Applied Cryptographer

About Pluto

Pluto builds cutting-edge, developer-friendly tools for adding advanced cryptography functionality to applications. Our mission is to commoditize trust and empower everyone to build sovereign economies. We will do so while shipping useful intermediate products.

We are a small team of builders. Our team has previously worked at Uber, Stripe, Lockheed Martin, Aztec and YC-funded startups.

The Role

We are hiring for a skilled Zero Knowledge (ZK) Circuit Engineer who will play a pivotal role in developing our advanced cryptography tooling. As part of our dynamic team, you'll be tasked with implementing and optimizing state-of-the-art cryptographic code, focusing on zero-knowledge circuits for private computation and proof generation. Your expertise in modern zero-knowledge proving systems, coupled with your systems programming experience and knowledge of cryptographic frameworks, will be crucial in innovating and advancing our cutting-edge products.

Your contributions will shape the product & technical strategy and present an opportunity to participate in building a new product from the ground up. We are looking for you if you have positive energy, an optimistic outlook about the future, and you are determined to get there. You embrace learning about new things and can pivot on the fly.

What You'll Be Doing

• Implement and optimize open-source cutting-edge cryptography and complex zero knowledge circuits for proof generation and private computation, focusing on circuit construction and optimization.

• Research and implement cryptographic academic papers, exploring novel techniques and ideas.

• Development of open-source zero knowledge developer tools.

• Work with systems engineers to integrate your circuits.

What We Look For

• Strong math and cryptography background.

• Deep understanding of modern zero knowledge proving systems and cryptographic primitives like zk-SNARKs (e.g., PLONK) and frameworks like halo2, r1cs, plonky2.

• Strong knowledge of algorithms or optimizations.

• Experience with Rust.

• A high degree of ownership, taking responsibility for projects from inception to completion.

Nice to Have

• Experience in advanced cryptographic techniques like multi-party computation (MPC).

• Experience building with trusted enclaves like Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) or other Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).

• Understanding of the internals of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) or other Virtual Machine architectures.

• Experience with Solidity and smart contract development.

• Experience building open-source developer tools.

Benefits

• Medical Plan, Dental and Vision Plan with generous employee contributions

• Health Savings Account with company contributions each pay period

• Disability and Life Insurance

• Internet and Gym Membership Reimbursement

• Remote-First Stipend (Your choice of technical setup and equipment)

• Conference Travel Stipend

• Quarterly team offsites

• Open Vacation Policy

How to Apply

If you're excited about designing the future of cryptographic tools and making complex technology accessible, we'd love to hear from you. Please send your portfolio and resume to [[email protected]].

How to Apply

If you're excited about designing the future of cryptographic tools and making complex technology accessible, we'd love to hear from you. Please send your portfolio and resume to [[email protected]].