Join Ephemera, Build the Future of Onchain Messaging
We are seeking an experienced Staff-level Smart Contracts Engineer to lead the design, development, and maintenance of mission-critical blockchain systems with a focus on tokenomics. You will own the end-to-end lifecycle of smart contracts - from architecture and implementation to audits, deployment, and upgrades.
What You’ll Be Working On
- Writing and deploying smart contracts that govern the economics of the XMTP protocol
- Working with the team to design novel incentive models to reward offchain node operators and collect messaging fees
- Design & Implement Tokenomics Contracts: Lead the development of complex token contracts (ERC-20, staking, governance, vesting, distribution, liquidity management) tailored to evolving protocol needs
- Upgradability & Governance: Architect upgradeable contracts (e.g., via OpenZeppelin proxy patterns) ensuring safe, controlled, and transparent change management
- Security & Audits: Champion security best practices, lead internal reviews, coordinate with third-party auditors, and implement continuous monitoring of deployed contracts
- Production-Grade Operations: Manage large-scale funds in production environments, ensuring availability, integrity, and protection of treasury and user assets
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with economics, product, and legal teams to translate tokenomics know-how into practical, deployable smart contract systems
- Mentorship & Standards: Establish engineering best practices for smart contract development, mentor other engineers, and raise the bar for security, efficiency, and maintainability
Your Experience
- Minimum of 7+ years of professional experience as a software engineer, staff level
- Extensive experience designing, building, and maintaining cryptoeconomic systems
- Architected and designed complex protocols onchain
- Experience working with auditors to find vulnerabilities
- Writing well-tested Solidity code
Qualifications
Technical Expertise
- 5+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years focused on Solidity / EVM-based smart contracts
- Proven track record of deploying and maintaining production-grade contracts managing significant funds
- Deep familiarity with tokenomics mechanisms: staking, bonding curves, vesting, emissions schedules, treasury management
- Strong understanding of EVM internals, gas optimization, and advanced contract design patterns
- Hands-on experience with upgradable contracts, proxy patterns, and governance-controlled upgrade systems
Security Focus
- Prior experience working with formal verification, fuzzing, or static analysis tools
- Contributions to audits, incident response, or security-critical systems
Leadership
- Ability to balance long-term protocol sustainability with near-term delivery needs
Nice-to-Haves
- Experienced simulating economic systems using deterministic and/or stochastic modeling techniques
- Experience working in open source and communicating with the public
- Experience working as an auditor
About You
- You are passionate about decentralized technology and believe in an onchain future
- You love to win and are fueled by solving hard problems
- You are self-directed, see opportunities and are inspired by challenges and helping solve them
- You have a small team mindset and are focused on where you can have the greatest impact
- You love to learn, are not afraid of changing your opinion or being wrong
Benefits
- Competitive compensation package, Base + Equity
- Salary range between $235k–$275k base (depending on experience + location)
- Remote-first environment with semi-yearly gatherings to connect IRL
- Fully paid Medical, Dental, Vision insurance in the US
- Parental Leave
- IT Equipment and WFH setup
- Monthly Wellness and Lifestyle stipend
- Personal assistant
- Unlimited time off
Compensation Range: $235K - $275K
