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How to Actually Get Hired
Who reads applications, which channel gets a reply, and what they screen for.
Don't make these mistakes
He is not a conventional founder in terms of outreach preferences: he does not respond well to generic pitches. He responds to people who have read the architecture, found something specific, and have a concrete view on it. Reference the whitepaper, not the press release.
What gets their attention
The investor bench is worth reading carefully. Susquehanna Crypto and FalconX are both institutional market-making desks. Their involvement points directly toward a market structure and liquidity team build-out. Nascent and Lemniscap specialise in early-stage DeFi protocol infrastructure with strong developer community-building theses. Brevan Howard Digital brings traditional macro and derivatives expertise that reinforces the derivatives and options product build.
Why applying the normal way doesn't work
There's an ATS, but at Flying Tulip, referrals get priority. Your cold application competes with sourced candidates and internal recommendations.
Who to contact at Flying Tulip
What to show them
Flying Tulip's cross-margin architecture, native stablecoin, and onchain insurance module are not standard DeFi primitives. They are custom protocol engineering problems. The perpetual put mechanism alone requires smart contracts that can handle on-demand redemptions, reserve management, and rate-limiting across multiple chains. Cronje's previous track record - Yearn, Andre's Solidly, Sonic - means the engineering bar is set by one of the most prolific protocol builders in DeFi history. This hire needs to be able to read and write production Solidity or Rust at the level where they can contribute directly to the protocol's core. Core skills: production Solidity experience including ERC-4626, custom AMM or derivatives math, or lending protocol architecture; comfort with formal verification or audit-readiness practices; prior work on mainnet protocols with real TVL; ideally cross-chain bridging experience. For proof of work, audit a specific component of Flying Tulip's public architecture documentation or whitepaper. Identify one design decision that creates a potential edge case, explain the conditions under which it activates, and propose a mitigation. Post it on GitHub or write it up publicly.
A cold email that works at Flying Tulip
What Flying Tulip screens for
The investor bench is worth reading carefully. Susquehanna Crypto and FalconX are both institutional market-making desks. Their involvement points directly toward a market structure and liquidity team build-out. Nascent and Lemniscap specialise in early-stage DeFi protocol infrastructure with strong developer community-building theses. Brevan Howard Digital brings traditional macro and derivatives expertise that reinforces the derivatives and options product build.
A tailored CV beats a generic one. Use Flying Tulip's job description language to clear filters.
Mistakes that kill applications
A recycled CV gets rejected fast at Flying Tulip ( people). They notice.
Don't open with what you want. Open with what Flying Tulip is dealing with right now — DeFi has a fragmentation problem, and what you'd do about it.
The wait-and-hope strategy fails. Follow up on day five — response rates roughly double.
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply to Flying Tulip?
Through the roles on our Flying Tulip jobs page, or directly to the hiring manager if you can reach them. At null people, direct outreach outperforms the form.
Does Flying Tulip respond to cold emails?
Not enough data yet on Flying Tulip's cold email response rates.
Who is the hiring manager at Flying Tulip?
At this size, hiring is usually run by the hiring manager.
How competitive is it to get hired at Flying Tulip?
Expect 100-250 applicants in the first two weeks for AI roles at this size. Apply within 72 hours for best odds.
Have your application sent for you
We find roles at companies like Flying Tulip within 48 hours of them appearing, build a CV tailored to the posting, and send it while you're still applicant number ten.
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