Cryptography and Systems Researcher

What You’ll Do

• Design and analyze cryptographic schemes: BLS proof-of-stake commitments, signature aggregation protocols, hash-based accumulator designs, and zero-knowledge proof systems for Bitcoin anchoring.
• Formalize consensus protocols for protocol security: fork-free properties, Byzantine fault tolerance guarantees, and commitment finality, with rigorous threat modeling and adversarial analysis.
• Develop and validate cryptographic implementations: work with the protocol team to guide BLS Purify integration, verify protocol specifications against implementation, and conduct security reviews.
• Build simulations and prototypes in Rust or C++ to validate cryptographic protocol designs under adversarial conditions: analyze safety/liveness properties and attack resilience.
• Conduct formal cryptographic security analysis: threat modeling, game-theoretic attack analysis, and stress-testing through simulation and fuzzing to identify vulnerabilities before shipping.

What We’re Looking For

Must-Haves

• Deep expertise in applied cryptography: signature schemes, commitment schemes, zero-knowledge proofs, or cryptographic protocol design.
• Expert-level understanding of distributed systems theory: BFT consensus, fork-free protocols, Byzantine fault tolerance, and formal safety/liveness analysis.
• Strong programming skills in Rust or C++ (or equivalent systems languages).
• Experience designing, analyzing, or breaking adversarial cryptographic protocols or consensus systems.
• Ability to move between theory and practice: formal reasoning, mathematical modeling, and implementation.
• Exceptional communication skills—you can explain complex cryptographic ideas clearly to both researchers and engineers.

Nice-to-Haves

• PhD or equivalent research experience in cryptography, distributed systems, or a related field.
• Prior contributions to Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other consensus-critical software.
• Experience with formal verification, model checking, or advanced testing frameworks.
• Published papers, technical reports, or BIPs in cryptography or distributed systems.
• Understanding of Bitcoin primitives: taproot, timelocks, covenant designs, transaction scripting.
• Experience with game-theoretic analysis or mechanism design (helpful for understanding protocol incentives).
• Strong open-source collaboration background.