Staff Software Engineer, Blockchain Protocols

TRM Labs is a blockchain intelligence company committed to fighting crime and creating a safer world. By leveraging blockchain data, threat intelligence, and advanced analytics, our products empower governments, financial institutions, and crypto businesses to combat illicit activity and global security threats. At TRM, you'll join a mission-driven, fast-paced team made up of experts in law enforcement, data science, engineering, and financial intelligence, tackling complex global challenges daily. Whether analyzing blockchain data, developing cutting-edge tools, or collaborating with global organizations, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful and lasting impact. We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to join our Blockchain Protocol team — a group that builds systems to analyze and instrument blockchain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The systems you build will surface hidden insights about how blockchain nodes communicate, propagate transactions, and behave under real-world network conditions. You’ll work across network protocols, distributed systems, and large-scale data ingestion, designing software that collects, analyzes, and transforms node-level data into actionable intelligence. The impact you’ll have here: • Operate and scale blockchain nodes across multiple chains (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, BSC) to enable deep network visibility • Research and instrument blockchain and network protocols to extract proprietary telemetry data. • Build and maintain distributed data-collection systems and ingestion pipelines (Python, Airflow, GCP). • Design and optimize message propagation, peer discovery, and re-org detection pipelines. • Collaborate with researchers and data engineers to turn raw network data into high-impact intelligence for TRM’s products. What we’re looking for: • Proven experience in distributed systems, data ingestion, or protocol engineering. • Strong programming skills in Python and at least one systems language (Rust, C++, or Go). • Experience working with network protocols (TCP/IP, libp2p, gRPC, RPCs) or operating large-scale data systems. • Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and orchestration tools (GCP, Kubernetes, Terraform, Airflow). • Understanding of network-level behaviors such as message propagation or synchronization. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills; clear documentation and succinct communication are very important. • Ability to work independently, be proactive, prioritize, communicate, and set and meet goals • Flexibility to coordinate across global time zones and an ability to work independently with minimal oversight • A passion for solving complex network and protocol challenges at scale, and building systems that are robust, performant, and secure Bonus Points: • Experience running or instrumenting blockchain nodes (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.). • Prior work with network observability or telemetry systems (Kafka, Arrow, gRPC). • Contributions to open-source networking or blockchain infrastructure projects. Why TRM Labs: You’ll sit at the intersection of research, data, and engineering — designing systems that extract insights no public API exposes. Our team operates blockchain nodes at scale, instruments network behavior, and partners with data scientists to turn raw network telemetry into intelligence that helps build a safer financial system. About TRM's Engineering Levels: Engineer: Responsible for helping to define project milestones and executing small decision independently with the appropriate tradeoffs between simplicity, readability, and performance. Provides mentorship to junior engineers, and enhances operational excellence through tech debt reduction and knowledge sharing. Senior Engineer: Successfully designs and documents system improvements and features for an OKR/project from the ground up. Consistently delivers efficient and reusable systems, optimizes team throughput with appropriate tradeoffs, mentors team members, and enhances cross-team collaboration through documentation and knowledge sharing. Staff Engineer: Drives scoping and execution of one or more OKRs/projects that impact multiple teams. Partners with stakeholders to set the team vision and technical roadmaps for one or more products. Is a role model and mentor to the entire engineering organization. Ensures system health and quality with operational reviews, testing strategies, and monitoring rigor. Life at TRM Labs Leadership Principles Our Leadership Principles shape everything we do—how we make decisions, collaborate, and operate day to day. • Impact-Oriented Trailblazer – We put customers first, driving for speed, focus, and adaptability. • Master Craftsperson – We prioritize speed, high standards, and distributed ownership. • Inspiring Colleague – We value humility, candor, and a one-team mindset. Accelerate your Career At TRM, you’ll do work that matters—disrupting terrorist networks, recovering stolen funds, and protecting people around the world. You will: • Work alongside top experts and learn every day. • Embrace a growth mindset with development opportunities tailored to your role. • Take on high-impact challenges in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. • Thrive in a culture of coaching, where feedback is fast, direct, and built to help you level up. What to Expect at TRM TRM moves fast—really fast. We know a lot of startups say that, but we mean it. We operate with urgency, ownership, and high standards. As a result, you’ll be joining a team that’s highly engaged, mission-driven, and constantly evolving. To support this intensity, we’re also intentional about rest and recharge. We offer generous benefits, including PTO, Holidays, and Parental Leave for full time employees. That said, TRM may not be the right fit for everyone. If you're optimizing for work life balance, we encourage you to: • Ask your interviewers how they personally approach balance within their teams, and • Reflect on whether this is the right season in your life to join a high-velocity environment. • Be honest with yourself about what energizes you—and what drains you We’re upfront about this because we want every new team member to thrive—not just survive. The Stakes Are Real Our work has direct, real-world impact: • Jumping online after hours to support urgent government requests tracing ransomware payments. • Delivering actionable insights during terrorist financing investigations. • Collaborating across time zones in real time during a major global hack. • Building new processes in days, not weeks, to stop criminals before they cash out. • Analyzing blockchain data to recover stolen savings and dismantle trafficking networks. Thrive as a Global Team As a remote-first company, TRM Labs is built for global collaboration. • We cultivate a strong remote culture through clear communication, thorough documentation, and meaningful relationships. • We invest in offsites, regional meetups, virtual coffee chats, and onboarding buddies to foster collaboration. • By prioritizing trust and belonging, we harness the strengths of a global team while staying aligned with our mission and values. Join our mission! We’re looking for team members who thrive in fast-paced, high-impact environments and love building from the ground up. TRM is remote-first, with an exceptionally talented global team. If you enjoy solving tough problems and seeing your work make a difference for billions of people, we want you here. Don’t worry if your experience doesn’t perfectly match a job description— we value passion, problem-solving, and unique career paths. If you’re excited about TRM’s mission, we want to hear from you. Recruitment agencies TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement. Privacy Policy By submitting your application, you are agreeing to allow TRM to process your personal information in accordance with the TRM Privacy Policy Learn More: Company Values | Interviewing | FAQs Apply tot his job