Kernel Software Engineer - JavaScript Virtual Machine

The core of the Agoric's open-source, proof-of-stake blockchain is our kernel or JavaScript Virtual Machine. It orchestrates the execution of stateful smart contracts; allowing them to safely operate & communicate asynchronously.

What you will be doing

As a Kernel Software Engineer at Agoric, you will be an integral contributor to this critical piece of software.  You will help to architect, design, and implement new kernel capabilities and features, including but not limited to: improved parallel performance, horizontal scalability, priority message queuing, scheduling, tracing, and tooling to diagnose request failures end-to-end.

You will innovate in a rich ecosystem of contracts, working with a team of world-class computer security and programming language developers, cryptographers, economists, business leaders and community builders; all of whom have the mission of making decentralized smart contracts an everyday reality.

• Design and develop new features and capabilities in the Agoric kernel, maximizing performance, scalability, and security
• Collaborate with other team members and stakeholders on all parts of the Agoric stack including the Cosmos Interchain Stack and the smart contract layers.
• Provide technical input on planning, design, and requirements-gathering for features
• Participate in design & code reviews, with an eye towards information security concerns 
• Understand the trends within the company and in the blockchain smart contract landscape. Offer ideas and collaborative solutions to others at Agoric and in the ecosystem.
• Participate in open source development on shared resources with external development teams.
• Identify improvement areas within the system and work to implement the same

What we look for in you

• 7+ years of back-end software development
• Have worked on kernels and/or building distributed systems (the larger the scale the better).
• Systems design experience
• BA, BS, MS, PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or other relevant discipline

Nice to haves

• Demonstrated interest in blockchain technology and smart contracts
• Have previous experience at a fast-paced, high growth stage internet/software company
• Contributed to open-source projects