Facebook is hiring 22 people for its secretive blockchain division

The fact that Facebook is working on its own cryptocurrency and blockchain applications is no longer a secret – so it’s not surprising the company is looking to grow its distributed ledger division.

The social media giant already has a 50-strong team squirreled away in a secretive corner of its Menlo Park head offices. Yet, going by the number of job postings on its careers page, it’s showing no signs of letting up, adding to the hires it made late last year.

At the time of writing, there are 22 blockchain-related job postings on Facebook’s LinkedIn page. Here’s what the company’s looking for:

1. Lead Commercial Counsel, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
2. Product Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
3. Product Manager, Blockchain (Tel Aviv, Israel)
4. Finance Analyst, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
5. Community, Media & Web Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
6. Data Engineer, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
7. Growth Product Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
8. Quantitative UX Researcher, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
9. Business Operations Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
10. Technology Communications Director, Blockchain (San Francisco or Menlo Park, California)
11. Threat Investigator, Blockchain (Washington, DC or Menlo Park, California)
12. Software Engineer, Blockchain (University) (Menlo Park, California)
13. Data Scientist, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
14. Qualitative UX Researcher, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
15. Brand Marketing Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
16. Software Engineer, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
17. Mixed Methods UX Researcher, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
18. Mixed Methods UX Researcher, Blockchain (Tel Aviv, Israel)
19. Security Engineer, Threat Detection and Response, Blockchain (Washington, DC or Menlo Park, California)
20. Brand Strategy and Insights Manager, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
21. Product Designer, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)
22. Director, Technical Account and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Reporting, Blockchain (Menlo Park, California)

Given the nature of the listings, it seems that Facebook is particularly focused on onboarding blockchain experts in the fields of marketing, UX design, product management, software engineering, and legal.

One notable listing is for a Director of the technical accounts and SEC reporting team. It shows Facebook is acutely aware that blockchain is creating unique challenges when dealing with regulatory authorities.

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

“The team plays a key role by determining Technical Accounting and SEC reporting implications with disruptive technology and initiatives including infrastructure and connectivity, blockchain, derivatives, leases, and new products,” the job posting reads.

It’s not entirely surprising, as Facebook recently revealed it is looking for someone to lead its dedicated blockchain legal counsel.

News of this round of blockchain-based hiring further alludes to a trend Hard Fork uncovered in recent months, namely that tech giants are gradually ramping up their decentralized tech efforts.

An investigation by Hard Fork revealed the biggest blockchain employers are firms that aren’t blockchain natives, but rather companies looking to add new streams of revenue to their business models. Indeed, the most active employers in the decentralized market are old-school corporates like IBM, EY, and Oracle.

Curiously, last week Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted he’s hiring Bitcoin devs for his payments company, Square.

If Facebook’s blockchain hiring spree continues, its team could be in the hundreds before the end of the year.

Did you know? Hard Fork has its own stage at TNW2019, our tech conference in Amsterdam. Check it out.