Protocol Engineer

Summary

Join Caldera as a Protocol Engineer and help advance blockchain interoperability by focusing on the on-chain layer of the Metalayer, a high-performance bridge serving numerous rollups. You will design and secure smart contracts, collaborate with auditors, and build tools for monitoring and performance profiling. This role requires experience shipping high-TVL protocols and expertise in EVM/SVM internals, gas economics, and cross-chain messaging. Caldera offers competitive compensation, including cash and tokens, and full benefits. The company is backed by leading crypto investors and supports both in-office and remote work.

Requirements

• Have 3+ years engineering experience, including shipping production protocols with significant TVL
• Possess expert-level Solidity and/or Rust skills and a deep grasp of EVM/SVM internals
• Understand gas/compute metering on Ethereum, L2s, and Solana, and how off-chain components (relayers, indexers) interact with contracts
• Are comfortable owning end-to-end security: access control, upgradeability, failure-mode analysis, and incident response
• Excel at systematic debugging, test-driven development, and writing clean, well-reviewed code
• Communicate clearly and enjoy partnering with frontend, backend, and product teams

Responsibilities

• Design & implement Solidity and Rust smart contracts across EVM, L2s, and SVM that form the core Metalayer protocol
• Own on-chain security —role-based access control, pause/upgrade paths, and high-value asset protections
• Drive audits : spec, coordinate, and remediate findings with top security firms
• Collaborate with relayer, indexer, and frontend teams to define clear, developer-friendly on-chain APIs
• Build tooling for on-chain monitoring, alerting, and gas/performance profiling
• Research & prototype new protocol features (e.g., fast-finality bridges, ZK-verified proofs) that expand Metalayer’s surface area

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience building AMMs, bridges, or MEV/intents systems
• Hands-on work with consensus algorithms (Paxos/Raft, Tendermint, HotStuff, etc.)
• Familiarity with ZK proofs, fast-finality research, or cross-chain messaging standards (e.g., CCIP, IBC)
• Significant open-source contributions to blockchain clients, protocol libraries, or security tools

Benefits

• Competitive cash + token
• Full benefits
• Support both in-office and remote work