Researcher/Engineer

Summary

Join the Protocol Snarkification team at the Ethereum Foundation and contribute to the snarkification of Ethereum. Work on specifying and verifying core cryptographic components of proof systems and their implementation within the Ethereum ecosystem. The team focuses on integrating cryptographic proof systems into Ethereum's core, with a particular emphasis on specifying and verifying cryptographic protocols and their implementation. This research-oriented team collaborates with other Protocol teams, working towards Ethereum's snarkification while improving high-assurance cryptography delivery. The team oversees the zkEVM formal verification project, including formal verification of zkVM circuits and the development of formally verified executable specifications of proof systems. This role offers a fully remote, flexible position with opportunities for collaboration and professional growth within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Requirements

• Relevant academic and/or professional background with demonstrable skills in cryptography and/or the implementation stack, proof assistants (Lean preferred), and formal verification tools applied to cryptography
• Curiosity and a willingness to keep learning
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; ability to communicate and collaborate with other EF teams and external organizations
• Ability to work effectively in a fully remote, distributed, and asynchronous organization
• Interest in and familiarity with Ethereum

Responsibilities

• Formalize cryptography used in Ethereum, including developing new specifications, maintaining libraries like ArkLib, and collaborating externally to verify optimizations and implementation details
• Investigate the development and verification of MLIR dialects for cryptography and zkVMs
• Improve tooling and AI usage for cryptography and zkVMs
• Assist the zkEVM Formal Verification effort
• Collaborate with other teams at the EF (e.g., Cryptography, zkEVM)
• Stay current on relevant developments in cryptography, implementations, and formal verification
• Document and communicate your work, contributing to the broader high-assurance cryptography ecosystem

Preferred Qualifications

Past contributions to open-source projects

Benefits

• This is a fully remote full-time position
• Specific location and hours are flexible, but overlapping availability with Western Europe is a plus, particularly around “Eth o’clock” (14:00 UTC)
• Willingness to travel is not a strict requirement, but you’ll likely benefit from being able to occasionally travel to events related to your work