Senior Protocol Engineer

Our client, a well-funded company in the blockchain infrastructure space, is seeking a Senior Protocol Engineer to help drive core system performance and protocol-level improvements. This role reports to the Head of Engineering and will focus on enhancing the execution environment and supporting the scalability of their next-generation network.

Responsibilities

• Lead performance improvements to the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) with a focus on maximizing throughput and minimizing costs

• Design and implement protocol-level optimizations and infrastructure components in Rust

• Benchmark and validate protocol changes, addressing worst-case adversarial edge cases

• Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, research, and leadership to inform architecture decisions

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience in crypto protocol R&D, with a strong track record in protocol design and implementation

• Professional experience with Rust

• Deep understanding of networking, databases, decentralized systems, and low-level protocol design

• Demonstrated experience with performance optimization (hardware acceleration is a plus)

• Strong communication skills and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment

• Familiarity with Solana development is a strong advantage

Compensation

Total compensation (base + equity) ranges from $300,000 to $550,000, depending on experience and location, along with additional company benefits.

This is a rare opportunity to work at the forefront of Layer 2 innovation with a highly experienced founding team and help define the next generation of scalable, user-friendly blockchains.