Core ZK Engineer - Linea

Consensys; Camden Town; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading blockchain company is seeking a Core Zero-Knowledge Engineer to develop and implement zero-knowledge protocols for zk-EVM. The role requires a deep understanding of cryptographic principles, hands-on experience in designing ZK circuits, and strong programming skills. Join a remote-friendly and innovative team committed to shaping the future of Ethereum scalability and privacy. Excellent problem-solving abilities are essential, along with the ability to challenge and refine solutions.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing ZK circuits.
• Familiarity with mathematical and cryptographic concepts used in ZK.
• Experience working with Git and CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Refine the zk-EVM structure for scalability and compatibility.
• Build and optimize ZK proving systems.
• Collaborate to design and implement cryptographic protocols.

Skills

Cryptographic principles

ZK circuits design

Programming in Rust, C++, or Go

Optimizing computations

Problem-solving skills

Education

Advanced degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, Cryptography, or related field

Job description

We are seeking a skilled and passionate Core Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Engineer to join our team in building and implementing zero-knowledge protocols, circuits, and provers for a zk-EVM (Zero-Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine). As a Core ZK Engineer, you will play a key role in pushing the boundaries of blockchain scalability and computation delegation, and performance by crafting cutting-edge cryptographic solutions that power ZK rollups and other decentralized applications.

Your work will focus on developing and optimizing zero-knowledge circuits and protocols to create an efficient, secure, and decentralized zk-EVM. If you are excited about the intersection of cryptography, blockchain, and Ethereum's technical ecosystem, we want to hear from you!

Responsibilities

• Help to refine the zk-EVM structure to ensure scalability, correctness, and Ethereum compatibility.
• Build and optimize ZK proving systems, ensuring efficient performance and reduced computational overhead.
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers to design and implement cutting-edge cryptographic protocols.
• Ensure security and correctness of all ZK implementations, rigorously testing and auditing circuits, protocols, and provers.
• Contribute to the development of supporting libraries and tooling to enhance ZK development.
• Stay up-to-date with advancements in cryptography, Ethereum's ecosystem, and zero-knowledge proofs.
• Participate in design decisions and code reviews for zk-EVM components.
• Work closely with product teams to ensure your implementations meet the functional and performance requirements of the zk-EVM.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of cryptographic principles, SNARK protocols, polynomial commitments, lookup protocols and the underlying mathematical concepts.
• Hands‑on experience designing and implementing ZK circuits and/or experience maintaining circuit‑design tools.
• Familiarity with all the mathematical and cryptographic concepts used in ZK: finite fields, polynomials, hash functions, error correcting codes.
• Strong programming skills in languages like Rust, C++, or Go; experience with Solidity is a plus.
• Familiarity with Ethereum, the EVM and Layer‑2 scaling solutions.
• Experience optimizing complex computations, either on CPU, GPU, FPGA.

General Skills

• Strong problem‑solving skills and attention to detail, with a focus on achieving correctness, soundness and efficiency in ZK implementations.
• Ability to challenge his own and his peers' solutions.
• Ability to write clean, maintainable, and well‑documented code.
• Experience working in a collaborative environment using Git, CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with in‑production code.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Mathematics, Computer Science, Cryptography, or related field.
• Published research or contributions to open‑source zero‑knowledge proof or cryptographic projects.
• Experiences working on ZK projects or L2 projects.
• Contributions to cryptographic libraries or tools.

If you are passionate about zero‑knowledge cryptography and excited to shape the future of Ethereum scalability and privacy, we encourage you to apply and join our team! Don’t meet all the requirements? Don’t sweat it. We’re passionate about building a diverse team of humans and as such, if you think you’ve got what it takes for our chaotic‑but‑fun, remote‑friendly, start‑up environment—apply anyway, detailing your relevant transferable skills in your cover letter. While we have a pretty good idea of what we need, we’re ready for you to challenge our thinking on who needs to be in this role.

Consensys is the leading blockchain and web3 software company founded by Joe Lubin, CEO of Consensys and Co‑Founder of Ethereum. Since 2014, Consensys has been at the forefront of innovation, pioneering technological developments within the web3 ecosystem. Through our product suite, including the MetaMask platform, Infura, Linea, Diligence, and our NFT toolkit Phosphor, we have become the trusted collaborator for users, creators, and developers on their path to build and belong in the world they want to see. Whether building a dapp, an NFT collection, a portfolio, or a better future, the instinct to build is universal. Consensys inspires and champions the builder instinct in everyone by making web3 universally easy to use and develop on. Our mission is to unlock the collaborative power of communities by making the decentralized web universally easy to access, use, and build on. You’ll get to work on the tools, infrastructure, and apps that scale these platforms to onboard one billion participants and 5 million developers. You’ll be constantly exposed to new concepts, ideas, and frameworks from your peers, and as you work on different projects—challenging you to stay at the top of your game. You’ll join a network of builders that reaches the edge of our ecosystem. Consensys alumni have moved on to become tech entrepreneurs, CEOs, and team leads at tech companies.