The Validator Strategy Lead is responsible for shaping, guiding, and executing the overall direction of MonkeDAO’s validator operations; inclusive of both liquid and native staking involving MonkeValidator and MonkeSOL, ensuring alignment with DAO goals, Solana ecosystem growth, and sustainable revenue generation.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Oversight & Alignment

• Define the vision and purpose of the validator within MonkeDAO’s broader mission (community empowerment, ecosystem support, DAO sustainability).
• Align validator goals with DAO treasury strategy, grants, staking programs, and BWMD accelerator initiatives.
• Identify and evaluate opportunities to expand validator services (e.g., RPC nodes, infra partnerships, rewards capture, staking derivatives).

Governance & DAO Coordination

• Serve as the bridge between validator operations and the DAO, regularly updating members on performance, risks, and opportunities.
• Draft and present governance proposals related to validator policy (commission rate changes, delegation strategies, validator tooling upgrades, etc.).
• Collaborate with DAO contributors and sub-DAOs to integrate validator operations into larger community initiatives.

Delegation Growth & Partnerships

• Develop and execute strategies to attract delegations from Solana stakeholders (ecosystem funds, foundations, projects, individual token holders) for both native stake and the MonkeSOL LST.
• Build partnerships with ecosystem teams and protocols that align with MonkeDAO values (e.g., staking pools, partner delegations, member delegations etc.).
• Create marketing and communications plans to highlight validator performance, community value, and DAO contributions.

Performance & Risk Management

• Define validator performance benchmarks (uptime, commission, stake growth, revenue contribution to DAO).
• Work with our validator operator to monitor reliability, security, and slashing risks.
• Assess risks and propose mitigation strategies for decentralization, network health, and DAO exposure.

Reporting & Transparency

• Provide quarterly/bi-annual reports to the DAO covering:
  • Delegation growth
  • Rewards and contributions to treasury
  • Partnerships and ecosystem alignment
  • Validator health metrics
• Establish clear dashboards and KPIs for DAO members to track validator performance.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Strong understanding of Solana validator economics and DAO governance.
• Ability to translate technical validator metrics into DAO-level strategy.
• Networking skills to build partnerships across the Solana ecosystem.
• Experience in treasury, growth, or ecosystem development strategies.
• Strong communicator with the ability to rally DAO members and stakeholders.

Success Metrics

• Growth in delegated stake over time.
• Consistent validator uptime and performance.
• Positive net revenue contribution to MonkeDAO treasury.
• Strengthened DAO reputation and partnerships in Solana ecosystem.
• Clear, transparent reporting and governance integration.

Salary

• This will be a compensated position within MonkeDAO with performance incentives included