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Elliptic is seeking a Senior Cryptocurrency Intelligence Scientist to join its Intelligence team at the intersection of data science and blockchain analytics. In this Senior (IC4) individual contributor role, you will become a go-to authority on on-chain attribution and threat characterization, developing deep expertise in identifying patterns associated with specific entities, complex laundering techniques, and emerging criminal typologies.
You will develop and own an expert understanding of identity and non-identity signals necessary to characterize complex on-chain threats, going beyond wallet ownership to understand behavioral patterns, transactional rhythms, routing choices, bridge usage, and smart contract interaction patterns. You will lead end-to-end complex research and investigation efforts, from scoping and data collection through to written output, presenting findings rigorously to clients, partners, and internal stakeholders.
You will evaluate Elliptic's attribution coverage across threat areas and lead projects that define and prioritize intelligence collection efforts, identifying material gaps and driving remediation. You will develop processes and tooling that empower analysts and data scientists to contribute to heuristic development, including documentation standards, peer review processes, and monitoring for drift. You will maintain an opinionated, well-evidenced view of cryptocurrency evolution, criminal typologies, and obfuscation techniques, translating these into actionable intelligence priorities.
Your work will directly strengthen the intelligence dataset underpinning Elliptic's products, guiding intelligence collection strategy and helping hundreds of financial institutions, exchanges, and government agencies understand and manage crypto-related financial crime risk. You will coach and mentor junior colleagues, sharing technical and analytical expertise, and build strong relationships across Elliptic and within the blockchain intelligence and financial crime research community.
In the first six months, you will establish deep familiarity with Elliptic's intelligence dataset and attribution methodology, produce a documented assessment of material coverage gaps with a prioritized remediation roadmap, lead or significantly contribute to at least one end-to-end research project, define a concrete proposal for improving data scientist contributions to heuristic development, and build strong working relationships with key stakeholders across Intelligence, Product, Engineering, and Professional Services.
The company offers hybrid working with the option to work from almost anywhere for up to 90 days per year, a $650 remote work budget, $1,000 annual L&D budget, 25 days annual leave plus 8 US public holidays, birthday leave, enhanced parental leave (16 weeks fully paid), comprehensive healthcare coverage, 401k with company match, and full access to mental health support.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Strong understanding of data science fundamentals with working knowledge of SQL and Python sufficient to conduct and automate analytical workflows independently
- Expert, demonstrable proficiency across a variety of blockchains, including layer 1 and layer 2 networks, with direct personal experience bridging cryptocurrency between chains and self-custodying cryptocurrency
- Competency as an intelligence professional: understanding of cognitive bias, ability to apply structured analytic techniques, and accurate communication of uncertainty in written and verbal outputs
- Excellent communication skills: ability to distill complex technical matters clearly for audiences with wide-ranging technical understanding
- Previous experience holding, or ability to obtain, security clearance in the UK or US
- AI fluency essential: demonstrated ability to effectively apply AI tools and approaches to intelligence analysis workflows, including using AI to accelerate data processing, pattern identification, heuristic development support, and drafting of written outputs
- Mission-driven with deep, active personal interest in cryptocurrency space, staying current on developments across protocols, ecosystems, and criminal typologies
- Familiar with OSINT techniques and understanding of operating safely, responsibly, and with rigorous attention to bias
- Collaborative team player who enjoys mentoring others and can work productively across functional areas
- Comfortable operating with significant autonomy, owning your domain without waiting for direction
BONUS:
- Relevant postgraduate qualification in a technical or intelligence-adjacent discipline
- Experience working in a formal intelligence setting (law enforcement, government, or academic research)
- Commercial or research experience with cryptocurrencies, including complex transaction tracing, demixing, and cross-chain attribution
- Experience working for or with public-sector entities (law enforcement or regulatory bodies)
- Strong familiarity with key threat typologies (thefts, scams, ransomware, nation-state activity, terrorism financing, sanctions evasion)
