OpenZeppelin Jobs

Lead Blockchain Developer

Location: Hybrid Employment Type: Full-time Experience Required: 10+ years (software engineering), with 5+ years in blockchain/Web3 development Position: Multiple

About the Role

We're looking for a Lead Blockchain Developer to drive the architecture, security, and delivery of our Ethereum-based smart contract systems and decentralized applications. This is a hands-on technical leadership role: you'll write and review production Solidity code, set engineering standards, and mentor a team of blockchain engineers while partnering closely with product, security, and infrastructure stakeholders. You'll own technical decisions from protocol design through mainnet deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect, design, and lead development of smart contracts and on-chain protocols on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains, ensuring scalability, gas efficiency, and security best practices.
• Lead the full development lifecycle: technical design, implementation, code review, testing, audits, deployment, and post-launch monitoring.
• Mentor and manage a team of blockchain developers, setting coding standards, conducting code reviews, and guiding career growth.
• Collaborate with product managers, designers, and backend/frontend engineers to translate business requirements into robust on-chain and off-chain solutions.
• Own smart contract security practices, including coordinating third-party audits, running internal threat modeling, and implementing fixes for identified vulnerabilities.
• Evaluate and integrate relevant standards and tooling (e.g., ERC-20/721/1155, OpenZeppelin, Hardhat/Foundry, The Graph) and stay current on EVM upgrades and Ethereum roadmap changes.
• Design and oversee upgrade patterns, multisig/governance structures, and key management practices for deployed contracts.
• Establish CI/CD pipelines, testing frameworks (unit, integration, fuzz/invariant testing), and monitoring for on-chain systems.
• Represent the engineering team in technical discussions with auditors, partners, and external stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software development experience, including 5+ years building production Solidity smart contracts on Ethereum or EVM-compatible chains.
• Proven track record leading or architecting blockchain projects from design through mainnet launch.
• Deep understanding of EVM internals, gas optimization, and common smart contract vulnerabilities (reentrancy, integer overflow, access control, oracle manipulation, etc.).
• Hands-on experience with Solidity development frameworks such as Hardhat, Foundry, or Truffle, and testing/fuzzing tools.
• Strong knowledge of token standards (ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155), DeFi primitives, and/or DAO governance mechanisms, depending on product focus.
• Experience with smart contract security practices, including working alongside auditors and remediating findings.
• Solid background in at least one general-purpose language (TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Rust, or Python) for building supporting infrastructure and tooling.
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers, with the ability to set technical direction and review others' code constructively.
• Familiarity with Web3 libraries (ethers.js, web3.js, viem) and node infrastructure (Infura, Alchemy, or self-hosted nodes).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Layer 2 solutions (Optimism, Arbitrum, Base, zkSync) or cross-chain bridging.
• Contributions to open-source blockchain projects or published smart contract audits.
• Familiarity with formal verification tools (Certora, Slither, MythX).
• Experience with on-chain governance, multisig frameworks (Gnosis Safe), or DAO tooling.
• Background in financial systems, DeFi protocols, or regulatory considerations around digital assets.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and equity package
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible hybrid work schedule
• Professional development budget and conference attendance
• A high-ownership role shaping the technical direction of our blockchain products

How to Apply

Linkedin profile is mandatory.

USA, Canada or Europe Candidates are preffered.

Interested candidates should submit a resume along with links to relevant GitHub repositories, deployed contracts, or audit reports demonstrating prior work within next 20 days through [email protected]