Blockchain Protocol Engineer Jobs in Gaithersburg, MD

LayerZero The Future is Omnichain. Founded in 2021, LayerZero’s vision is to create a community of cross-chain developers, building dApps that are no longer constrained by individual blockchain capabilities. With LayerZero's simple, generic messaging protocol, builders will develop cross-chain dApps designed to unify the power of individual blockchains. We are funded by the best investors in the world including: a16z, Sequoia, PayPal, Binance Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Uniswap Labs, Circle Ventures, Delphi Digital, and many more.

As a Solutions Architect, you are the technical owner of the customer journey from first deep‑dive through successful production deployment. You will lead discovery, design architectures, build proof‑of‑concepts, and clearly explain how LayerZero fits into a customer’s existing stack (on‑chain, off‑chain, and AI/data systems). You’ll work closely with our FDEs and Product teams to ensure what we propose is not only compelling, but actually shippable and supportable. This is a hands‑on, customer‑facing role - not a pure slideware or support function. You’ll be expected to whiteboard, write code for demos and POCs, and speak fluently about both Web3 primitives and modern software & architecture. LayerZero’s Solutions Architecture team is the technical front line for our go‑to‑market motion. We partner closely with Business Development, Forward Deployed Engineering, and core Product/Protocol teams to help customers design and adopt cross‑chain architectures built on LayerZero. We engage with a wide range of organizations - from DeFi protocols and Web3 infrastructure teams, to global banks, asset managers, and enterprises exploring blockchain and AI‑driven use cases - and act as trusted advisors on interoperability, security, and system design.

Partner with BD and Sales to qualify opportunities, run technical discovery, and map customer requirements to concrete interoperability designs. Design reference and bespoke architectures that integrate LayerZero with customer systems - including smart contracts, wallets/custody, trading or settlement systems, data platforms, and banking/payments rails. Lead technical presentations, workshops, and demos, tailoring the depth to audiences ranging from protocol engineers to C‑level executives. Build and validate POCs and pilot integrations, often writing or reviewing code (e.g., smart contracts, backend services, or sample apps) to prove out patterns. Document architectures, integration plans, and best practices, including sequence diagrams, threat models, and rollout strategies. Collaborate with Integrations/Forward Deployed Engineering on hand‑offs from POC to production, ensuring continuity and a clean path to scale. Advise on security and reliability for cross‑chain flows: failure modes, monitoring, incident response, and operational runbooks. Stay current on Web3 trends (L1/L2 roadmaps, bridging standards, custody, regulation) and use that knowledge to shape customer strategy. Gather structured field feedback and feed it back into Product and Protocol teams, influencing our roadmap and SDKs. Contribute to external‑facing content - sample apps, blog posts, talks, and reference architectures that help the ecosystem build better cross‑chain systems.

Have 5–10+ years in customer facing technical roles such as Solutions Architect, Sales Engineer, Forward Deployed Engineer, Platform/Infra Engineer, or Protocol Engineer. Have a strong grasp of blockchain fundamentals and Web3 architecture: consensus basics, L1/L2 and rollups, bridging models, wallets and signing, vaults, custody, and common DeFi patterns. Are comfortable reading and writing code - ideally in TypeScript, Rust, Go, and/or Solidity - and can quickly understand someone else’s stack. Have deep experience with integration architecture patterns and APIs (REST/gRPC/WebSockets, webhooks, event streams, OAuth/identity, etc.). Can explain complex technical concepts simply, adapting your language for engineers, product managers, and business stakeholders. Enjoy whiteboarding, system design, and storytelling, and can guide a customer from vague ideas to concrete architecture and rollout plans. Are comfortable in a fast‑moving, ambiguous environment, juggling multiple high‑stakes accounts at once. Bonus: have worked with financial services, trading, or other highly regulated industries and understand their risk, compliance, and integration constraints.

Equal Opportunity Employer LayerZero Labs is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. LayerZero Labs is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other legally protected status.