Research Cryptographer & Mathematician

Heliax is a remote-first company that researches, develops, deploys, and maintains open-source protocols and mechanisms to serve everyday needs, including Anoma and Namada projects. Applicants must be based in Europe (including the UK) and willing to travel to Berlin for initial onboarding. Responsibilities: — Design new cryptographic protocols (e.g. shielded state sync) to meet specified information flow, security, and performance goals. — Evaluate and analyze existing cryptographic protocols and proof systems (e.g. zkSNARKs, zkSTARKs, Halo2, ProtoStar, Risc0 zkVM) for security, expressivity, and performance. — Update, reimplement, and combine cryptographic protocols, customizing them for proofs-of-concept and production use-cases. — Produce comprehensive technical specifications for cryptographic designs and collaborate with engineers on implementations. — Implement, review, and test cryptographic operations and protocols, primarily in Rust, and evaluate implementations for correctness and performance. Requirements: — Mathematical and/or cryptographic background in relevant subfields (complexity theory, abstract algebra, cryptographic protocol design). — Expertise (formal or informal) in constructive protocol design and analysis of distributed cryptographic protocols. Nice to have: — Published papers in mathematics, theoretical CS, and/or cryptography. — Experience with distributed systems and/or operating systems architecture/design. — Experience with Zerocash/Zexe/VeriZexe and related architectures. — Academic qualifications in a relevant field (cryptography or mathematics). Stack includes Rust, zkSNARKs, zkSTARKs, Halo2, ProtoStar, Risc0 zkVM, Arkworks, elliptic curves, hash functions, DKG, threshold encryption. Benefits: — Relocation and visa assistance for Germany. — High degree of independence in working conditions and task prioritization. — Work closely with a small cross-disciplinary team on research-led projects. — Opportunity for travel, including initial onboarding in Berlin.