Lead Smart Contract Engineer

Who You Are:

You are an experienced smart contract engineer who has shipped production code that moves real money — and you take that responsibility seriously. You've navigated the full lifecycle from architecture to audit to mainnet deployment, and you know where things break, because you've been there when they did.

You operate at the intersection of deep technical craft and engineering leadership. You set the bar for your team rather than waiting for someone else to set it for you. You have strong opinions about testing standards, review culture, and what "done" actually means for on-chain code — and you have the communication skills to bring others along.

You're fluent across both EVM and Solana, and you understand the institutional context this work lives in: the counterparties, the compliance expectations, the custody constraints, and the reputational stakes. You know when to move fast and when to slow down and get it right.

You've integrated AI into how you work in meaningful, concrete ways — and you understand exactly where AI-generated code becomes a liability in a smart contract context. You're high-agency, comfortable with ambiguity, and accountable for outcomes. You don't wait to be pointed at a problem; you find it and own it.

What You’ll Do:

• Own the design and implementation of new on-chain primitives across both Ethereum and Solana, including staking flows, validator orchestration, vault strategies, exit and redemption mechanisms, and integrations with institutional custody.
• Drive the audit lifecycle end to end: scoping, engaging audit firms, triaging findings, implementing remediations, and shepherding code to mainnet deployment.
• Set and enforce the engineering bar within your team: testing standards, review processes, deployment runbooks, incident response, and on-call rotations for live contracts.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to translate enterprise-grade requirements — custody, compliance, settlement, operational controls — into on-chain designs that hold up to scrutiny from bank-grade counterparties.
• Mentor smart contract engineers on your team and contribute to hiring, code review culture, and career development across the broader smart contract function.
• Represent Galaxy's on-chain work externally where appropriate: with auditors, institutional clients, governance forums, and the broader Ethereum and Solana ecosystems.
• Embrace and champion the thoughtful adoption of AI to improve team performance and business outcomes.
• Leverage AI tools (e.g., generative AI, automation platforms, data copilots) to improve productivity, decision-making, and output quality in your day-to-day work.

What We’re Looking For:

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 4 years writing production smart contracts deployed at meaningful TVL across both Ethereum (Solidity) and Solana (Rust/Anchor).
• Deep expertise in EVM internals, gas optimization, and proxy/upgradeability patterns (UUPS, Transparent, Beacon), plus a working command of Solana program development, account models, and PDA design.
• A track record of shipping contracts that have cleared rigorous third-party audits (Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certora, Spearbit, Neodyme, OtterSec, or equivalent) and a working familiarity with formal verification tooling such as Certora Prover, Halmos, or Kontrol.
• Fluency in the modern toolchains on both chains: Foundry, Hardhat, Slither, Echidna on the EVM side; Anchor, Solana program test frameworks, and fuzzing tools on the Solana side. Strong testing discipline that includes invariant and fuzz testing as a default, not an afterthought.
• Hands-on experience across multiple on-chain domains relevant to institutional infrastructure: liquid staking, validator economics and slashing mechanics, tokenized vault/ERC-4626 architectures, custody integrations, or settlement and redemption flows.
• A security-first mindset and the judgment to know when to slow down, when to ship, and when to design for failure modes (pause mechanisms, circuit breakers, containment modes).
• Demonstrated seniority: you've owned architecture decisions for a team, set the bar for code review and testing standards, and mentored other smart contract engineers through audits, incidents, and complex deployments.
• Strong written communication; you can explain a subtle reentrancy, oracle staleness, or account validation risk clearly to engineers, auditors, product, and enterprise counterparties alike.
• AI fluency. You’ve integrated AI into how you work, not as a novelty but as a significant multiplier. You can speak concretely about which tools you use, what you’ve built or accelerated with them, and where they fall short — including the specific risks of using AI-generated code in a smart contract context.
• High agency. You see what needs to happen and make it happen. You’re comfortable operating with incomplete direction, taking ownership of ambiguous problems, and being accountable for outcomes — including the ones that don’t pan out. Tell us about an idea you championed and ran with.

Bonus Points:

• Experience designing or integrating on-chain systems against the requirements of GSIBs or other large regulated financial institutions — including custody, settlement, audit, compliance, and operational control expectations.
• Prior contributions to a major DeFi, liquid staking, or restaking protocol as a core contributor or named author on audited contracts.
• Experience with cross-chain message passing (CCIP, LayerZero, Wormhole) or shared sequencing/intent-based architectures.
• Familiarity with ERC-7540 (asynchronous vaults), ERC-4626 extensions, or other emerging tokenized vault standards.
• Exposure to MEV-aware design, PBS architecture, or block-building mechanics relevant to staking and validator infrastructure on either chain.
• Open-source contributions to Foundry, OpenZeppelin Contracts, Solady, Anchor, or comparable infrastructure.

What We Offer:

• Competitive base salary and discretionary bonus
• Hybrid/Flexible Working Arrangements
• Flexible Time Off (paid)
• 3% 401(k) company contribution
• Company-paid health and protective benefits for employees, partners, and other dependents
• Generous paid Parental Leave
• Competitive family planning benefits for US employees
• Opportunities to learn about the Crypto industry
• Smart, entrepreneurial, and fun colleagues
• Free daily snacks and weekly breakfasts/lunches
• Employee Resource Groups
• Free coaching and counseling sessions through Headspace

Apply now and join us on our mission to engineer a new economic paradigm.