The metaverse is nothing new, even though it’s only now becoming a mainstream buzzword, especially with Facebook recently rebranding itself to Meta. Older Hong Kongers may recall, some twenty years ago, the airing of a telecom commercial whose theme song was John Lennon's iconic single Imagine. At the end of this commercial, a little boy sat on the floor of the living room happily playing a clapping game with a virtual child. There was no computer screen or headset, the virtual and real world were smoothly integrated; it was a vision of the metaverse.

Since then, Pokémon gaming has introduced the metaverse to younger generations by using VR and AR technologies to embed sprites into live environments. Despite this technology existing already, along with XR (extended reality tech), there’s a notable lack of talent supply needed to develop and support an entire metaverse ecosystem. Consequently, new metaverse job opportunities are spawning, and expected to continue to multiply in the future e.g., the metaverse’s content scope is much broader and more diverse than current mobile applications, so it's expected that new professions will emerge, such as, in digital fashion design where in the future everyone will have their own avatar. Being able to use one’s avatar to express one’s personality, tastes, style, values etc., and adjust these according to different scenarios, will be crucial. New expertise and disciplines will of necessity evolve as technology expands the boundaries of our daily lives, such as, in healthcare, law enforcement, social and leisure activities etc.

What metaverse jobs are out there right now in Hong Kong?

The metaverse and NFTs have taken off in the last year driving an investment frenzy, not least in Hong Kong as a financial and art trading hub. NFTs and the metaverse involve the storage of new types of virtual assets, large volumes of transactions and data exchange. Artists are adopting cryptocurrencies to sell their artworks as NFTs. However, regulators have struggled to keep up with this rapid development of cryptocurrencies. This has caused the space to become a breeding ground for fraud and scams with victims having minimal recourse due to the blockchain’s anonymity. This makes it very difficult for buyers to find out the identity of a counterparty. Additionally, last December popular NFT project Monkey Kingdom, founded by entrepreneurs in Hong Kong lost nearly US$1.3 million worth of cryptocurrencies from its community after the project’s administrator account was hacked.

This is where there’s a desperate need for candidates able to work in securities in the metaverse for regulation purposes. After a quick look, currently these are the most popular jobs in this field advertised in Hong Kong.

1) Compliance Officer

Metaverse Securities Limited - (formerly known as Ether Securities Ltd) Headquartered in Beijing, Ether Global is a leading Chinese mobile finance group that has 60m registered users.

Wan Chai

Posted on 11-Feb-22

Job Requirements:

• Degree holder in law, finance, accounting, or related disciplines
• Minimum 3-year relevant experience
• Hands on experiences on SFC Types 1, 4, 5 & 9 regulated activities
• Strong knowledge of regulators procedures
• Independent, good communication and interpersonal skills
• Good command of written and spoken English and Mandarin
  

2) Settlement Manager

Metaverse Securities Limited

Wan Chai

Posted on 7-Feb-22

Job Requirements:

• Degree holder with 3-5 years relevant experience in the settlement of HK, China Connect & Global equities market
• Familiar with the operation of CCASS and Hundsun settlement system
• Knowledge in local regulatory and compliance guidelines in related issues is preferable
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Proficiency in spoken and written Mandarin, Cantonese, and English

3) Brand (PR) / Digital Marketing Manager [NFT, Metaverse, Crypto]

‍Macleans Consulting International Limited - a fast-growing company for international recognized Asian-focused NFT projects and is building an open-world metaverse with a cultural ecosystem.

Job Requirements:

• strong analytical capability and marketing knowledge in formulating powerful brand messages and strategies

• Minimum 3 to 5 years of experience in marketing, branding and social media
• Experience and knowledge in NFT or blockchain preferred
• Creative & Strategic thinker able to identify long-term opportunities and trends
• Self-driven, initiative, hands-on execution, and be able to work independently
• Comfortable with hands-on tasks and fast-paced working environment
• Fluent English speaking.

4) CTO or CIO – Crypto, NFT, Metaverse.

‍KOS International Limited - a fast growing NFT, blockchain company with an aggressive plan presence in their pipeline. They are currently in a growth phase as an organization and thus, an excellent opportunity has arisen for a high-calibre professional to join the company.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related discipline
• Someone who thrives in a start-up environment
• Experienced in multiple Blockchain Decentralised Applications
• A strong technical and business understanding of the NFT ecosystem
• Blockchain architecture understanding and a strong background in C/C++, .NET, Java, open source
• Prior experience building and leading teams who tackle complex problems and perform broad technology implementations
• Fintech adoption experience will be a great plus
• Effective communication at all levels - staff, clients, executives, vendors - and to diverse constituencies both technical and non- technical
• Experience in using a well-structured life cycle management process for implementation of changes in application systems
• Good command in English and Chinese

Takeouts

‍This HK job list is not definitive of what’s available in this new metaverse realm but a mere glimpse into present possibilities and a heads up about what you need to prepare for a career in it as it stands now. As the metaverse job market is set to blow up in all its diversity, a move to a career mindful of this would be a smart one! Early birds tend to be the winners in these circumstances, so take the leap with confidence, and upskill/reskill purposely.