About the job
Location: Remote (United States)
Reports to: CEO
Compensation: $180K–$250K base plus equity
About ZODL
Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) builds software to help billions of users access Zcash. Founded by the original Zcash protocol creators, ZODL focuses on delivering a strong user experience for ZEC through core protocol development.
The current product lineup includes Zodl mobile apps for iOS and Android, featuring integrated cross-chain swaps, and Zallet, a full-node Zcash wallet written in Rust that replaces zcashd. Upcoming projects include Zodl Vault, a desktop wallet designed for multisig, inheritance, and institutional needs, as well as web-based wallets and headless or agentic wallet infrastructure.
Role Overview
This is the first leadership hire for a new Research & Development function. The Principal Engineer will explore new product ideas across Zodl's consumer and infrastructure offerings: mobile, desktop, and web wallets, Zallet, headless wallets, and commerce tools. The strongest concepts will be developed into working prototypes, then handed off to engineering and product teams for further buildout and launch.
This is not a product management position, there are no tickets or standups to run, nor is it focused solely on research papers. The work centers on delivering working code. Independence is key: the Principal Engineer will identify opportunities, evaluate feasibility within protocol constraints, build proof-of-concept implementations, and advocate for future development.
Collaboration will be frequent with the CEO (who leads product), the Head of Partnerships (to evaluate external technologies), and the Head of Protocol R&D (to ensure technical feasibility at the protocol level). This role requires forming a thesis, selecting the right tools, building functional solutions, and presenting clear recommendations.
What You'll Do
- Spot and evaluate new product opportunities across the Zodl suite and beyond, such as agentic wallets, web wallets, commerce infrastructure, cross-chain features, privacy-focused user experiences, and unexplored areas.
- Build functional prototypes using the most appropriate stack, Rust, TypeScript, Swift, Kotlin, or Python, to test feasibility and practicality.
