Staff Blockchain Engineer, Protocols

The engineering team at Chainalysis is driven by the challenge of solving complex technical problems and building products that foster trust in cryptocurrencies. We are a globally distributed organization with teams in Denmark, the UK, Canada, and the USA, who thrive on tackling demanding tasks alongside exceptionally talented colleagues. Our industry is in constant flux, and our mission is to create user-facing products supported by a flexible and scalable data platform, enabling us to adapt to rapid changes and deliver substantial value to our customers.

We are building the foundational data platform for blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3. The Protocol Acquisition (PA) team, within the Blockchain Foundations group, is responsible for the critical task of ingesting cryptocurrency blockchain data. We are seeking a Staff Blockchain Engineer to lead the design, development, and strategic evolution of our large-scale data systems, which underpin all Chainalysis products and services.

As a Staff Blockchain Engineer on the Protocol Acquisition team, you will be a technical leader and strategic driver, responsible for the technical Leadership and architectural vision, scalability and performance optimization and provide Cryptocurrency and Blockchain expertise. Also  providing cross-functional collaboration and mentorship to the team.

This is a fully remote role within the East Coast time zone of North America.

In this role, you’ll:

• Provide architectural guidance and technical leadership in the design and implementation of highly scalable, reliable, and performant data systems for ingesting and parsing cryptocurrency blockchain data.

• Define and enforce best practices for software development, data engineering, and blockchain integration across the PA team.

• Lead the evaluation and adoption of new blockchain technologies, tools, and methodologies to enhance the platform's capabilities.

• Drive the long-term technical roadmap for the PA team, aligning with the company's strategic objectives and anticipating future industry trends.

• Architect and implement solutions to significantly scale the collection of blockchain data, enabling faster and more efficient onboarding of new chains.

• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, ensuring optimal efficiency and reliability of data ingestion and processing pipelines.

• Design and implement robust monitoring and alerting systems to ensure the health and stability of production services.

• Serve as a subject matter expert on cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies, providing guidance and mentorship to team members and other stakeholders.

• Conduct in-depth research and analysis of emerging blockchain protocols and technologies, evaluating their potential impact on Chainalysis products and services.

• Represent the PA team in cross-functional technical discussions and initiatives, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing across the organization.

• Collaborate closely with product management, data science, and other engineering teams to define and deliver innovative solutions that meet customer needs.

• Mentor and guide junior and mid-level engineers, fostering their technical growth and development.

• Lead technical design reviews and code reviews, ensuring high-quality and maintainable code.

• Support production services including debugging and maintenance, and create strategies to reduce production issues.

We’re looking for candidates who have:

• Extensive experience (8+ years) in software engineering, with a strong focus on blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies and protocols.

• Proven track record of designing and implementing large-scale, distributed systems in a cloud environment (AWS preferred).

• Deep understanding and practical experience with multiple blockchain protocols (e.g., Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Optimistic rollups, ZK rollups).

• Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor engineering teams, driving technical excellence and innovation.

• Strong architectural skills, with the ability to design and implement scalable and reliable data systems.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• A proven history of successfully delivering large scale projects.

Technologies we use (experience not required)

• AWS serverless architectures (Lambda, API Gateway, etc.)

• Kubernetes and container orchestration

• PostgreSQL and other relational databases

• Spark and distributed data processing

• Typescript and Java programming languages

• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)

• Kafka and message queuing systems

• Git/GitHub, including GitHub Actions for CI/CD

About Chainalysis

Blockchain technology is powering a growing wave of innovation. Businesses and governments around the world are using blockchains to make banking more efficient, connect with their customers, and investigate criminal cases. As adoption of blockchain technology grows, more and more organizations seek access to all this ecosystem has to offer. That’s where Chainalysis comes in. We provide complete knowledge of what’s happening on blockchains through our data, services, and solutions. With Chainalysis, organizations can navigate blockchains safely and with confidence.

You belong here. 

At Chainalysis, we believe that diversity of experience and thought makes us stronger. With both customers and employees around the world, we are committed to ensuring our team reflects the unique communities around us. Some of the ways we’re ensuring we keep learning are an internal Diversity Committee, Days of Reflection throughout the year including International Women’s Day, Harvey Milk Day, World Humanitarian Day, and UN International Migrants Day, and a commitment to continue revisiting and reevaluating our diversity culture. 

We encourage applicants across any race, ethnicity, gender/gender expression, age, spirituality, ability, experience and more. If you need any accommodations to make our interview process more accessible to you due to a disability, don't hesitate to let us know. You can learn more here. We can’t wait to meet you.