ZK Circuit Engineer

What We're Building

At Succinct, our mission is to empower developers to use zero-knowledge proofs to create the next-generation of blockchain applications. We work with some of the best teams in the space to develop powerful applications enabled by ZK including DA protocols, alt L1s, liquid staking protocols and more. We have a track record of shipping excellent products and cutting-edge technical work in ZK and have traction and revenue. 

Our team is small but incredibly strong, with ample funding from the best investors in crypto. We’re looking for exceptional people who are excited to work hard on challenging and impactful problems in a fast-paced environment. Our office is located in SF and we have a strong preference for candidates based there for this role.

The Role

We are looking for a zkSNARK cryptography engineer to build and optimize fundamental cryptographic primitives as ZK circuits. This role will involve optimizing existing circuits, building novel ZK circuits and taking them to production, and contributing towards new frameworks for helping other developers build with ZK. Most work in this role will be open-source and you can check our examples of what we’ve built so far here:

• https://github.com/succinctlabs/gnark-plonky2-verifier

• https://github.com/succinctlabs/curta

• https://github.com/succinctlabs/succinctx/tree/main/plonky2x

Most of this work will be open-source, presenting an exciting opportunity to contribute and collaborate deeply with the rest of the ZK ecosystem. A background in ZK is not necessary as long as the candidate has extremely strong mathematical and algorithmic fundamentals.

Qualifications

• Prior experience developing zkSNARK circuits OR

• Extremely strong problem-solving and engineering fundamentals 

  • A strong knowledge of algorithms or prior competition programming or competition math experience is a good sign

• Detail oriented, security is paramount

• Ownership mindset 

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

Nice to have

• Strong math and/or cryptography background

• Strong knowledge of algorithms or optimizations

• Familiarity with optimized systems programming, VMs

• Familiarity with Rust

Location

Everyone on our team is located in San Francisco and works together in-person. Ideally, we’re looking for someone who enjoys in-person work and is already in San Francisco or willing to relocate (we can cover relocation costs). For senior candidates who are an exceptional fit, we’d consider a remote position as long as you’re available to onboard in-person for the first few months (so that we can get you up to speed with our codebase and culture).

Even if the listed qualifications don't seem like an exact match, passionate and enthusiastic people who love to quickly learn are always welcome! Feel free to reach out or apply regardless and we would love to chat.