Protocol / Technical Lead

About the role

The Protocol / Technical Lead is the Foundation's senior technical voice and the steward of the Autheo network's long-term technical integrity. You will not write all the code, but you will be the person builders, validators, and grantees look to for technical direction, standards-setting, and protocol governance. This role requires hands-on blockchain expertise combined with the communication skills to represent the Foundation's technical positions clearly to the community and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Maintain the Autheo protocol standards roadmap: consensus mechanism upgrades, EVM compatibility updates, IBC integration priorities, and post-quantum cryptography adoption timeline
• Lead the technical review of all grant applications, including written assessments and technical findings to the Grants Committee
• Cook up network upgrade proposals along side the Autheo Engineering Team for community coordination, testnet deployment, and mainnet activation
• Serve as the primary technical liaison: communicate upgrade requirements, provide technical support during network events, and gather infrastructure feedback
• Oversee the Foundation's security posture: coordinate third-party audits, review audit reports, manage responsible disclosure for reported vulnerabilities, and publish security advisories
• Evaluate and provide technical guidance on open-source repositories maintained or funded by the Foundation, including code review standards, documentation requirements, and testing expectations
• Represent the Foundation's technical perspective at conferences, in research publications, and in cross-chain working groups

Requirements

Experience with blockchain protocol engineering; familiarity with at least one major L1 or L2 stack
Strong expertise and understanding of EVM equivalence / compatibility tradeoffs
Experience leading or participating in live network upgrades and external stakeholder coordination
Familiarity with cryptographic primitives relevant to blockchain systems: hash functions, zk-proofs, signature schemes, and post-quantum candidates
Prior experience reviewing smart contract audits, threat models, or security research
Ability to communicate highly technical concepts clearly in writing and in public presentations

Qualifications

• Nice to have: Published research or significant open-source contributions
• Nice to have: Experience with decentralized identity standards (W3C DID, Verifiable Credentials, ERC-725/735)
• Nice to have: Background in AI/ML systems at the infrastructure level, particularly agent orchestration or on-chain AI verification
• Nice to have: Prior role at an established blockchain foundation or core development team

Skills

Experience with blockchain protocol engineering; familiarity with at least one major L1 or L2 stack
Strong expertise and understanding of EVM equivalence / compatibility tradeoffs
Experience leading or participating in live network upgrades and external stakeholder coordination
Familiarity with cryptographic primitives relevant to blockchain systems: hash functions, zk-proofs, signature schemes, and post-quantum candidates
Prior experience reviewing smart contract audits, threat models, or security research
Ability to communicate highly technical concepts clearly in writing and in public presentations

Benefits

Equity shares in Autheo & AUTHEO token allocation
Remote-first culture
Mission-driven work at the frontier of decentralized technology
Direct impact on foundation strategy and ecosystem direction

Pay

Salaried compensation is expected to begin within 4 to 5 months, following our node, token sales or funding.

Schedule

Part-time position