Senior Protocol Engineer
Rootstock is a Bitcoin sidechain and Layer 2 network that enables EVM-compatible smart contracts and decentralized applications secured by Bitcoin proof-of-work. It provides Bitcoin-native DeFi infrastructure, including rBTC, bridges, developer tools, and ecosystem support for builders, users, and institutions.
Funding history
Investors
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About Rootstock
Rootstock operates an EVM-compatible Bitcoin sidechain secured through merged mining and Bitcoin proof-of-work. Its infrastructure enables smart contracts, decentralized applications, Bitcoin-backed rBTC, DeFi use cases, cross-chain bridges, RPC access, an explorer, developer documentation, grants, and community programs. Rootstock serves developers building on Bitcoin, users accessing Bitcoin DeFi, and institutions exploring Bitcoin-secured financial infrastructure.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will work hands-on on the chain itself, covering sequencing, block derivation, consensus and finality, and the bridge and proof system. You will design, build, test and operate core components, maintain a large open source codebase safely for a live network, review code, write design docs and RFCs, and take part in architecture decisions. You will also test and debug a distributed system, deliver and operate releases on public chains, and collaborate with Product, DevOps and Security to ship each release.
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional software engineering, with at least 2 years in blockchain core or protocol development
- Solid production experience in mainstream languages (for example Go, Rust or Java)
- Deep knowledge of blockchain internals and the EVM: consensus, P2P networking, state and storage, transaction lifecycle, JSON-RPC
- Experience working effectively in large codebases you did not write
- AI-assisted development is a core part of your work, while owning what you deliver
- Autonomy and ownership
- Good English, spoken and written
Responsibilities
- Design, build and maintain core protocol components: execution and consensus clients, sequencer, block derivation and batch submission to the parent chain
- Work on the bridge and the proof system: deposits, withdrawals, cross-layer messages and state validation
- Maintain a large open source codebase safely for a live network
- Review code, write design docs and RFCs, and take part in architecture decisions
- Test and debug a distributed system: adversarial tests, local devnets, reorgs, node desync and performance problems
- Deliver and operate releases on public chains: upgrades, hard forks, monitoring and incidents
- Collaborate with Product, DevOps and Security to plan and ship each release
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package and unique benefits
- 100% Remote Work from Europe & Latin America, with access to global CoWorking spaces
- Paid vacation and sick leave days
- Access to training programs, language courses, and learning sponsorship annually