Posted about 2 years ago

Early Stage Hiring for a Decentralized platform company

The Nillion team is building the first non-blockchain, decentralized and permissionless Secure Multi Party Computation (SMPC) network. The network is based on an innovative new algorithm called Nil Message Compute (NMC). NMC enables an SMPC-based, secure processing layer for web3 to run at near centralized speeds and will open up entire new use cases within both web3/blockchain and the real world. Nillion will enhance many of the most well-known public blockchains while opening up whole new industries to decentralized disruption on its native network. Become part of building an exciting new decentralized future.

Nillion has a highly experienced founding team, consisting of a 2x crypto unicorn founder (hedera.com, reserve.org); 2x PhDs in cryptography, information security, machine learning, and mathematics; seasoned crypto community builders who have built and managed well-known communities before (e.g. Bitclout) and best-in-class token economists.

We are currently hiring our early stage / founding tech team. This is a fully remote role, but some travel may be required.

We are looking for an experienced Software Engineer to help turn incredibly groundbreaking research into commercially viable and reliable products. This lead engineer will play a key role in the design, architecture, development/configuration, unit testing, installation, and ongoing maintenance of the Nillion network. Ideal candidates will have experience in developing software in the Distributed Computing, DLT and blockchain spaces, in order to realize the potential of this technology. The candidate will be able to lead the implementation of robust, high-performing solutions, requirement analysis, as well as, design discussions. Most importantly, we want team players that can think on their feet. We work in an environment where tangibility and flexibility are key attributes that help us innovate. Our engineering team needs to embody those qualities, bringing clarity and direction to help move new ideas forward. Strategic thinking and strong business acumen are essential in this startup role. We expect you to be extremely well-versed in current technological trends, ideally with a background in distributed computing, crypto and/or security. While leading this team, you are a team player who has a proven track record of leading and scaling blockchain functions/projects. You are a self-starter, results driven and passionate to drive the success of Nillion.

Requirements

• A demonstrated experience (3+ years) of hiring and building out a top notch software development team in a distributed systems, blockchain, or other environment at scale
• Proven ability to communicate very complex technical concepts clearly and effectively
• A solid working understanding of Cloud native environments and platforms (e.g. AWS or Azure)
• Proven experience (3+ years) of working in a security role, focused on implementing and testing distributed systems to secure real-time computing, high availability networks and systems.
• Grasp of large scale software architectures including but not limited to data storage, batch processing, analytics and system metrics
• Solid working knowledge of multiple software development platforms and ability to very quickly learn and integrate new ones where appropriate
• Strong knowledge and experience in the design and development of distributed cryptographic principles and protocols (e.g. ZKP or SMPC)
• Provide technical expertise and advice on production environments and information security, including developing knowledge and experience of more junior team members
• Ability to empower multiple teams across the organization to achieve a high level of productivity and technical quality
• Playing a key role in the hiring and mentoring process for your technical team
• Through engagement with the industry and subject matter experts identify and develop research into future concepts for distributed computing and distributed cryptography systems.
• Proven ability to rapidly interpret technical, mathematical and business requirements and understand complex trade-offs in drawing conclusions and recommendations.
• Proven ability to work across a broad spectrum of technical and project domains, understanding and shaping both the “big picture” and technical details.
• Proven ability to engage and work with other technical experts and incorporate their input and feedback into broader technical solutions.

Nice to Have:

• Strong knowledge and experience in the design and development of domain specific languages and compilers
• Qualified to at least an MSc degree in mathematics, computer science, cyber security, cryptography or a related field. A PhD or Postdoc in any of the related fields is a bonus
• Cybersecurity and cryptography research experience
• Experience leading projects in one or more of the existing Blockchain Technologies – Hyperledger Fabric, Solana, PolkaDot or Ethereum
• Experience in the financial markets / software
• Knowledge and understanding of cryptocurrency markets, ecosystem and ethos

General Requirements:

We expect technical members of the Nillion team to have or be the following:

• Comfortable with a fast-paced startup environment with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Have excellent troubleshooting skills with the ability find and integrate knowledge quickly
• Excellent work ethic with the ability to work independently and with a bias towards action
• Be incredibly technically curious about how things work or how to do things a better way
• Great at writing unit, integration or functional testing but also good at not going overboard with it
• Good at providing valuable feedback on architecture or code reviews with team members
• Familiarity with git version control and continuous integration processes for code deployment
• A part of the hiring and onboarding process for new members to Nillion’s engineering team
• Create well-designed, customized, testable, efficient, reusable code
• Ability to work with a cross-functional and globally distributed team
• Good at coaching as well as being coached. We make all our team members better all the time
• Macro-to-micro versatility: strategic mindset coupled with a keen attention to detail
• Great at providing simple and extensible abstractions to complex systems.
• Experience in Git/GitHub and branching methodologies, code review tools, CI tools, etc.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

Benefits

• Make a big impact as a early contributor to an incredible founding team
• Work on new problems in an incredible emerging and dynamic field
• Learn from systems engineering, cryptography, and finance domain experts in a mentorship-oriented work culture
• Fully remote work is a possibility
• Nillion pays a competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Remuneration can include company tokens over cash to increase long term upside if desired