ZODL - Principal Cryptography & Protocol Engineer
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Requirements
• A commitment to our users’ privacy, and to the cypherpunk ethos of empowering freedom and autonomy by making secure, well-designed cryptography more widely accessible. • Deep expertise in applied cryptography • Strong understanding of zero-knowledge proofs, especially in the context of Zcash (e.g. Sapling, Orchard) • Experience reviewing or designing cryptographic protocols • Proven experience conducting security audits or formal reviews • Strong ability to reason about privacy guarantees and threat models • Experience working with technical specifications and protocol design docs • Familiarity with Rust or ability to review Rust implementations • Preferred • Prior contributions to Zcash, ZIPs, or related ecosystems • Experience with zk-SNARKs / Halo / PLONK-like systems • Background in formal verification or high-assurance systems • Public track record (papers, audits, open-source contributions) • Key Traits • Key Traits • Paranoid (in a good way) about privacy leaks • Extremely detail-oriented • Comfortable saying “this is not safe to ship” • Able to translate complex cryptography into actionable guidance
Responsibilities
• We are seeking a deeply experienced cryptography engineer to lead security-critical work across ZODL’s protocol, specifications, and core infrastructure. This role is responsible for reviewing and shaping the cryptographic foundations of Zcash-related software, ensuring correctness, privacy guarantees, and long-term protocol integrity. • You will act as a technical authority on cryptography and protocol design, working across specifications, implementations, and external collaborations. • Lead cryptographic reviews and audits of specifications and implementations across ZODL projects. • Perform security and privacy reviews of protocol changes, wallet flows, and cross-chain integrations. • Contribute to and review Zcash protocol specifications (ZIPs) and internal design documents. • Identify and mitigate privacy leaks, cryptographic weaknesses, and edge-case vulnerabilities. • Collaborate with engineers to ensure correct implementation of cryptographic primitives. • Participate in protocol design and evolution, including new features and upgrades. • Work with external researchers, auditors, and the broader Zcash ecosystem. • Guide internal teams on best practices for cryptography and security architecture. • Respond to and help coordinate security incidents and disclosures. • The Core Engineer will report to the Head of Engineering. The Engineering Team now encompasses both Core and Zodl wallet development. Although this role will primarily involve the former, you will also be collaborating closely with developers working on the Zodl wallet.
Benefits
• ZODL (Zcash Open Development Lab) is building the software necessary to onboard billions of users to Zcash. Created by the original inventors and developers of the Zcash protocol, we deliver world-class UX for ZEC on top of our core protocol work. • Our product suite includes Zodl mobile (iOS and Android) with built-in cross-chain swaps, and Zallet, a full-node Zcash wallet written in Rust, built as a replacement for the zcashd wallet. On the horizon: Zodl Vault (a desktop wallet for multisig, inheritance, and institutional use cases), web-based wallets, and headless/agentic wallet infrastructure.
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