Distributed Systems Researcher (Blockchain Infrastructure Team)

We are the Blockchain Infrastructure Team, and we are building the foundation used by other projects at the Status Network. We are researching consensus algorithms, Multi-Party Computation techniques, ZKPs and other cutting-edge solutions with the aim to take the blockchain technology to the next level of security, decentralization and scalability for a wide range of use cases. We are currently in a research phase, working with models and simulations. In the near future, we will start implementing the research. You will have the opportunity to participate in developing -and improving- the state of the art of blockchain technologies, as well as turning it into a reality.

Key Responsibilities

• This role is dedicated to pure research
• Primarily, ensuring that solutions are sound and diving deeper into their formal definition.
• Additionally, he/she would be regularly going through papers, bringing new ideas and staying up-to-date.
• Designing, specifying and verifying distributed systems by leveraging formal and experimental techniques.
• Conducting theoretical and practical analysis of the performance of distributed systems.
• Designing and analysing incentive systems.
• Collaborating with both internal and external customers and the teams responsible for the actual implementation.
• Researching new techniques for designing, analysing and implementing dependable distributed systems.
• Publishing and presenting research results both internally and externally.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Don’t worry if you don’t meet all of these criteria, we’d still love to hear from you anyway if you think you’d be a great fit for this role!

Ideally you will have:

• Strong background in Computer Science and Math, or a related area.
• Academic background (The ability to analyze, digest and improve the State of the Art in our fields of interest. Specifically, familiarity with formal proofs and/or the scientific method.)
• Distributed Systems with a focus on Blockchain
• Analysis of algorithms
• Familiarity with Python and/or complex systems modeling software
• Deep knowledge of algorithms (much more academic, such as have dealt with papers, moving from research to pragmatic implementation)
• Experience in analysing the correctness and security of distributed systems.
• Familiarity with the application of formal method techniques.
• Comfortable with “reverse engineering” code in a number of languages including Java, Go, Rust, etc. Even if no experience in these languages, the ability to read and “reverse engineer” code of other projects is important.
• Keen communicator, eager to share your work in a wide variety of contexts, like internal and public presentations, blog posts and academic papers.
• Capable of deep and creative thinking.
• Passionate about blockchain technology in general.
• Able to manage the uncertainties and ambiguities associated with working in a remote-first, distributed, decentralised environment.
• A strong alignment to our principles

Bonus points:

• E.g. Experience working remotely.
• Experience working for an open source organization.
• TLA+/PRISM would be desirable.
• PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related area.
• Experience Multi-Party Computation and Zero-Knowledge Proofs
• Track record of scientific publications.
• Previous experience in remote or globally distributed teams.

Perks & benefits

People

• Work with some of the most passionate & dedicated minds in the Ethereum space.

Compensation

• We ask that you’re willing to be paid in a combination of fiat and cryptocurrency.
• We’ll reward you with a competitive base salary.
• We’ll also reward you with SNT (Status Network Tokens) to give you a real stake in the success of the organisation.
• A generous budget (€2000 Euros) to choose whatever laptop you prefer.
• We provide a small allowance (up to €250 Euros per month) for a co-working space.

Freedom

• Work from wherever you choose. Our contributors are a varied bunch - some work from home, some from a coworking space, some from a local cafe, others are nomads.
• We operate an open vacation policy, meaning there are no hard limits or strict rules around how much holiday you take and how you schedule it.
• We want our contributors to be healthy and take the time they need to relax and enjoy quality disconnected time away from work.
• We offer all contributors a Headspace subscription.

Travel

• Each team has a travel budget to attend conferences & team meetups of their choice.
• Once per year the whole organisation gets together to connect (so far we’ve visited Bangkok and Prague).

Note: We don’t offer traditional benefits like medical/dental insurance - we’d rather pay you well and give you the freedom to select your own benefits, on your terms.

About Status.im

As a team, Status is completely distributed since inception. Our team is currently 85+ core contributors strong, and welcomes a growing number of community members scattered all around the globe.

We care deeply about open source, and our organizational structure has minimal hierarchy and no fixed work hours. We believe in working with a high degree of autonomy while supporting the organization’s priorities.

Follow along on Our Status.