Software Engineer

Specialty software engineer with experience in backend and distributed systems development using Go, with exposure to building scalable services and working in Agile environments. Hands-on experience with system design, APIs, and production troubleshooting in enterprise-grade applications. Interested in blockchain protocol engineering, cryptography, and building high-performance distributed systems.

Job Title: Specialty Software Engineer 3 – Contingent

Job Location: Iselin, NJ 08830 (Hybrid)

Job Duration: 12 months with possible extension

Description / Comment (Responsibilities):

• Consult on or participate in moderately complex initiatives and deliverables within Specialty Software Engineering and contribute to large-scale planning related to Specialty Software Engineering deliverables.
• Review and analyze moderately complex Specialty Software Engineering challenges that require an in-depth evaluation of variable factors.
• Contribute to the resolution of moderately complex issues and consult with others to meet Specialty Software Engineering deliverables while leveraging solid understanding of the function, policies, procedures, and compliance requirements.
• Collaborate with client personnel in Specialty Software Engineering.
• Core Protocol Development: Architect and build a custom blockchain application using Go, Cosmos SDK, and CometBFT (Tendermint)
• Cryptographic Implementation: Implement and optimize privacy-preserving primitives, specifically Pedersen Commitments and Bulletproofs (Range Proofs), ensuring no trusted setup is required
• Consensus Customization: Engineer custom ABCI extensions (specifically PrepareProposal and Vote Extensions) to implement an on-chain Multi-Party Computation (MPC) mixing network
• State Machine Design: Design a custom KVStore state machine that manages homomorphic encrypted balances (Elliptic Curve points) instead of plaintext integers
• Performance Engineering: Optimize cryptographic operations (scalar multiplication, point addition) for low latency and high throughput in a distributed environment
• Auditing Infrastructure: Build secure off-chain query layers and "view key" mechanisms that allow for granular, permissioned regulatory auditing

Required Skills:

• 5 years of Specialty Software Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
• 3 years of experience in backend or systems programming, with expert-level proficiency in Go (Golang)
• 6 months of experience with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)
• 1 year of experience with BFT consensus algorithms, P2P networking, and state replication; reliable, distributed systems experience

Desired Skills:

• Blockchain Core: Deep experience with Cosmos SDK and CometBFT. Comfort building custom modules and modifying consensus logic, not just deploying smart contracts
• Pedersen Commitments (Homomorphic encryption properties)
• Zero-Knowledge Proofs (specifically Bulletproofs or Sigma protocols)
• Math-to-Code: Demonstrated ability to read academic whitepapers/preprints and translate mathematical specifications into functioning code
• Experience with MPC (Multi-Party Computation) or Verifiable Secret Sharing (VSS) schemes
• Familiarity with the Ristretto255 curve or libraries like gnark-crypto
• Background in FinTech, payment systems, or high-frequency trading platforms
• Understanding of the Account Model vs. UTXO Model trade-offs in privacy-preserving ledgers