Senior Cryptocurrency Intelligence Scientist

Join Elliptic's Intelligence team as a Senior Cryptocurrency Intelligence Scientist at the intersection of data science and blockchain analytics. You will become a go-to authority on on-chain attribution and threat characterisation, developing deep expertise in identifying patterns associated with specific entities, complex laundering techniques, and emerging criminal typologies. Your work will directly strengthen the intelligence dataset that underpins 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.

What you'll do

• Develop and own an expert understanding of identity and non-identity signals and data points necessary to characterise complex on-chain threats, going beyond wallet ownership to understand behavioural patterns, transactional rhythms, routing choices, bridge usage, and smart contract interaction patterns.
• Lead end-to-end complex research and investigation efforts, from scoping and data collection through to written output, presenting findings rigorously and confidently to clients, partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Evaluate Elliptic's attribution coverage across threat areas and lead projects that define and prioritise intelligence collection efforts, identifying where gaps are most material and driving durable remediation.
• Develop processes and tooling that empower analysts and data scientists to actively contribute to the development of straightforward heuristics, including documentation standards, peer review processes, and monitoring for drift or degradation.
• Maintain an opinionated, well-evidenced view of the future of cryptocurrency, the evolution of criminal typologies, and the emergence of new obfuscation techniques, and translate that into actionable intelligence priorities.
• Summarise conclusions from your work into reports, briefings, and marketing content, calibrating depth and framing to the target audience.
• Work closely with the Principal Cryptocurrency Intelligence Scientist and Professional Services team to deliver actionable intelligence to government partners and the broader crypto industry.
• Build and invest in strong working relationships across Elliptic and develop good external relationships within the blockchain intelligence and financial crime research community.
• Coach and mentor more junior colleagues, sharing technical and analytical expertise and contributing to a high standard of intelligence practice across the team.

What you bring

• A 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: you understand the role of cognitive bias, can apply structured analytic techniques, and accurately communicate uncertainty in written and verbal outputs.
• Excellent communication skills: you can distil complex technical matters clearly for audiences with a wide range of technical understanding, from engineers to executives.
• A deep, active personal interest in the cryptocurrency space, staying current on developments across protocols, ecosystems, and criminal typologies.
• Familiarity with OSINT techniques and an understanding of the importance of operating safely, responsibly, and with rigorous attention to bias.
• The ability to demonstrate your 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 the drafting of written outputs.
• Previous experience holding, or the ability to obtain, security clearance in the UK or US.

Nice to have

• A relevant postgraduate qualification in a technical or intelligence-adjacent discipline.
• Experience working in a formal intelligence setting, including 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, including law enforcement or regulatory bodies.
• Strong familiarity with key threat typologies, including thefts, scams, ransomware, nation-state activity, terrorism financing, and sanctions evasion.

What we offer

• Hybrid working with the option to work from almost anywhere for up to 90 days per year.
• Remote work budget of $650 to set up your home office space.
• Annual Learning & Development budget of $1,000 to use on anything agreed with your manager that contributes to your growth and development.
• 25 days of annual leave plus 8 US Public Holidays, plus an extra day off for your birthday.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage through a range of providers (including Tufts, Kaiser, Aetna, UHC, and Blue Shield of CA) with generous premium contributions for you and your dependents.
• 401k with company match included.
• Full access to Spill mental health support.

About Elliptic

Elliptic builds blockchain analytics and intelligence solutions that help financial institutions, exchanges, and government agencies understand and manage crypto-related financial crime risk.