Applied Cryptographer

About us

Founded in 2015 with the mission to protect the open economy, OpenZeppelin is the world leader in securing blockchain applications and smart contracts. 

Its bedrock open source Contract Libraries are a public good and industry standard for smart contract development.

OpenZeppelin’s professional expertise, unified with the Defender developer security platform, integrates through clients’ development lifecycles, so teams can plan, code, audit, deploy and operate projects faster and more safely.

Please note: Always refer to OpenZeppelin's official job page for the most accurate information about our open roles, as we have seen multiple third party job sites posting inaccurate information.

The ZK Practice

The Zero-Knowledge Practice at OpenZeppelin is responsible for the execution and delivery of cryptography audits and circuit audits for the world’s leading web3 organizations and protocols. The team currently consists of security researchers, applied cryptographers and theoretical cryptographers who perform audits and advisory with direct client contact and conduct independent zk-research that culminates in academic publications, blog posts and conference talks.

We are now looking to expand this team by one additional applied cryptographer to increase the overall capacity and expand the diversity of academic backgrounds.

What you'll be doing

• Analyzing the security of circuit construction and cryptographic components in support of audits of succinct and/or zero-knowledge proofs for blockchain protocols.

• Researching new mathematical approaches based on novel cryptography research available in academia.

• Teaming up with other auditors to review zero-knowledge circuits line by line to try to hack them.

• Educating the community about zero-knowledge technology and relevant security considerations through series of blog posts.

• Leading research and contributing to OpenZeppelin’s projects and knowledge bases.

• Training new team members in zero-knowledge technology.

• Speaking at ZK conferences around the world.

You have

• PhD or equivalent experience in cryptography, computer science, mathematics, engineering, or related field.

• In depth algorithmical and mathematical understanding of zero-knowledge proof systems and related cryptographic primitives.

• Experience implementing cryptographic components in one or more of: Rust, Go/Golang, Solidity, Circom, ZoKrates, Cairo.

• Proven track record of achieving significant results as demonstrated by grants, fellowships, patents.

• Publications at leading workshops or conferences at any of the IACR flagship conferences (EUROCRYPT, CRYPTO, ASIACRYPT, etc.).

• Intellectual curiosity and the capability to learn complex topics independently.

• An advanced English level and great communication skills (oral and written).

• The ability to work independently, with minimal supervision.

• Passion about the blockchain space and decentralization.

• Ability to work collaboratively in a distributed team.

Nice to have

• Experience analyzing the security of blockchain protocols.

• Experience building or analyzing STARK-based and/or FRI-based systems.

• Experience contributing to a major zk library (e.g. Halo2).

• In-depth knowledge of implementations of elliptic curve cryptography.

• Experience developing applications using PLONK or recursive zk-proofs.

• Experience working with L2 scaling protocols or privacy applications

• Experience participating in zk-themed CTF competitions.

Logistics

Our interview process takes place on Zoom and tends to consist of the following stages:

• Recruiter call (45 minutes)

• Hiring Manager call (1 hour)

• Team member interview (1 hour)

• Paid work test (Lasting multiple days)

• Reference checks

Please let us know if you require any accommodations for the interview process, and we’ll do our best to provide assistance.

Benefits

• Company in-person gatherings in different locations around the world 😎
• Fully remote work 🌎
• Flexible time off 🏝
• Paid parental leave for primary or second caregiver 💙
• One time work-from-home equipment stipend of up to $500 USD 🪑
• Co-working (up to $250/month) 👩‍💻
• Medical coverage
• Annual Learning & Development budget 🧠
• Referral program
• Work with a global team in a fast-growing industry 🚀

At OpenZeppelin, we are an equal opportunity employer and we value different perspectives. We are committed to building a diverse workforce. This includes but is not limited to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and other characteristics that make each one of us unique. In this uniqueness, we find the most value. Come join us!