You will be contributing to an ambitious technological project that aims at becoming the leading wallet provider of the multi-trillion-dollar digital asset industry.

You will join an amazing team of leaders (Chief Scientist, Head of Security, CTO) and experts (Protocol Engineers, Cryptographers, Offensive Security Engineers) in a highly challenging and collaborative environment. We are seeking a very skilled and motivated Cryptography Intern, who is detail-oriented, proficient with applied cryptography to blockchain and DeFi, and who flourishes in high-pressure environments, to join our growing scale-up in Web3 security.

Dfns Labs, the research division of Dfns, seeks MS/Ph.D students with a substantial aptitude in applied cryptography for remote internships spanning 2 to 12 months. These internships will encompass the design, analysis, and implementation of threshold protocols and related cryptographic primitives. Opportunities for internships are available throughout the year, commencing in the summer of 2023. We welcome applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds with distinctive outlooks.

Responsibilities

Your primary goal will be to research, develop, and maintain high-quality cryptographic protocols that is aligned with customer needs and business goals.

Your day-to-day projects will involve:

• Carry out fundamental and applied research collaboratively with the research team.

• Develop proof-of-concepts exhibiting common MPC, threshold cryptography, and zero-knowledge proof implementations. 

• Act as a powerhouse of ideas on all cryptographic and research issues.

• Collaborate with the research and engineering team on technical research tasks. 

• Contribute to academic articles and blog posts. 

• Stay apprised of the newest advancements in crypto, DeFi, and blockchain.

• Interact with a team of cryptographers and engineers to contribute to the company’s research plan.

Requirements

• Must be enrolled in a Ph.D. program in Computer Science, Cryptography, or a related technical field. 

• Must have a good understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of cryptography. 

• Must be familiar with publishing in peer-reviewed conferences and journals.

• Should have hands-on experience with cryptographic protocols. Must demonstrate a sound understanding of MPC, zero-knowledge proofs, zk-STARKs, zk-SNARKs, bulletproofs, elliptic curve cryptography and prominent signature schemes. 

• Should possess a working knowledge of cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies. 

• Must possess superior written and verbal communication skills. 

• Must be passionate and knowledgeable about blockchains/web3 and their underlying technologies. 

• [BONUS] Should possess prior work experience in blockchain and/or decentralized finance.

Process

1. Intro call with COO or Chief Scientist (30mn).

2. Focus interview with hiring panel (60mn).

3. [OPTIONAL] Final interview with CEO (30mn).

4. Submission for approval by the Risk Committee.

Terms

• Title: Cryptography Intern

• Compensation: Attractive salary, eventual vested equity and full-time job available post internship if there is a fit.

• Location: Remote, Paris or New York preferred (can accommodate Swiss, Polish, Croatian, and Emirati contracts in addition to other locations in US and France for the right candidate).

• Benefits: PTO, sponsored transportation, gym, food, Apple devices, home office equipment, team retreats, and more.

• Team: Jonathan Katz (professor at the University of Maryland and one of the pioneers of secure computation and distributed cryptography), Denis Varlakov (lead protocol engineer and main contributor to the open-source MPC/TSS libraries of ZenGo X), Nikita Sorokovikov (MSc in cryptography and computer security from Tomsk University), and Chelsea Komlo (PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, co-author of FROST and core team member of the ZCash Foundation), along with advisor Nigel Smart (professor at the University of Leuven, cofounder of Unbound and one of the most prominent pioneers of applied MPC).