Do you place anonymous or pseudonymous candidates?

We can only introduce someone on facts they agree to share. Where a candidate works under a handle, that is stated explicitly in the introduction.

Can you cover non-engineering protocol roles?

Yes, including product, governance, developer relations and operational leadership.

Do you guarantee a placement?

No. Terms set out fees, milestones and any replacement period in writing before a search starts.

§ 03

Protocol & Smart Contracts

Much protocol and contract work leaves a public record: commits, deployed addresses and governance posts a candidate can point to. We run permanent searches for core protocol and smart contract engineers, and for the technical, product and commercial leadership around them.

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What this covers

· Consensus, networking and execution layer engineering
· Smart contract engineering and on-chain protocol design
· Client implementations, node software and tooling
· Protocol product, governance and developer-facing leadership

Roles we search for

· Core Protocol Engineer (consensus, execution, networking)
· Smart Contract Engineer
· Protocol Research Engineer
· Solidity / Rust / Move engineer
· Lead Protocol Engineer or Head of Protocol
· Protocol Product Manager
· Developer Relations Lead

What the brief covers

· Which layer the role actually works at, and in which language
· Whether the codebase is public, and what a candidate may read before interview
· Audit and review process the hire works inside
· Governance exposure and any public-facing expectation
· Token or equity structure, plainly stated

What we ask candidates for, according to the role

· Engineering: specific merged contributions, with the reasoning behind a design decision
· Engineering: a contract or module they wrote, what they would change now, and how they approach upgradeability and admin keys
· Product: a protocol or tooling decision they owned, and what they chose not to build
· Developer relations and community: a programme they ran, and what they were accountable for
· Operations and governance: a process they owned, such as release coordination or proposal handling
· Leadership: their remit, how they sequence protocol work against audit windows, and who they hire first

Things worth knowing before you start

· Confirm whether the codebase is public and what a candidate may read before interview
· Agree what may be shared when a candidate's work sits under an anonymous handle
· Confirm audit and release dates that affect a realistic start date
· Agree a written explanation of any token component of the package

Questions we are asked

Do you place anonymous or pseudonymous candidates?: We can only introduce someone on facts they agree to share. Where a candidate works under a handle, that is stated explicitly in the introduction.
Can you cover non-engineering protocol roles?: Yes, including product, governance, developer relations and operational leadership.
Do you guarantee a placement?: No. Terms set out fees, milestones and any replacement period in writing before a search starts.

Hiring in Protocol & Smart Contracts? Tell us what the role needs and we will say honestly whether we can help.

Discuss a hire →

Send a written brief for review Register as a candidate