Smart Contract Engineer

Smart Contract EngineerCategory Labs (formerly known as Monad Labs) is a team of systems engineers and researchers on a mission to design and build at the frontier of decentralized technology. We strive to design and build step-function improvements over existing blockchain solutions. After raising $225M in series A funding, led by Paradigm, we are growing our team.The RoleCategory Labs is looking for a Smart Contract Engineer to join the core engineering team to build at the application layer. The work can range from direct collaboration with external app and infrastructure teams to design and implementation of new primitives enabled by a high-performance EVM client. You will be part of a small, high-functioning team in a fast-paced startup environment.What You Will DoYou'll implement smart contracts that are well suited to the resources and throughput enabled by the Monad client built by Category LabsYou'll identify needs in the app developer ecosystem and address them through close collaboration with the core engineering teamYou'll work directly with external application or infrastructure teams to unblock them with deep understanding of their domain AND the Category Labs clientWho You AreYou have at least 4 years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years of experience writing smart contracts in SolidityYou have prior experience in blockchain engineering at a Layer-1, Layer-2, or Infrastructure (Oracle, Bridge, Indexer, RPC Provider, Wallet, or other high-performance app) projectYou are an expert with tools like Foundry and Hardhat and deeply understand security vulnerabilities at the application layerYou have backend engineering experience in low-level languages such as C, C++, or RustYou have built something significant from scratch - preferably with users (the more, the better)You are a great communicator who is willing to participate in technical discussions, reviews, and documentationYou value the following qualities that define our engineering team Ability to DO things. When it comes to problem-solving, we value practicality and common sense.Strong design skills (e.g. higher-level thinking about system design, appropriate abstractions, maintainability)Excellence in whatever you have worked on beforeRigorous development mindsetWhy Work with UsChallenging problems. You'll work on extremely challenging problems with massive impact.Huge opportunity. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) standard is ubiquitous, but existing EVM-compatible chains are very slow. Monad's core innovations offer developers the best of both worlds (portability and performance) and are a game-changer for mass user adoption in crypto.The right team. You'll be part of a small, exceptional team.Culture. We're a lean team working together to achieve very ambitious goals. We are united in our culture of collaboration, low egos, and high-quality outputs. As an early member of our team, you'll help to shape our culture.Compensation. You'll receive a competitive salary and equity package.Resources and growth. We're well-capitalized, with backing from leading venture funds like Paradigm, Electric Capital, Greenoaks, Dragonfly, and Coinbase Ventures. We keep a lean team, and this is a rare opportunity to join. You'll learn a lot and grow as our company scales.Salary and BenefitsThe target annual salary range for this US-based role is $180,000 – $250,000. This range represents our good-faith estimate at the time of posting and is not a guarantee of compensation. The final offer may vary based on factors including experience, domain expertise, and the candidate's specific geographic location.Benefits for US employees include:World class benefits package (medical/dental/vision)Unlimited paid time off401(k) retirement plan + company matchLunch and dinner stipend (in-office NYC)Monthly wellness benefitPaid parental leaveBenefits for employees hired through an EOR (outside of the US) will be based on EOR offerings and country-specific requirements.