Cryptography Engineer (GPU + ZK)

About Us:

We’re building foundational infrastructure for the next generation of privacy-preserving, decentralized systems – with zero-knowledge cryptography at the core. Backed by top-tier investors and operating in stealth mode, we’re solving real scalability and privacy challenges through GPU-accelerated cryptographic systems.

We’re looking for an experienced Cryptography Engineer with deep expertise in GPU programming and ZK systems to join our team. This is an implementation-heavy role in the early phase, focused on building and optimizing high-performance ZK proof systems. As the product matures, you’ll transition into a hybrid role with equal parts R&D and implementation.

The Role:

You will:

• Implement and optimize ZK proof systems (e.g., zkSNARKs, zkSTARKs, PLONK, Halo2) for GPU architectures using CUDA, OpenCL, or Vulkan.
• Accelerate low-level cryptographic primitives such as FFTs, MSMs, and field/arithmetic operations using GPU parallelism.
• Work closely with protocol engineers and cryptographers to bring proof systems from theory into production.
• Collaborate with systems engineers to integrate ZK circuits into broader applications (e.g., L2 rollups, privacy layers, verifiable compute).
• Conduct benchmarking, profiling, and fine-tuning of prover performance across hardware configurations.
• Contribute to future protocol design, proof system optimizations, and internal research efforts after product launch.
• Stay up to date on the latest ZK papers, tools (like Arkworks, gnark, Halo2, Nova), and community best practices.

Requirements:

Must-Have:

• 3+ years experience implementing cryptographic or GPU-accelerated systems in production.
• Strong experience with GPU programming (CUDA required; OpenCL or Vulkan is a plus).
• Deep understanding of ZK proof systems and primitives like elliptic curves, polynomial commitments, and finite field arithmetic.
• Proficiency in systems languages such as C++, Rust, or CUDA C.
• Solid grasp of performance optimization, parallelization, and numerical computing.
• Comfortable working in low-level environments with a high degree of autonomy.

Nice-to-Have:

• Experience with Rust-based ZK stacks like Halo2, Arkworks, or gnark.
• Experience contributing to or auditing cryptographic libraries or provers.
• Background in applied cryptography, formal methods, or compiler tooling for circuits.
• Familiarity with recursive proofs, SNARK-friendly hash functions, or protocol design.
• Prior work in L2 rollups, zkVMs, or decentralized identity/privacy solutions.

What We Offer:

• Work on bleeding-edge cryptographic infrastructure with real-world impact.
• Competitive compensation (salary + equity/token allocation).
• Deep technical ownership and a collaborative, research-driven environment.
• Flexible work arrangements and global team culture.
• Direct collaboration with domain experts in cryptography, ZK, and high-performance computing.

Join us to build a faster, more private, and more verifiable future.

Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.

Reece Waldon