Senior Blockchain Protocol Engineer (Hybrid—Paarl)

Placements24; Paarl; Hybrid; ZAR 1,000,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Highly competitive salary

Hybrid work model

Health, retirement, and insurance

Conference and research budget

Collaborative R&D environment

Direct impact on core technology

Job summary

Placements24 in Paarl, Western Cape, is seeking a Blockchain Protocol Developer to design and optimize core blockchain protocols. You will focus on consensus mechanisms, cryptography, and network performance, collaborating with researchers and engineers.

The role requires a PhD or Master’s in CS/cryptography with a strong distributed-systems background, and hands-on experience in C++, Go, or Rust. Hybrid work model available in Paarl, offering an impactful research environment.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or Master’s in Computer Science, Cryptography, or related field with strong distributed systems focus.
• 5+ years in blockchain protocol development or major contributions to open-source projects.
• Deep understanding of blockchain architecture, cryptography, and distributed systems theory.
• Experience designing and implementing consensus algorithms.
• Proficiency in low-level languages (C++, Go, Rust).
• Experience with network programming and P2P systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with rigorous debugging ability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Hybrid work capability based in Paarl, Western Cape.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize core blockchain protocols and their algorithms.
• Develop and refine consensus mechanisms (PoW, PoS variants, BFT).
• Integrate cryptographic primitives and security features at protocol level.
• Analyze and improve network performance, scalability, and latency.
• Write clean, well-documented code in C++, Go, or Rust.
• Conduct rigorous testing and simulations to validate designs and expose vulnerabilities.
• Collaborate with research teams to explore new blockchain innovations.
• Contribute to technical docs, whitepapers, and publications.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex protocol-stack issues.

Skills

Blockchain protocol development

Distributed systems

Cryptography

Low-level programming

Network programming

Research collaboration

Problem solving

Communication skills

Education

PhD or Master's in CS or Cryptography

Tools

C++

Go

Rust

Job description

Placements24 in Paarl, Western Cape, is seeking a Blockchain Protocol Developer to design and optimize core blockchain protocols. You will focus on consensus mechanisms, cryptography, and network performance, collaborating with researchers and engineers.

The role requires a PhD or Master’s in CS/cryptography with a strong distributed-systems background, and hands-on experience in C++, Go, or Rust. Hybrid work model available in Paarl, offering an impactful research environment.