OpenZeppelin is hiring a

ZK Cryptography Researcher

The Security Services team

This opening is for a Security Researcher role within the company. If you would like to build and maintain the contracts library, Defender or any of our products, check for any product development openings.

The security services team at OpenZeppelin is responsible for the planning, execution, and delivery of Security Audits for the world’s leading web3 organizations and protocols. The team currently consists of security researchers who perform the audits and conduct research, regional managers overseeing the researchers, technical project managers who oversee each project and act as the conduit between the client and audit teams, and the head of Security Services who oversees the entire team.

We are looking to bolster this team by adding specialized cryptographer roles to lead technical audits of ZK projects and perform independent research. The ZK cryptography researcher is responsible for auditing cryptographic implementations of ZK protocols, alongside our experienced team of security researchers that are analyzing the on-chain components of these protocols. This role will also be in charge of leading cryptography research on the team.

What you'll be doing

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

• Researching new meaningful 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.

• Conduct open-ended research around cutting edge blockchain technologies.

• 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 knowledge of zero knowledge proof systems and related cryptographic primitives.

• Experience implementing cryptographic components in one or more of: Rust, Circom, OCaml, Haskell.

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

• Publications at leading workshops or conferences such as ACM, IEEE, EUROCRYPT, etc.

• Intellectual curiosity and the capability to learn complex topics

• 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 blockchain protocols.

• Experience with Solidity.

• Experience developing applications using PLONK or recursive zk-proofs

• Experience working with L2 scaling protocols or privacy applications

Logistics

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

• Recruiter call (45 minutes)

• Hiring Manager call (45 minutes)

• Team member interview (1 hour)

• Leadership call (30 minutes)

• Paid work test (lasting up to 10 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.