Web3 Jobs: Head of Protocol Engineering

Job Description

Subspace Labs is a pioneering startup in its early stages, backed by venture capital, and fully committed to reshaping the blockchain landscape. Our primary objective is to develop the Subspace Network, a groundbreaking blockchain platform engineered for profound decentralization and scalability enhancements. By harnessing the power of Rust and Substrate technology, we are leading the charge in introducing a revolutionary proof-of-storage consensus algorithm and a detached execution framework.

Currently, we are actively searching for a Head of Protocol Engineering to join our leadership team and play a pivotal role in bringing our visionary blockchain solution to fruition. In this capacity, your key responsibility will be to translate abstract cryptographic protocols into practical engineering blueprints. You will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer and will directly contribute to the successful realization of our project.

Our team is globally distributed, and our commitment to open-source development is unwavering. Together, we are redefining the boundaries of innovation in the blockchain realm. It’s important to note that Subspace is grounded in original research supported by the US National Science Foundation and is poised to launch as a fully sovereign layer-one blockchain in the coming year. To delve deeper into our mission and explore our technical whitepaper, we invite you to visit our website.

Your responsibilities:

1. Collaborating closely with the CEO and CTO to translate abstract protocols into detailed technical specifications, formulate engineering roadmaps, and create comprehensive implementation plans.
2. Working alongside development teams to convert project estimates into feasible timelines, ensuring transparent communication and fostering visibility throughout the organization.
3. Monitoring project progress towards significant milestones by leveraging tools such as Github projects, Lucidchart, and Notion to ensure the broader team and community are well-informed.
4. Taking the lead in nurturing and empowering our protocol engineering team, which comprises over 10 engineers. Your role involves removing any obstacles hindering their progress and cultivating a productive and collaborative work environment.
5. Supervising the network deployment processes while upholding rigorous standards for documentation, code quality, and testing.
6. Contributing actively to the transition from a company-driven roadmap to a community-led approach as we oversee the migration of the engineering team to the Subspace Foundation.

Key Requirements:

1. An authentic passion for decentralized, peer-to-peer systems, accompanied by a profound comprehension of Web3 technologies.
2. A robust grounding in software engineering or computer science, validated by either academic accomplishments or substantial professional experience.
3. Demonstrated success in leading engineering teams within the blockchain, cryptocurrency, or Web3 sectors.
4. Proficiency in guiding open-source and community-driven software projects, with the ability to cultivate an inclusive and collaborative atmosphere.
5. A proven track record of effectively managing engineering teams that operate in a remote-first, globally dispersed fashion.
6. Comprehensive expertise in prominent blockchain scalability frameworks like ETH2/Rollups, Near, Solana, Polkadot, and Dfinity.

Bonus Experience:

1. Proficiency in cryptography, distributed systems, and peer-to-peer networks.
2. Familiarity with the architecture of major blockchain clients and frameworks, including Bitcoin Core, Geth/Solidity, and Substrate.
3. Experience in smart contract development, full-stack decentralized application creation, or the development and enhancement of blockchain infrastructure and tooling.
4. Competence in a systems programming language such as Rust, C/C++, or Go.