Head of Blockchain Infrastructure - Proof-of-Stake, BFT Protocols

Clearmatics is a protocol engineering company. We are building a new financial market architecture that is more open, fair, and resilient than the legacy systems that are in use today. We develop protocols and software that create new markets for risk and more efficient infrastructure for trading, backed by a robust and scalable proof-of-stake blockchain network, and secured with modern cryptographic techniques and economic mechanism design.

Clearmatics is based in London but operates on a ‘remote first’ model. We welcome candidates from all over the world. We have close ties to the Open Source and Ethereum communities, with Vitalik Buterin as an adviser.

We’re looking to hire an experienced leader for the entire gamut of activities in relation to running our nodes validating on Autonity, an EVM compatible, delegated-proof-of-stake, Byzantine Fault Tolerant Layer 1 protocol, and potentially on other public chain protocols.

We are currently running nodes for several testnets across cloud infrastructures such as GCP, AWS, Digital Ocean, and several other experimental hosting contexts, but we are always looking to improve and re-evaluate our node operational strategy and infrastructure.

Our validator node operations will be key to the success of Clearmatics. Simultaneously, your input and leadership will be required to establish community-wide node operation best practices, and to keep any infrastructure and its operation up to date with latest standards.

About you

You have experience being responsible for the operation high stake infrastructure systems and are familiar with all that this entails, such as hardware and software infrastructure management, security, resource planning, communications with the wider team and working in a highly independent and self-directed fashion. You can thrive in a fast-paced and innovative startup environment, and you are not deterred by unknowns or unfamiliar concepts.

You are currently running validator nodes for a proof-of-stake blockchain, commercially or personally. You understand the implications of protocol changes, e.g. in the context of forks and have been immersed in the blockchain world for some time.

You communicate clearly in writing and in discussions, and you are always on the lookout for ways to improve the performance, profitability, and usefulness of the nodes you are running. You love implementing efficient and highly secure systems, and have a deep rooted appreciation for how implementation details affect the big picture, and vice versa.

Responsibilities

• Manage the company’s validator node operations across several testnets and mainnets using Autonity, a new dPoS BFT L1 protocol, and in this context be responsible for internal SLAs and committed to KPIs;


• Play a key role within the global Autonity Community: participate in a leading position, and contribute to - Autonity Layer-1 design discussions within the community of node operators, developers, and other stakeholders;


• Be Clearmatics’ voice in the community of Autonity validators, coordinating client upgrades, hard forks, and emergency responses to failures;


• Specify, procure, and set up the environment and infrastructure for validator nodes, as well as associated monitoring, logging, reporting, and alerting;


• Design and implement processes around validator node operations, such as incident response, key management, change management;


• Work closely with the Clearmatics Autonity development team;


• Create and define processes to extract maximum value from validator operations (including staking/bonding of stake; reaping of validator rewards) and reduce loss risks;


• Provide training and guidance for other members of the infrastructure team, or your own direct reports, to ensure 24/7 node operation;


• Communicate technical details via open source documentation;


• Work with various teams and the wider community to engage with new trends and opportunities revealed by internal data, blockchain research and the wider blockchain industry.

Requirements

• Experience running validator nodes for a proof-of-stake blockchain, commercially or as a tinkerer;


• Ability to demonstrate a deep understanding of the implications of protocol changes, e.g. in the context of forks;


• Experience managing and running high stake infrastructure


• Experience with cryptographic key management on production systems;


• Familiarity with deploying and testing production software in various cloud environments;


• A deep and detailed understanding of accountability, consensus algorithms, and real-world risks, with a particular focus on financial and reputational implications; -The ability to work closely and in detail with technical and research teams for the practical exploration of scenarios; testing; and continuous improvement.


• Ability to reason about the economics and incentive structures of a blockchain system confidently

Nice to have

• Experience managing validator nodes for a delegated-proof-of-stake Byzantine Fault Tolerant blockchain mainnet;


• Familiarity with deploying and testing blockchain nodes in various cloud environments;


• An entrepreneurial inclination


• Experience with redundant systems and distributed data storage solutions (e.g. CEPH) In-depth experience with cloud hosting platforms


• A keen interest in decentralised and traditional Financial Markets