Mechanism Designer

Are you the one?

An ideal candidate has a strong understanding of algorithmic game theory, in understanding it, in applying it, and in using it to prove the game-theoretic robustness of protocols. In other words, the ideal candidate has a track record in mechanism design. Beyond game theoretic fundamentals, an appreciation for how game theoretic assumptions change in the asynchrony and irrationality of distributed systems is highly preferable. While a basic understanding of L1 and L2 designs, systemic risks, and consensus algorithms is required, a strong understanding is preferred.

You should be able to work in a distributed research team, express their research ideas clearly, and know how to argue their findings formally. We appreciate candidates who are not afraid of voicing their opinions and motivate them or ask for explanations of concepts they are not familiar with.

Responsibilities:

As a mechanism designer, you will participate in research on, for example:

• Transaction fee mechanisms.
• Prover coordination and sequencer design, decentralization, incentivization.
• Auctioning block-building rights.
• Levels of finality, and risks associated with each.
• Staking: vanilla staking, restaking, liquid staking, and systemic risks they come with.
• L2 governance, PoS vs PoG, etc.

Skills:

• An algorithmic game theory track record, including a strong preference for published work in the field.
• Ability to identify mechanism design problems and propose solutions.
• An understanding of distributed protocol design. Particularly, a demonstrable ability to identify the trade-offs faced by protocols when deployed on blockchains.
• Familiarity with Ethereum: how it works and why?
• Familiarity with designs of L2s.
• Ability to express thoughts precisely.

This is a fully remote role, with flexibility to work on a diverse range of projects, and opportunities to attend leading global conferences in the field. Some of Nethermind Research’s past work includes:

- Fiat-Shamir Security of FRI and Related SNARKs: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1071
- Systematization of Knowledge for Decentralized Identities and Verifiable Credentials: https://research.lido.fi/t/a-proposal-for-partnering-with-nethermind-to-design-a-mechanism-for-a-good-validator-set-maintenance/3000…
- Attributable Consensus Solution for DV clusters: https://community.obol.tech/t/proposal-attributable-consensus-solution-for-dv-clusters/104…
- Threshold Signature Schemes: https://medium.com/nethermind-eth/threshold-signature-schemes-36f40bc42aca…
- A DEX design with user privacy: https://eprint.iacr.org/2023/1868

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