Smart Solutions Specialist

Job Description

Job Purpose

To actively contribute to the development and implementation of innovative Islamic financial solutions using emerging technologies including Blockchain and smart contracts, to address the economic development challenges faced by the Member Countries. The role manages the Institute’s intellectual property portfolio, including patent development, maintenance, and commercialization strategies. Key responsibilities include expanding the application of existing patents and transforming technical innovations into commercially viable solutions that advance the Institute’s mission.

Key Accountabilities

Emerging Technology Development & Implementation:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive innovation strategy aligned with the Institute’s directions and the evolving needs of Member Countries.
• Contribute to the assessment of technological and development challenges faced by the Member Countries in adopting Blockchain-based products and solutions and assist in identifying and developing practical use cases to address those challenges.
• Analys the existing and emerging policies and regulations in the Member Countries to understand their ability and / or willingness to embrace digitally enabled financial products and solutions.
• Contribute to the capitalization programs of ISDBI’s knowledge solutions.
• Contribute in developing innovative solutions in the area of Islamic Finance Solutions.
• Identifying and documenting local and regional key digitalization players in the Member Countries and their service offerings, which serve the Islamic Financial Institutions.
• Manage the connections with other development agencies and IFIs to assist in coordinating and aligning activities related to FinTech.
• Oversee the development, protection, and capitalization of the Institute’s intellectual property patents and copyrights.
• Develop and implement strategies for patent filing, maintenance, and licensing.
• Explore and pursue capitalization opportunities for intellectual property, including licensing agreements, joint ventures, and spin-off companies.

Knowledge Sharing and Communication:

• Contribute in providing advice and support on issues related to emerging technologies to peers and colleagues in ISDBI and IsDB.
• Stay updated on the latest trends and innovative solutions in the emerging technologies field and support their adoption in developing new solutions at ISDBI.

Academic and professional qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, Cryptography, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in digital technologies including FinTech and /or Blockchain/smart contract development, of which 1 year at least in the Islamic Finance industry.

Skills & Necessary Knowledge

• Demonstrable knowledge in distributed ledger technology (DLT) development and / or production.
• Strong knowledge of a different DLT-based platforms and technologies
• Strong software development background.
• Experience working with large codebases.
• Experience working with open-source projects.
• Proficiency in one of the following languages: C++, Java, JavaScript.
• Strong knowledge of common algorithms and data structures
• Ability to use encryption in development workflows.
• Familiarity with basic cryptography
• Familiarity with P2P networks
• Strong knowledge of concurrency and writing efficient and safe multithreaded code
• Project Management Skills
• Analytical Thinking
• Problem Solving.

Languages

English - Mandatory

Arabic - Preferred

French - Preferred