Bitcoin Engineer, Spiral

About Spiral
Spiral is the first free and open-source, not-for-profit bitcoin organization within a major tech company. We contribute to bitcoin by writing code, supplying grants to open-source projects and individuals, educating , entertaining , and testing the limits of what a tiny team can do to impact the future of money. Although many see bitcoin only as digital gold, via the Lightning Network, Spiral envisions bitcoin fulfilling its promise and potential as the global standard for peer-to-peer payments.
The Team
We're looking to grow the six-person engineering team that exclusively works on developing the Lightning Development Kit (LDK) .
LDK is a comprehensive open-source project that lets developers efficiently build Lightning applications. It includes a full implementation of the Lightning Network protocol written in Rust, APIs, language bindings, demo apps, and more. LDK is used by dozens of projects worldwide, including Lightspark, Cash App, Alby, and BitKit.
The LDK engineers who work for Spiral spend significant time writing code, reviewing code, answering questions, writing documentation, and accepting sensible patches and pull requests from other contributors. LDK aims to build a sustainable open-source project that is welcoming to newcomers, beneficial to users, and ultimately not reliant on a single funding source. The development roadmap is transparent, and corporate priorities do not come first; users do.
You Will

• Contribute to LDK by writing and reviewing code, improving testing infrastructure, and assisting projects and companies that use LDK
• Help add and maintain features such as the following:
  • Language bindings, including Java/Kotlin, C#, JavaScript/WASM/browser extensions, and Swift
  • Support for splicing and dual-funded channels
  • Support for Taproot, including musig, PTLCs, multi-sig scripts, and custom scripts
  • Improve the performance, scalability, and robustness of LDK
  • BOLT 12, VSS, and anchor outputs
  • A server version of LDK
• When you're not doing all of that, you'll improve bitcoin through passion projects of your choosing. Almost anything goes.

You Have

• 5+ years of professional experience
• Hands-on experience with bitcoin and the Lightning Network
• Experience programming with Rust, C, or C++
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and build creative solutions to complex problems
• Appreciation for bitcoin

How to Apply
Along with your formal application, please include a link to your GitHub (if you've got one), any side projects you've got floating around that you think we should see, and some words that explain why you're a fit for this position.
We're working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is an equal opportunity employer evaluating all employees and job applicants without regard to identity or any legally protected class. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, and always assess candidates on an individualized basis.
We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we're doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page .
Block will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and "fair chance" ordinances.
Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate's starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.
To find a location's zone designation, please refer to this resource . If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information.
Zone A:
$318,150 - $516,650 USD
Zone B:
$318,150 - $516,650 USD
Zone C:
$318,150 - $516,650 USD
Zone D:
$318,150 - $516,650 USD
Every benefit we offer is designed with one goal: empowering you to do the best work of your career while building the life you want. Check out benefits at Block.
Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a global technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, and TIDAL, we build tools to help more people access the economy. Square helps sellers run and grow their businesses with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services. With Cash App, anyone can easily send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin. Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) builds and funds free, open-source Bitcoin projects. Artists use TIDAL to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and connect more deeply with fans. TBD is building an open developer platform to make it easier to access Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies without having to go through an institution.