Cryptographer - ZK Researcher - Remote, Europe

Sismo is a privacy-preserving login system based on blockchain infrastructure, decentralized identities (DID) and Zero Knowledge (ZK) technology.

Sismo is developing the Sismo Protocol which allows anyone to generate privacy-preserving attestations from their web3 accounts (e.g BAYC NFT Ownership). Sismo attestations can be stored as NFTs on Ethereum/EVM chains and are compatible with web2 and web3 applications as an access control and reputation tool.

Our team of 7 crypto-native builders has been working on Ethereum since 2015 (ex Aave, Sandbox, Kleros, ConsenSys). We recently raised $10m from some of the top blockchain teams (Optimism, Starkware, Curve, Axie Infinity, Nansen, etc..), a strong mix of web3 investors (Delphi, IDEO, Framework, Fabric) and successful web2 projects (Founder of Product Hunt, Naval Ravikant, GFC).

At Sismo, you will be exposed to everything crypto has to offer; from comprehensive training to in-person conferences and hackathons to good community memes and so much more.

The Sismo team prioritises privacy, decentralization and developing ZK tech that will power the future of the decentralized web. We are deeply committed to this mission and believe cryptography and blockchains will benefit billions of people by enabling users to take ownership of their digital identity.

Who we are looking for

We measure success 3 months after hire by the following categories:

• Communication skills: clear, concise, and consistent
• Initiative and autonomy
• Alignment with Sismo’s mission and values

At Sismo, you will work side by side with a diverse group of industry veterans, all highly motivated and team oriented. Also, this will not be a pure ‘background role’ - through our product team, our goal is to showcase the power of your research to actual users.

Requirements

Your primary responsibilities will be to actively engage with and provide tangible contributions to the Zero Knowledge research community. You’ll be expected to examine and evaluate cryptographic research and the latest primitives available in various blockchain-friendly environments (EVM, Cairo, Rust/Js).

You will also help draft the white papers for Sismo and the community at large, speak at different ZK events and help us grow the overall ZK ecosystem. You will take the lead in one or more of the following topics:

• Developing new cryptographic libraries (solidity, typescript, rust)
• Developing new proving schemes (solidity, circom, rust)
• Technical and academic documentation
• Developing new circom circuits for our ZK attestations
• Optimising data structures (Merkle and other trees)
• Producing new ZK proof research
• Presenting our research output to the community

Qualifications

• Write high-quality and documented open-source code
• Communicate clearly inside the team
• Communicate externally, through Github, conferences or Twitter/blog posts
• Attention to detail
• Strong conviction for web3, Ethereum, and ZK technologies
• Eagerness to grow and improve

Tech stack at Sismo

• Solidity, Hardhat, ethers
• theGraph, blockchain data APIs
• Typescript
• Circom, Rust

Bonus stack:

• Foundry, forge for smart contracts
• Cairo and non-EVM smart contracts languages

Benefits

The Sismo team is deeply dedicated to the development of Sismo Protocol and the Sismo ecosystem and aggressively builds to see-through our mission… and we have great benefits for those who join us:

• Strong incentives (Salary + Tokens)
• Remote-friendly
• Participation in some of crypto’s biggest events and conferences
• Become entrenched in the ZK community