Staff Smart Contracts Engineer

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
• Prior experience working with formal verification, fuzzing, or static analysis tools
• Contributions to audits, incident response, or security-critical systems
• Ability to balance long-term protocol sustainability with near-term delivery needs
• Experienced simulating economic systems using deterministic and/or stochastic modeling techniques

Security Focus

Leadership

Nice-To-Haves

• 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