Apply

Apply through the Ethereum Foundation job listing on LinkedIn.