P2P Networking Engineer

Who we are

P2P networks are at the heart of decentralized technologies and libp2p has quickly gained popularity as the goto p2p stack.

We, the Vac P2P R&D service unit, have successfully implemented and deployed a full fledged libp2p stack, which is now powering the Nimbus Ethereum 2 client as well as Waku.

Our implementation is written in Nim - an efficient, expressive and elegant programming language.

Besides developing nim-libp2p, we conduct applied P2P research and take part in the libp2p specification process.

The role

As a P2P Engineer you will play a key role in the development and advancement of decentralized networking technologies by implementing libp2p protocols, and contributing to the evolution of the nim-libp2p implementation.

The role involves implementing libp2p protocols according to existing specifications, as well as collaborating with researchers to support the practical application of new advancements in libp2p, transforming research outputs into usable implementations.

Key responsibilities

• Implement libp2p protocols according to existing specifications
• Further architecture and development of the nim-libp2p implementation
• Support researchers who conduct research exploring advancements in libp2p
• Create practical implementations of research outputs and contribute to libp2p specifications, ensuring they are accessible and usable

You ideally will have

• A passion for decentralization, P2P and privacy-preserving technology
• Excellent communication skills
• Willingness to adapt to changing project requirements and priorities
• Strong engineering background
• In-depth knowledge of peer-to-peer networking protocols
• Experience with low level/strongly typed languages (C/C++/Go/Rust or Java/C#)
• Experience building networking-heavy applications and p2p networking specifically
• Experience implementing core networking protocols such as Websockets and/or Quic
• Familiar with p2p building blocks such as gossiping, routing and discovery (DHTs), and Nat traversal
• Knowledge of security protocols and practices for securing P2P networks and protecting data
• A strong alignment to our principles

Bonus points

• Experience working remotely
• Experience working for an open source organization
• Previous experience with libp2p - preferably as a direct contributor to the codebase or specifications
• Or, experience with other off-the-shelf networking stacks such as devp2p
• Experience with the Nim language

[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. Just explain to us why in your cover letter].

Interview Process

• Interview with our POps team
• Interview with a member of an IFT BU using nim-libp2p
• Pair programming interview with a member of an IFT BU using nim-libp2p
• Interview with Vac team lead

Compensation

The expected compensation range for this role is negotiable, dependent on how we assess your skills and experience throughout our interview process. We are happy to pay in any mix of fiat/crypto.