Staff Protocol Engineer

Plasma is a purpose-built blockchain for stablecoin payments. Engineered from the ground up to address the unique needs of stablecoins, Plasma provides a scalable, efficient, and secure foundation for the next generation of money movement. We believe stablecoins can transform global finance and improve financial access worldwide. To reach the next level of adoption, dedicated and purpose-built infrastructure is required.

We are looking for a Staff Protocol Engineer to guide the design, development, and refinement of Plasma’s core protocol. In this role, you will drive the evolution of our consensus mechanisms and core systems, ensuring robustness, security, and scalability as we prepare for mainnet. You’ll work at both strategic and hands-on levels, guiding architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and delivering high-quality, high-impact solutions.

• Architect consensus refinements and other protocol-layer components in Rust, ensuring the system offers best-in-class performance and security standards.

• Define and refine technical roadmaps, guiding critical decisions around protocol design, implementation, and optimization.

• Serve as a technical leader, mentoring engineers and collaborating cross-functionally to align protocol evolution with company objectives.

• Drive best practices in cryptography, threat modeling, and distributed systems to maintain a secure, fault-tolerant protocol.

• Identify and mitigate bottlenecks, ensuring low latency and high throughput within a decentralized network.

• Operate in a fast-paced, results-driven environment, taking ownership of projects from concept to production.

• Engage with the broader community, review external contributions, and help shape Plasma’s open-source ecosystem.

• Minimum of 8 years in software engineering, with a track record of designing and operating complex distributed systems.

• Deep proficiency in Rust and comfort working with systems programming, concurrency, and memory safety.

• Strong understanding of consensus mechanisms, cryptography, and decentralized architectures; previous blockchain or protocol engineering experience preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to guide fellow engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation.

• Comfortable operating in a high-autonomy, low-process environment – able to set direction and execute with minimal oversight.

• Able to articulate complex technical concepts clearly, both in writing and verbally, to non-technical audiences.

• Publications or research experience in distributed systems, cryptography, or blockchain technology.

• A history of meaningful contributions to open-source blockchain or cryptographic projects.

• Familiarity with stablecoins, DeFi, or the broader crypto ecosystem, including relationships with relevant developers or communities.

Benefits for full-time employees include an above-market salary, a generous ownership package, comprehensive insurance coverage, and generous paid time off.