Senior Systems Engineer (Staking)

Nansen is a blockchain analytics platform that enhances on-chain data with millions of wallets labels, supporting crypto investors in identifying opportunities, conducting due diligence, and safeguarding their portfolios through real-time dashboards and alerts.

Role Overview

Nansen is seeking a proficient Senior Staking Systems Engineer to develop and manage secure and scalable staking systems for the company's expanding staking infrastructure. The role entails designing, deploying, and managing highly secure and scalable staking infrastructure for multiple Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks. Collaboration with cross-functional teams to ensure the reliability, security, and performance of validators, sentries, and RPC nodes is central to the responsibilities. The role necessitates expertise in Linux systems administration, networking, automation, and a comprehensive understanding of staking protocols.

The work can be completed remotely from anywhere in Europe, with the position being full-time.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Management: Deploy and manage validator, sentry, and RPC nodes on various PoS blockchains to maintain high availability and scalability across cloud and bare-metal environments. This encompasses continuous system administration, performance optimization, and security fortification.
• Automation and IaC: Establish and uphold infrastructure as code using Terraform and configuration management tools, in addition to developing and managing CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure automation.
• Security: Implement and sustain stringent security practices throughout all staking infrastructure sections, encompassing firewall configuration, access control, and validator key management.
• Monitoring and Alerting: Introduce and maintain extensive monitoring and alerting systems to proactively detect and address performance, health, and security concerns.
• Networking: Configure and oversee network infrastructure, including load balancing and firewalls.
• Incident Response: Investigate incidents, conduct root cause analyses, and engage in an on-call rotation as needed, potentially including weekends.
• Collaboration: Work closely with other engineering teams, while also maintaining detailed records of system configurations and procedures.

Requirements

Must have:

• Over 3 years of experience in systems engineering, SRE, or relevant roles.
• High proficiency in Linux system administration.
• Experience with containers and Kubernetes.
• Proficient in Terraform or similar tools for infrastructure automation.
• Experience with monitoring and logging tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack.
• Experience managing machine fleets with configuration management tools such as Chef, Puppet, SaltStack, or Ansible.
• Strong networking knowledge encompassing TCP/IP, HTTP/2, and firewalls.
• Familiarity with gRPC and load balancing.
• Robust understanding of security best practices for Linux systems and networks.
• Highly desirable: Python or Go experience for automation, and comprehension of staking protocols and blockchain consensus mechanisms.

Nice to have:

• Knowledge of cryptography, experience with HSMs and key management solutions.
• Previous involvement in staking or operating blockchain infrastructure at scale, including validator key management.
• Familiarity with major staking protocols such as Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and Polkadot.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary and equitable compensation.
• Remote work setting with flexible scheduling.
• Emphasis on learning, innovation, and the adoption of cutting-edge solutions like AI.
• Company culture highlighting speed, ownership, curiosity, simplicity, transparency, and courage.
• Personal and professional growth opportunities as the company expands.
• Exposure to a wide-reaching network of industry experts, partners, and influencers.