Software Engineer (Prototype) - Innovation R&D

Io Me; City of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent technology firm in the UK is looking for a Software Engineer (Prototype) to develop prototypes and models. The role requires expertise in software development, knowledge of blockchain technologies, and proficiency in programming languages. Candidates should have a minimum of 3 years experience, familiarity with Agile practices, and a degree in Computer Science is desirable. Remote work and competitive benefits are offered, promoting a progressive work environment.

Benefits

Remote work

Laptop reimbursement

Learning & Development opportunities

Competitive PTO

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3+ years of software development experience.
• Knowledge of functional and object-oriented programming paradigms.
• Deep understanding of computer science fundamentals like algorithms and data structures.

Responsibilities

• Develop prototypes, models, and simulators.
• Follow Agile software development practices.
• Write clean, efficient code and cover with tests.

Skills

Software development experience

Proficiency in programming languages

Experience with Git

Knowledge of blockchain technology

Self-motivating and self-learner

Education

Degree in Computer Science

Tools

Git

Job description

Software Engineer (Prototype) - Innovation R&D

Location: Greater London, England, United Kingdom

About the Company

IOG is a technology company focused on blockchain research and development. We are renowned for our scientific approach to blockchain development, emphasizing peer‑reviewed research and formal methods to ensure security, scalability, and sustainability. Our projects include decentralized finance (DeFi), governance, and identity management, aiming to advance blockchain technology worldwide.

We invest in the unknown, applying curiosity and a desire for positive change to everything we do. By fueling creativity, innovation, and progress within our teams, our products and services are designed for people to be fearless, to be changemakers.

Role Overview

As a prototype engineer, you will develop prototypes, models, and simulators at the edge between engineering and research. You will work closely with architects, cryptographers, researchers, and engineers to shape innovation projects.

Responsibilities

• Follow Agile software development practices
• Work with teams across multiple time zones
• Work independently on software development tasks
• Be proactive and require minimal supervision to complete tasks
• Review specifications produced by architects and formal methods specialists
• Contribute to the design of algorithms
• Write clean, straightforward, efficient code that satisfies agreed acceptance criteria and specifications
• Commit often and submit small pull requests frequently
• Cover code with unit, property, and integration tests when applicable
• Review pull requests of teammates
• Fix bugs in own code and legacy code from others
• Be available for emergency fixing of severity‑1 issues on deployed products
• Integrate software components and third‑party libraries
• Verify and deploy programs and systems
• Troubleshoot, debug, and upgrade existing software
• Write documentation for the code
• Write technical user manuals

Requirements

• Degree in Computer Science desirable but not essential
• A minimum of 3+ years of software development experience
• Experience working with Git and Git workflow
• Practical experience with Agile software development methods
• Knowledge of functional and object‑oriented programming paradigms
• Proficiency in various programming languages and functional paradigms
• Knowledge of system programming languages (e.g. Rust, C++)
• Knowledge of some functional languages (e.g. Haskell, OCaml, F#)
• Optional knowledge of formal specification language (e.g. Lean)
• Deep understanding of computer science fundamentals, including algorithms, data structures, and concurrency
• Knowledge of blockchain technology and its core concepts, such as consensus mechanisms, cryptography, and smart contracts
• Knowledge of distributed and concurrent computation
• Basic knowledge of cryptography
• Self‑motivating and self‑learner, willing to learn new ways of doing things
• Write high‑level design documents
• Capable to read scientific papers
• Write small prototypes to demonstrate a feature or protocol
• Write idiomatic code that satisfies acceptance criteria of a given task
• Write tests (unit, property tests) that provide sufficient and efficient code coverage
• Document code and APIs concisely and unambiguously
• Break down tasks into sub‑tasks that are completable in a short amount of time and report completion as required by managers
• Pragmatically adhere to software engineering principles (modularity, incremental development, no premature optimization, no feature creep, no speculative generality)

Benefits

• Remote work
• Laptop reimbursement
• New starter package to buy hardware essentials (headphones, monitor, etc.)
• Learning & Development opportunities
• Competitive PTO

Equal Employment Opportunity

At IOG, we value diversity and always treat all employees and job applicants based on merit, qualifications, competence, and talent. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.