Zero-Knowledge Cryptography Expert

About The Company

CertiK is the largest blockchain security auditor and provides a comprehensive suite of tools to secure the industry at scale. To date, CertiK has worked with over 4,900 Enterprise clients, secured over $557 billion worth of digital assets, and has detected over 18,000 vulnerabilities in blockchain code. Our clients include leading projects such as OKX, Tether, Ripple, and Pancakeswap. Our investors include top VCs like Tiger Global, Coatue Management, Shunwei Capital and Hillhouse Capital as well as industry leaders like Coinbase Ventures and Binance.

Investors = Insight Partners, Sequoia, Tiger Global, Coatue Management, Lightspeed, Advent International, SoftBank, Hillhouse Capital, Goldman Sachs, Shunwei Capital, IDG Capital, Wing, Legend Star, Danhua Capital and other investors.

About The Role

The primary responsibility of this role is to support CertiK’s security-related services. Intersecting cryptography, blockchain and cybersecurity, CertiK’s security offerings include security consulting, security reviews, security auditing of smart contracts and blockchains, verification of smart contracts, penetration testing, and more. We are seeking a candidate with a passion for cryptography and blockchain, a deep understanding of the zero-knowledge protocols, and expertise in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and security.

As a Zero-Knowledge Cryptography Expert at CertiK, you will play a critical role in securing foundational cryptographic protocols. You will be engaged in blockchain security research, with a primary focus on zero-knowledge proof systems and multi-party computation, while collaborating with our team of leading security professionals.

While you are not required to master all zero-knowledge protocols, expertise in at least one protocol and the ability to quickly comprehend others is highly desirable. You should be adept at analyzing and comparing different zero-knowledge protocols, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and providing actionable insights.

You will also be responsible for effectively communicating your research findings to team members and, when necessary, directly engaging with clients to explain technical concepts and solutions.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate directly with the external protocol developers to audit their code and secure their implementation of cryptographic protocols.
• Conduct in-depth security research in cryptographic protocols and publish your findings in technical blog posts/conferences.
• Research zero-knowledge protocols, translating complex academic papers into accessible insights for other engineers.
• Identify and incorporate common vulnerabilities in zero-knowledge protocols to internal tools.
• Stay informed about the latest advancements in zero-knowledge cryptography.

Requirements

• Minimum educational background: Bachelor’s degree (plus minimum 2 years of relevant work experience) or Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics or related fields.
• Strong foundation in cryptography, including elliptic curve cryptography, cryptographic protocol design, implementation and circuit design.
• Familiarity with zero-knowledge proof systems, such as SNARKs, STARKs, and Bulletproofs.
• Proficient in at least one of the programming languages, C/C++, Go or Rust.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with the blockchain ecosystem, such as Ethereum and layer2 ZK-rollups.
• Familiarity with domain-specific languages such as Circom.
• Familiarity with multi-party computation (MPC).
• A strong background in Mathematics.
• Experience in blockchain security.
• Working experience in ZK systems.

Compensation & Benefits

If the role is performed in the US, the target annual compensation is $120,000 - $220,000. The exact compensation at which this job is filled will be determined by the skills and experience of qualified candidates.

CertiK is proud to offer medical, vision, and dental insurance, 401(k) plan with company matching, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, HSA (with high deductible plan), FSA, and other benefits to all full-time employees, along with flexible paid time off and holidays. CertiK also offers a variable commission program for business development sales roles.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

CertiK is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status or civil partnership/union status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, genetic information, military and veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law.

CertiK will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with local and federal requirements.

All CertiK employees are expected to actively support diversity on their teams, and in the Company.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Key skills/competency

• Zero-knowledge proofs
• Cryptography
• Blockchain security
• EVM
• Smart contract auditing
• Cryptographic protocol design
• SNARKs
• STARKs
• Bulletproofs
• Multi-party computation