Senior Software Engineer, Protocol (Rust)

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Protocol Team at OP Labs, you design and operate the core specifications and clients defining the OP stack. You'll work on mission-critical infrastructure that powers Optimism, a blockchain network used by hundreds of companies from Sony and Coinbase to ambitious early-stage builders. Over 65% of Layer 2 activity on Ethereum runs through the OP stack today.

What you'll do

• Own features through the full lifecycle: architecture, implementation, documentation, deployment, and monitoring, working cross-functionally to create maximum impact
• Develop kona-node and related Rust-based consensus-client infrastructure as a fully compatible and production-ready alternative to op-node
• Build rigorous conformance and adversarial tests to ensure implementation compatibility
• Execute safe protocol upgrades and resolve complex availability and performance issues
• Implement native account abstraction across the stack
• Develop premium protocol capabilities that support OP Enterprise
• Use AI-assisted engineering tools effectively while maintaining rigorous standards for correctness, security, review, and technical ownership

What you bring

• A professional record of shipping production software and maintainable Rust systems
• Deep knowledge of Ethereum (EVM, JSON-RPC, clients) and distributed systems
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and communicate complex design decisions effectively

Nice to have

• Familiarity with op-node, kona, or Reth implementations
• Ability to read and navigate production Go code while migrating behavior into Rust
• Proficiency in Solidity for system-level smart contracts

What we offer

• Health insurance fully covered by OP Labs, with a range of medical, dental, and vision plans
• 401(k) with a 4% company match
• $2,000 annual wellness stipend
• $1,000 WFH setup stipend and $1,000 learning budget
• Competitive compensation, including performance bonus and token grants
• Flexible time off with no fixed allotment
• 14 paid holidays plus two Collective Pause weeks each year: the first week of July and the week between Christmas and New Year
• Four-week sabbatical after three years, three of them paid, with equity and tokens vesting throughout
• New York hybrid or location-flexible depending on your team (engineering and technical roles are location-flexible)
• Team travel budgets so remote teammates can join in New York, plus company offsites twice a year

About OP Labs PBC

OP Labs builds Optimism, a blockchain network powering the next generation of financial infrastructure. The company has raised $178M from a16z, Paradigm, and others. The NYC office is the center of gravity, with a strong hybrid culture.