Specialty Software Engineer 3 - Contingent

Position: Blockchain / Protocol Engineer
Location: Iselin NJ
Duration: Contract
Job ID: 177733
Only W2 

Are you passionate about blockchain protocols, distributed systems, and applied cryptography? We are seeking a Lead Protocol Engineer to help build a cutting-edge Digital Asset Platform focused on solving one of the biggest challenges in institutional finance—delivering regulatory compliance while preserving transaction confidentiality.

This role sits at the intersection of cryptography, blockchain infrastructure, and high-performance distributed systems, offering the opportunity to design and develop core protocol components from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities
Core Protocol Development

• Architect and develop a custom blockchain application using Go (Golang), Cosmos SDK, and CometBFT (Tendermint).
• Design scalable and secure protocol components for institutional-grade digital asset settlement.

• Implement and optimize privacy-preserving cryptographic primitives including:
• Pedersen Commitments
• Bulletproofs (Range Proofs)
• Ensure cryptographic solutions operate without requiring a trusted setup.

• Develop custom ABCI++ extensions including:
• Prepare Proposal
• Vote Extensions
• Build and support an on-chain Multi-Party Computation (MPC) mixing network.

• Design and maintain custom KVStore state machines.
• Manage homomorphically encrypted balances using Elliptic Curve cryptography rather than traditional plaintext accounting models.

• Optimize cryptographic operations such as:
• Scalar multiplication
• Point addition
• Improve throughput, latency, and scalability across distributed environments.

• Develop secure off-chain query layers.
• Implement "view key" mechanisms enabling permissioned regulatory oversight while maintaining privacy.

• 5+ years of Software Engineering experience.
• 3+ years of backend or systems programming experience.
• Expert-level proficiency in Go (Golang).
• 1+ year of experience building reliable distributed systems.

• BFT Consensus Algorithms
• P2P Networking
• State Replication
• 6+ months of hands-on experience with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
• Strong understanding of distributed architecture, performance optimization, and systems design.

• Deep interest in blockchain protocol development.
• Experience building low-level distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of applied cryptography and privacy-preserving technologies.
• Ability to translate mathematical concepts into production-grade software.
• Comfortable operating in highly complex, research-driven engineering environments.

• Cosmos SDK
• CometBFT / Tendermint
• Blockchain protocol engineering
• MPC (Multi-Party Computation)
• Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP)
• Cryptographic protocol implementation
• Financial services, digital assets, or fintech platforms

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