Director of Security
Oversee security for Zcash’s wallets and infrastructure, lead incident response, manage audits, and ensure robust defenses against evolving threats in a fully remote role.
- Compensation
- $185K–$230K / yr
- Location
- United States
- Work setup
- Remote
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Not specified
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- A commitment to our users’ privacy, and to the cypherpunk ethos of empowering freedom and autonomy by making secure, well-designed cryptography more widely accessible.
- ZODL development is fully distributed with team members from Europe to the Americas to New Zealand, so you will need to be confident in working internationally across different contexts and time zones
- Experience with open-source software development and overseeing the security aspects of implementing protocols to detailed specifications.
- Deep knowledge of cryptography is not required, but is highly desirable. A willingness to learn about cryptographic issues is essential.
- This is a management role, but we would expect a Director of Security to also have hands-on experience with developing secure and reliable code in modern programming languages similar to Rust, Swift,
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and external partners.
- The ability to work to deadlines and to hold themself accountable for short- and long-term success.
- Excellent leadership skills, with a talent for building consensus and fostering a collaborative environment.
- Ability to make crucial, informed decisions under pressure, upholding the security and privacy interests of Zcash users and ZODL staff.
Nice to have
- Blockchain-related experience is strongly favoured. Smart contract experience is beneficial to the extent that it provides perspective on secure design when Zcash interacts with other ecosystems.
- Administering or participating in security response processes.
- Cryptography and protocol design (we will also teach you on the job).
- Security analysis of protocols or algorithms; formal methods; high-assurance software or hardware development.
Full description
Director of Security
ZODL (Zcash Open Development Lab)
Location: Remote
Reports to: Head of Engineering and Head of Research and Assurance
Compensation: $185K–$230K base + equity
About Zodl
Zodl (Zcash Open Development Lab) is building the software necessary to onboard billions of users to Zcash. Created by the original inventors and developers of the Zcash protocol, we deliver world-class UX for ZEC on top of our core protocol work.
Our product suite includes Zodl mobile (iOS and Android) with built-in cross-chain swaps, and Zallet, a full-node Zcash wallet written in Rust, built as a replacement for the zcashd wallet. On the horizon: Zodl Vault (a desktop wallet for multisig, inheritance, and institutional use cases), web-based wallets, and headless/agentic wallet infrastructure.
The Role
Zcash and ZODL have an enviable reputation for security assurance and for the thoroughness of our responses to past security issues. But as Zcash’s market cap increases, so do the risks and potential attention from adversaries.
We are seeking a Director of Security to take responsibility for overseeing and improving the following processes within ZODL:
- Working with the team leaders and engineers to maintain and further improve the high standards of security and resilience that ZODL and Zcash’s protocols and software have come to be known for.
- Administering and improving the security incident response process within ZODL. You will be responsible for managing effective, quick, and thorough responses to security vulnerabilities discovered in our software, supply chains, and infrastructure, interacting with external security researchers who may have found vulnerabilities and representatives of other projects that may be affected. This includes ensuring that staff are familiar with the security incident response process.
- Communicating security flaws and their mitigations —with precision, timeliness, actionable information, and the appropriate degree of reassurance— to the Zcash and wider cryptocurrency and infosec communities. You will choose whether and how to respond to instances of misinformation about Zcash’s security properties.
- Building and maintaining our relationships with other projects that share Zcash technology, to improve on and surpass industry-standard security disclosure processes in the cryptocurrency space.
- Creating and managing relationships with external providers of security assessments. Working with the Head of Research and Assurance, you will find suitable external auditors for implementation and specification audits, schedule audits, provide auditors with the information they need to be most effective, critique and validate their work, and ensure that they are properly incentivized to provide value. You will expand on any themes arising from these assessments, continuously using the feedback to develop and advocate for appropriate security within the company.