diff --git a/.changeset/fix-validator-nested-defined-type-link.md b/.changeset/fix-validator-nested-defined-type-link.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b46938284
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-validator-nested-defined-type-link.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@codama/validators': patch
+---
+
+Fix `getValidationItemsVisitor` throwing `Expected node of kind [definedTypeLinkNode]` on any nested `definedTypeLinkNode` (a struct field, argument, array element, or PDA seed), and recording `ValidationItem` paths that omitted the node itself. The visitor now composes `recordNodeStackVisitor` outermost, like every other visitor, so the current node is on the stack when validation runs.
diff --git a/packages/validators/src/getValidationItemsVisitor.ts b/packages/validators/src/getValidationItemsVisitor.ts
index 753493244..c909af8a8 100644
--- a/packages/validators/src/getValidationItemsVisitor.ts
+++ b/packages/validators/src/getValidationItemsVisitor.ts
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ export function getValidationItemsVisitor(): Visitor<readonly ValidationItem[]>
             () => [] as readonly ValidationItem[],
             (_, items) => items.flat(),
         ),
-        v => recordLinkablesOnFirstVisitVisitor(v, linkables),
-        v => recordNodeStackVisitor(v, stack),
         v =>
             extendVisitor(v, {
                 visitAccount(node, { next }) {
@@ -243,5 +241,11 @@ export function getValidationItemsVisitor(): Visitor<readonly ValidationItem[]>
                     return [...items, ...next(node)];
                 },
             }),
+        // Pipe stages run outermost-first, i.e. in reverse of their listing here:
+        //   pipe(init, g, h, i) => i(h(g(init)))   -- i is the outer layer, runs first
+        // so these record the node (onto the stack, and into linkables) BEFORE the
+        // extendVisitor logic above runs and reads that state to validate the node.
+        v => recordNodeStackVisitor(v, stack),
+        v => recordLinkablesOnFirstVisitVisitor(v, linkables),
     );
 }
diff --git a/packages/validators/test/getValidationItemsVisitor.test.ts b/packages/validators/test/getValidationItemsVisitor.test.ts
index c57d9866a..cad024b05 100644
--- a/packages/validators/test/getValidationItemsVisitor.test.ts
+++ b/packages/validators/test/getValidationItemsVisitor.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
-import { programNode, publicKeyTypeNode, structFieldTypeNode, structTypeNode, tupleTypeNode } from '@codama/nodes';
+import {
+    definedTypeLinkNode,
+    definedTypeNode,
+    numberTypeNode,
+    programNode,
+    publicKeyTypeNode,
+    structFieldTypeNode,
+    structTypeNode,
+    tupleTypeNode,
+} from '@codama/nodes';
 import { visit } from '@codama/visitors-core';
 import { expect, test } from 'vitest';
 
@@ -23,10 +32,10 @@ test('it validates program nodes', () => {
 
     // Then we expect the following validation errors.
     expect(items).toEqual([
-        validationItem('error', 'Program has no name.', node, []),
-        validationItem('error', 'Program has no public key.', node, []),
-        validationItem('warn', 'Program has no version.', node, []),
-        validationItem('info', 'Program has no origin.', node, []),
+        validationItem('error', 'Program has no name.', node, [node]),
+        validationItem('error', 'Program has no public key.', node, [node]),
+        validationItem('warn', 'Program has no version.', node, [node]),
+        validationItem('info', 'Program has no origin.', node, [node]),
     ]);
 });
 
@@ -47,7 +56,65 @@ test('it validates nested nodes', () => {
     const tupleNode = node.items[0];
     const structNode = node.items[1];
     expect(items).toEqual([
-        validationItem('warn', 'Tuple has no items.', tupleNode, [node]),
-        validationItem('error', 'Struct field name "owner" is not unique.', structNode.fields[0], [node]),
+        validationItem('warn', 'Tuple has no items.', tupleNode, [node, tupleNode]),
+        validationItem('error', 'Struct field name "owner" is not unique.', structNode.fields[0], [node, structNode]),
+    ]);
+});
+
+test('it validates a defined type link nested within a struct field', () => {
+    // Given a program whose defined type links to another through a struct field.
+    const node = programNode({
+        accounts: [],
+        definedTypes: [
+            definedTypeNode({
+                name: 'foo',
+                type: structTypeNode([structFieldTypeNode({ name: 'bar', type: definedTypeLinkNode('baz') })]),
+            }),
+            definedTypeNode({ name: 'baz', type: numberTypeNode('u64') }),
+        ],
+        errors: [],
+        instructions: [],
+        name: 'test',
+        origin: 'anchor',
+        publicKey: '11111111111111111111111111111111',
+        version: '1.0.0',
+    });
+
+    // When we get the validation items using a visitor.
+    const items = visit(node, getValidationItemsVisitor());
+
+    // Then we expect no validation errors.
+    expect(items).toEqual([]);
+});
+
+test('it reports a nested defined type link that points at a missing type', () => {
+    // Given a program whose defined type field links to a type that does not exist.
+    const link = definedTypeLinkNode('missing');
+    const field = structFieldTypeNode({ name: 'bar', type: link });
+    const struct = structTypeNode([field]);
+    const foo = definedTypeNode({ name: 'foo', type: struct });
+    const node = programNode({
+        accounts: [],
+        definedTypes: [foo],
+        errors: [],
+        instructions: [],
+        name: 'test',
+        origin: 'anchor',
+        publicKey: '11111111111111111111111111111111',
+        version: '1.0.0',
+    });
+
+    // When we get the validation items using a visitor.
+    const items = visit(node, getValidationItemsVisitor());
+
+    // Then the missing link is reported as an error.
+    expect(items).toEqual([
+        validationItem('error', 'Pointing to a missing defined type named "missing"', link, [
+            node,
+            foo,
+            struct,
+            field,
+            link,
+        ]),
     ]);
 });