Sr. Protocol Engineer

Magic Labs; New York (NY); Remote; USD 200,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading crypto and AI company is seeking a Senior Protocol Engineer to develop the core protocol, utilizing Rust and Solidity. Candidates should have over 7 years of experience, strong proficiency with blockchain fundamentals, and the ability to handle high-traffic systems. The role offers a remote-first culture and competitive compensation in the range of $200,000-$230,000 for US candidates.

Benefits

Remote-first culture with flexible working hours

Stock options and token grants

99% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance

100% company-paid life and disability insurance

401(k) plan (US) or pension plan (CAN)

$3,600 annual reimbursement for remote work

Flexible time off

Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave

Qualifications

• 7+ years as a Full‑Stack Engineer or equivalent experience.
• Strong proficiency with blockchain fundamentals.
• Proven track record at scale – handling tens of millions of user requests.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement protocol features end-to-end.
• Build, optimize, and scale services and contracts.
• Work closely with product and security teams.

Skills

Production-grade Rust services

Solidity

Blockchain fundamentals

System design for efficiency

Mentorship and autonomous execution

AI coding tools

Job description

**About Magic Labs

** Magic is innovating at the intersection of crypto and AI to make wallets invisible and capable of running on autopilot.

In 2018, we introduced the first embedded wallet, enabling users to create wallets with just an email or social login. This approach has since become standard across much of the industry. To date, we’ve helped onboard over 50 million wallets and 200,000 developers, supporting projects like Polymarket, Helium, WalletConnect, and Immutable, as well as enterprises such as Forbes, Mattel, and Naver. We’re backed by investors including PayPal Ventures, Lightspeed, Placeholder, SV Angel, Naval Ravikant, and Balaji Srinivasan.

Today, we’re building Newton to help bring about the wallet endgame—where AI and automation completely abstract away the complexity of onchain interactions beyond wallet creation. This means applying state-of-the-art technologies from both AI and crypto and delivering them through a product and protocol that can scale to billions. Our vision is a future of self-driving capital that extends the financial system upgrade made possible by web3.

This role is open to candidates based anywhere in the US or Canada, with a slight preference for those in commuting distance of NYC.

Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship (ex., H-1B transfer) of employment visas, and applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the US or Canada.

Role Overview We’re seeking a Senior Protocol Engineer to join the Protocol team. You’ll play an integral role in building the core protocol, from developing smart contracts (Solidity), to contributing to our operators (Rust). This role will solve challenging implementation problems at crypto-scale, work closely with product and design in implementing features to support new verticals.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and implement protocol features end-to-end. From building protocol level features in Rust to developing middleware contracts in Solidity.
• Build, optimize, and scale services and contracts
• Work closely with product and security teams (internal + external) to ensure our systems and contracts meet our security standards
• Lead and collaborate as appropriate with other engineers, drive code reviews, set best practices for maintainable, scalable architecture.

Required Skills

• 7+ years as a Full‑Stack Engineer or equivalent experience, with a focus on:

• Protocol: Production-grade Rust services

• EVM: Solidity

• Proven track record at scale – building high‑traffic, low‑latency systems (e.g., handling tens of millions of user requests).

• Strong proficiency with blockchain fundamentals (EVM — i.e memory/storage, gas model), and understanding of core EIPs on EVM.

• Strong system design skills for efficiency and scalability of the system

• Experience of working on building blockchain protocols (L1, L2s, bridges, oracle networks, relayers, bundlers, solvers, etc.)

• Strong understanding of security best practices both in Rust based systems and Solidity contracts.

• Excellent communication, mentorship, and autonomous execution at a senior engineering level.

• Proficiency with AI coding tools (Copilot, Cursor, Claude code, etc.)

Preferred Skills

• Direct experience building with or contributing to Eigenlayer operator binaries/middleware or to blockchain/dapp infrastructure (i.e L2s/L1s)
• Experience developing against L1s/L2s both EVM or non-EVM
• Knowledge of secure enclaves, zero knowledge proofs, and cryptography—handling secure approvals, cryptographic proofs (TEEs, ZKPs, MPC, via ZKvms i.e Succinct).
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure at scale—Kubernetes/ECS, serverless, CI/CD (GitHub Actions), distributed logging/metrics.

Salary Range

• For candidates based in the US, this role’s annual base salary is USD $200,000-$230,000
• For candidates based in Canada, this role’s annual base salary is CAD $175,000-$205,000

The final offer will take into account several factors, including your experience, skill set, and location. We also consider how your background aligns with the role and what we’re building as a team.

Benefits and Perks:

• Remote-first culture with flexible working hours
• Stock options and token grants
• 99% company-paid medical*, dental and vision insurance
• 100% company-paid life and disability insurance
• 401(k) plan (US) or pension plan (CAN)
• $3,600 annual reimbursement for remote work, wellness, and professional development
• Flexible time off
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Canada coverage differs.

At Magic, we build with inclusion in mind, from our products to our team. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds and identities to apply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We’re committed to making our hiring process accessible to everyone. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process, please complete our Accommodation Request Form . US Candidates: Magic Labs, Inc. participates in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new US hires. For more information, please see the E-Verify Participation Poster and the Right to Work Poster .

• Canada coverage differs.

At Magic, we build with inclusion in mind, from our products to our team. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds and identities to apply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We’re committed to making our hiring process accessible to everyone. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process, please complete our Accommodation Request Form . US Candidates: Magic Labs, Inc. participates in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new US hires. For more information, please see the E-Verify Participation Poster and the Right to Work Poster .