Zero Knowledge (ZK) Jobs

What We're Building

ZK proofs are one of the most critical technologies to blockchain scaling, interoperability and privacy, but are too complex for most developers today. Succinct’s mission is to make zero knowledge proofs accessible to any developer.

SP1 is a state of the art zkVM with performance that rivals custom ZK circuits that lets developers use ZK with normal programming languages, like Rust. The Succinct Prover Network, under active development, is a hosted infrastructure layer for any application to outsource proof-generation for open-source proof systems.

Today, top teams in the space, including Celestia, Wormhole, Lido, Avail, Near, and Gnosis are using Succinct’s infrastructure to build with ZKPs. We have a track record of shipping excellent products and cutting-edge technical work in ZK and have significant revenue from our customers.

We recently announced our $55 million raise across our Seed and Series A led by Paradigm, the best investor in crypto. Our team is still small but incredibly strong, and we are looking for exceptional people who are excited to work hard on challenging and impactful problems in a fast-paced environment. Our office is located in San Francisco and we have a strong preference for candidates based there for this role, but are open to exceptional remote candidates.

The Role

We are seeking a highly motivated Formal Verification Intern to contribute to ensuring the correctness and robustness of our zkVM implementation, SP1, through rigorous formal verification methods. You will leverage tools such as Lean or other formal verification frameworks to validate that our zkVM implementation aligns fully with the official RISC-V specifications. In this role, you will:

• Apply formal verification techniques using Lean or similar frameworks to formally verify correctness of the constraints inside our zkVM.

• Design and implement tooling to translate our internal constraint representations into formats compatible with Lean or other formal verification environments.

• Collaborate with our engineering team to integrate formal verification processes into our development cycle, enhancing overall product reliability and security.

• Communicate verification results clearly to stakeholders and assist in resolving discovered issues.

Qualifications

• Strong foundational knowledge in formal methods, theorem proving, and formal verification frameworks (Lean, Coq, Isabelle, or similar).

• Familiarity with computer architecture, ideally with RISC-V or other instruction set architectures.

• Solid programming and scripting skills for developing verification tools and automation.

• Demonstrated ownership mentality with strong communication and team collaboration skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Rust, C++, or functional programming languages.

• Familiarity with zero-knowledge proof systems or cryptographic protocols.

• Prior experience with hardware or software verification in industry or research contexts.

Location

Everyone on our team is located in San Francisco and works together in-person. Ideally, we’re looking for someone who enjoys in-person work and is already in San Francisco or willing to relocate (we can cover relocation costs). For senior candidates who are an exceptional fit, we’d consider a remote position as long as you’re available to onboard in-person for the first few months.

Benefits

• Above-market salary and generous equity compensation

• Health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents

• Lunch and dinner provided at the office

• Optional, company-paid travel to events and conferences

Even if the listed qualifications don't seem like an exact match, passionate and enthusiastic people who love to quickly learn are always welcome! Feel free to reach out or apply regardless and we would love to chat.