Cryptographic Engineer - Partner Chains - Remote Eligible

Cryptographic Engineer

IOG is a technology company focused on Blockchain research and development. We are renowned for our scientific approach to blockchain development, emphasizing peer-reviewed research and formal methods to ensure security, scalability, and sustainability. Our projects include decentralized finance (DeFi), governance, and identity management, aiming to advance the capabilities and adoption of blockchain technology globally.

We invest in the unknown, applying our curiosity and desire for positive change to everything we do. By fueling creativity, innovation, and progress within our teams, our products and services are designed for people to be fearless, to be changemakers.

IOG's Partner Chains Tribe is an innovation project built using Substrate. It aims to simplify blockchain deployment, operation, and interoperability by combining modular technology with proven security, liquidity, and reliability. Partner Chains empowers developers and validators to create optimized blockchains without network or technology stack lock-in, fostering a new era of interoperable and scalable solutions.

What the role involves:

As a Cryptographic Engineer you will contribute to the design, implementation, and integration of secure cryptographic protocols across Partner Chain initiatives. This role bridges applied research and engineering, focusing on translating cutting-edge cryptographic designs into robust, production-grade systems. The cryptography engineer will collaborate closely with researchers, protocol designers, software architects, product managers, and QA teams to ensure cryptographic correctness, performance, and system alignment. A strong emphasis is placed on high assurance coding, cryptographic soundness, and practical deployment readiness.

Work both independently and in collaboration with distributed teams across multiple time zones, showing initiative and ownership over tasks

Design and implement cryptographic constructions, including digital signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, accumulators, commitment schemes,

Work independently on software development tasks, demonstrating proactive problem-solving skills.

Develop and maintain cryptographic libraries (primarily in Rust, occasionally in C) with an emphasis on safety, performance, clarity, and auditability

Translate advanced cryptographic concepts from academic research into well-structured, reliable implementations that will be used in production systems

Contribute to cryptographic design discussions, parameter tuning, and performance benchmarking, particularly for elliptic curve and zk-based constructions

Analyze and validate protocol security, ensuring soundness, liveness, and resistance to practical adversaries

Collaborate with researchers, software architects, and formal methods specialists to align implementation with protocol specifications

Write and maintain clear documentation, including developer guides and internal design notes

Troubleshoot, debug, and optimize cryptographic code and its interactions with broader systems

Keep up to date with recent cryptographic advancements and assess their relevance to the project