VP, Protocol Engineer (Validators)

About the role

This role focuses on the design, construction, and upkeep of highly available, secure infrastructure for blockchain participation and custody. The engineer will work on identifying and implementing improvements in infrastructure, monitoring, system automation, and incident response. A key aspect is developing solutions that enhance operational capabilities and provide insights into domain performance to inform leadership strategy.

The position requires continuous research into emerging Web3 and blockchain trends, identifying new product opportunities, and debugging complex distributed blockchains to improve participation. The engineer will implement monitoring and observability tools to ensure the health and stability of the blockchain infrastructure, and participate in on-call rotations to maintain reliability. Automation scripts and tools will be developed to streamline deployment, scaling, and recovery processes.

Success in this role means contributing to a global leader in digital assets and data center infrastructure, which aims to transform how value moves through the world using blockchain and digital asset innovation. The company operates at the intersection of finance and technology, providing solutions across trading, investment banking, asset management, and staking, while also powering AI and high-performance computing.

The salary for this position ranges from $68,000 to $112,000 USD annually.

Skills that matter here

• Python: This role requires scripting in Python to automate processes and identify areas for further automation.
• Linux Systems: The position involves working knowledge of Linux systems, including performance optimization and command-line tooling.
• GCP: Expertise in cloud platforms like GCP is necessary for managing and deploying infrastructure.
• Distributed Systems: The role requires debugging complex distributed blockchains and protocols to improve participation.
• Validator Operations: This position involves leading the deployment and optimization of validator infrastructure across blockchain networks.
• Monitoring Tools: Hands-on experience with monitoring and observability tools like Prometheus and Grafana is essential for ensuring infrastructure health.

Who this role suits

• A person who thrives on continuous learning and staying updated with emerging trends in Web3 and blockchain technology.
• Someone with a strong problem-solving orientation, capable of identifying root causes and seeing issues through to resolution.
• An individual who excels at distilling complex technical information for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A professional who can identify and automate human processes to improve operational efficiency.

From the employer

What You’ll Do:

• Design, build, and maintain highly available, scalable, and secure infrastructure and systems related to our blockchain participation and custody offerings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and implement improvements in infrastructure, monitoring, system automation, and incident response.
• Identify & implement solutions for your domain where process, automation or tooling can significantly improve our ability to operate our infrastructure.
• Develop a present and forward looking view into what’s happening in each part of your domain and how it applies to the business. Establish and communicate views that inform leadership and organizational strategy.
• Continuously research and stay up-to-date with emerging trends in the web3/blockchain space.
• Identify, scope and build on new product opportunities that may bring value to the business.
• Debug complex distributed blockchains and protocols to improve our participation.
• Implement monitoring, observability tools and best practices to ensure the health, performance, and stability of our blockchain infrastructure.
• Participate in and make improvements to, domain specific on-call rotations to ensure the continued reliability and uptime of our services.
• Work through others, to develop and maintain automation scripts and tools to streamline deployment, scaling, and recovery processes.

What We’re Looking For:

You are an experienced Protocol, DevOps or SRE Engineer with;

• Prior software engineering or application development experience in modern programming language (.Net, Go, Rust, C/C++, etc.)
• Ability to script in a high-level scripting language like Python, Perl or bash coupled with an ability to identify human processes that can be scripted and automated.
• Demonstrated experience working with blockchain infrastructure or strong knowledge of the blockchain domain (proof-of-stake consensus, web3, rpc, etc)
• Deep familiarity with compute-infrastructure systems, tooling, observability, debugging strategies along with research aptitude and a desire to never repeat the same problem twice.
• Troubleshooting expertise of complex application flows which span multiple systems along with an ability to identify server, network, and application issues and apply measurable remediations.
• Working knowledge of Linux systems, system performance optimization and command line tooling.
• Expertise in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and virtualization technologies (VMWare, KVM, Docker or similar).
• Hands-on experience with monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Datadog, LogDNA, etc.)
• Conceptual knowledge of security best practices, including encryption, access control, and network security (firewalls, traffic filtering).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with an ability to distill information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong problem solving skills and ability to identify problems, determine their root cause, and see them through to solution.

What We Offer:

• Competitive base salary and discretionary bonus
• Competitive paid time off
• Company-paid health and protective benefits for employees and their eligible dependents
• Free virtual coaching sessions through Headspace
• Free daily snacks in-office
• Opportunities to learn about the Crypto industry
• Smart, entrepreneurial, and fun colleagues

*Benefits may vary depending on location.