Crypto Research Intern

Summary

Join o1Labs, a leading zero-knowledge tooling provider, as a Cryptography Research Intern and contribute to Project Untitled, a federated storage solution. Collaborate with researchers and engineers on protocol design, focusing on data availability, federated storage, fair data exchange, and ZK-friendly consensus mechanisms. Analyze existing solutions, propose improvements, and implement and test cryptographic protocols. This internship offers mentorship from experienced professionals, exposure to cutting-edge research, and potential for publication and open-source contributions. No prior web3 experience is required, but understanding of cryptographic primitives and protocols is necessary. The ideal candidate possesses excellent problem-solving and communication skills and experience with academic papers.

Requirements

• An understanding of cryptographic primitives and protocols is necessary, with focus on either ZK protocols, or distributed systems (consensus protocols / storage protocols)
• Excellent problem-solving abilities
• Good communication skills and ability to work remotely / independently
• Experience with writing academic papers
• General familiarity with blockchain / distributed ledger technology

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cryptography researchers and engineers on protocol design
• Data availability & federated storage solutions
• Authenticated data storage / verifiable database query evaluation
• Fair data exchange protocols with practical implementations
• Data witnessing and non-repudiation in federated systems
• Sharding and data replication strategies for distributed storage
• ZK-friendly consensus mechanisms
• Incentive design for distributed protocols
• Privacy-preserving data witnessing
• Analyze existing solutions and propose improvements
• Propose new, meaningful approaches based on novel cryptography research available in academia
• Document research findings and implementation details
• Implement and test cryptographic protocols
• Clear communication and articulation of abstract ideas

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience designing zero-knowledge proofs, or systems that utilise ZKPs
• Good programming skills (e.g. rust, ocaml)
• Understanding of practical software development (e.g. performance aspects)

Benefits

• Mentorship from experienced cryptographers and engineers
• Exposure to cutting-edge research in applied cryptography
• Practical experience implementing theoretical protocols
• Potential for academic publication and open-source contributions