About Status

Status is building the tools and infrastructure for the advancement of a secure, private, and open web3. 

With the high level goals of preserving the right to privacy, mitigating the risk of censorship, and promoting economic trade in a transparent, open manner, Status is building a community where anyone is welcome to join and contribute.

As an organization, Status seeks to push the web3 ecosystem forward through research, creation of developer tools, and support of the open source community. 

As a product, Status is an open source, Ethereum-based app that gives users the power to chat, transact, and access a revolutionary world of DApps on the decentralized web. But Status is also building foundational infrastructure for the whole Ethereum ecosystem, including the Nimbus ETH 1.0 and 2.0 clients, the Keycard hardware wallet, and the Waku messaging protocol (a continuation of Whisper).

As a team, Status has been completely distributed since inception.  Our team is currently 150+ core contributors strong, and welcomes a growing number of community members from all walks of life, 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.

About Logos

A group of Status Contributors is also involved in a new community lead project, called Logos, and this particular role will enable you to also focus on this project. Logos is a grassroots movement to provide trust-minimized, corruption-resistant governing services and social institutions to underserved citizens. 

Logos’ infrastructure will provide a base for the provisioning of the next generation of governing services and social institutions – paving the way to economic opportunities for those who need them most, whilst respecting basic human rights through the network’s design. You can read more about Logos here: in this small handbook for mindful readers like yourself.

The role

Nomos, an ambitious blockchain project with a strong focus on privacy, seeks a highly experienced and dedicated Zero Knowledge (ZK) Proofs Researcher and Developer to join our team. This critical role will focus on enhancing the multi-layered architecture of Nomos by utilizing Zero Knowledge proofs at multiple layers. The successful candidate will play a key role in our ongoing research, systems design, and development efforts.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop an in-depth understanding of the multi-layered architecture of Nomos and how Zero Knowledge proofs can be effectively utilized at various stages.
• Collaborate with other researchers and developers to ensure that Nomos’s systems and protocols are efficiently designed and implemented.
• Address and solve upgradeability concerns related to ZK schemes and ensure consensus proofs are ZK-friendly.
• Design and help implement privacy-centered protocols that require the use of ZK proofs.
• Evaluate and integrate ZK tools and frameworks to optimize the performance and efficiency of our systems.
• Stay abreast of the latest developments and trends in the field of Zero Knowledge proofs and blockchain technology.
• Provide support and guidance to the team on ZK proofs related issues.

You ideally will have

• A strong technical background, preferably with a degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field (PhD-level or equivalent in industry); relevant research experience.
• Extensive knowledge and experience with Zero Knowledge proofs, cryptography, and blockchain technology.
• Deep understanding of Zero-Knowledge proof systems (zk-SNARK, circom, Plonk/Halo2, zk-STARK), elliptic curve cryptography, and circuit design.
• Previous experience in a similar role, where you successfully contributed to the development of complex systems using ZK proofs.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to make informed decisions quickly.
• The ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and communicate complex concepts clearly and effectively.
• A passion for the blockchain technology and a desire to push the boundaries of what is currently possible.
• Knowledge of current ZK tools and frameworks, and the ability to learn new tools quickly.

Bonus if

• Knowledge of other privacy-preserving technologies (MPC, FHE).
• Distributed systems knowledge.
• Knowledge or interest in other areas related to blockchain systems.

[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!]

Hiring Process 

The hiring process for this role will be:

• Interview with our POps team
• Interview with Team Member
• Interview with Team Lead
• Interview with Logos Program lead

Compensation

The expected compensation range for this role is $160,000 – $190,000 (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.

Job locations: Remote (Worldwide)