Lead Protocol Engineer (Go / Cryptography)

Wells Fargo•Concord, CA

18h•$159,000 - $305,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Wells Fargo is seeking a Lead Specialty Software Engineer (Protocol Engineer) to contribute to a next-generation Digital Asset Platform designed to solve the most critical challenge in institutional finance: achieving strict regulatory compliance without compromising transaction confidentiality. As a Lead Protocol Engineer, you will be responsible for architecting the core settlement engine. You will work at the intersection of distributed systems and applied cryptography, translating complex mathematical proofs into high-performance, production-grade Go code. Why Join Us? Work on "Hard" Problems: You won't be building another yield farm copycat. You'll solve fundamental privacy/compliance contradictions in the global financial system High-Impact Engineering: Your code will secure high-value institutional transactions Technical Autonomy: You'll play a key role in architectural decisions, choosing the right curves, libraries, and design patterns

Requirements

5+ years of Specialty Software Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
3+ years of experience in backend or systems programming, with expert-level proficiency in Go (Golang)
6+ months of experience with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)
1+ year of experience with BFT consensus algorithms, P2P networking, and state replication; reliable, distributed systems experience

Nice To Haves

Blockchain Core: Deep experience with Cosmos SDK and CometBFT. Comfort building custom modules and modifying consensus logic, not just deploying smart contracts
Pedersen Commitments (Homomorphic encryption properties)
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (specifically Bulletproofs or Sigma protocols)
Math-to-Code: Demonstrated ability to read academic whitepapers/preprints and translate mathematical specifications into functioning code
Experience with MPC (Multi-Party Computation) or Verifiable Secret Sharing (VSS) schemes
Familiarity with the Ristretto255 curve or libraries like gnark-crypto
Background in FinTech, payment systems, or high-frequency trading platforms
Understanding of the Account Model vs. UTXO Model trade-offs in privacy-preserving ledgers

Responsibilities

Core Protocol Development: Architect and build a custom blockchain application using Go, Cosmos SDK, and CometBFT (Tendermint)
Cryptographic Implementation: Implement and optimize privacy-preserving primitives, specifically Pedersen Commitments and Bulletproofs (Range Proofs), ensuring no trusted setup is required
Consensus Customization: Engineer custom ABCI++ extensions (specifically PrepareProposal and Vote Extensions) to implement an on-chain Multi-Party Computation (MPC) mixing network
State Machine Design: Design a custom KVStore state machine that manages homomorphic encrypted balances (Elliptic Curve points) instead of plaintext integers
Performance Engineering: Optimize cryptographic operations (scalar multiplication, point addition) for low latency and high throughput in a distributed environment
Auditing Infrastructure: Build secure off-chain query layers and "view key" mechanisms that allow for granular, permissioned regulatory auditing