Protocol Engineer - Platform

About the role

You will own the infrastructure that powers institutional-grade blockchain operations with a focus on Ethereum validator infrastructure, consensus and execution client operations, and the platform layer that ensures reliability, observability, and scalability. This role requires deep responsibility for validator clusters, client diversity, MEV infrastructure, slashing protection, and the operational complexity of running Ethereum at institutional scale. You will work alongside a diverse team of free thinkers and fast movers who thrive in a culture of builders and overachievers. Your work will directly support Galaxy's mission to connect institutions to digital assets and drive the onchain economy that runs on code.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Own and operate Ethereum validator infrastructure at scale - consensus clients (Lighthouse, Prysm, Teku, Nimbus), execution clients (Geth, Nethermind, Besu, Reth), and the tooling that keeps them healthy, diverse, and performant.
• Build and maintain the platform layer underneath validator operations: cluster lifecycle management, client upgrades, peer connectivity, fork tracking, and the observability stack that surfaces what matters.
• Manage slashing protection, key management, and signer infrastructure (Web3Signer, distributed validators, HSM/MPC-backed signing) at the level of rigor institutional staking demands.
• Harden shared platform infrastructure: EKS environments, GitOps pipelines, secrets management, networking, CI/CD, and the data plane.
• Partner closely with clients on integration work across staking, tokenization, DeFi, and validator engagements. Translate their constraints into platform requirements and ship the code that closes the gap.
• Generalize patterns from client work into reusable platform capabilities - so the next engagement does not start from zero.
• Operate production systems where the failure mode is institutional money and reputation. On-call, incident response, post mortems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define standards, improve reliability, and evolve the platform roadmap in response to business needs.
• Contribute to architecture decisions that balance security, performance, and operational simplicity across the validator stack.
• Mentor engineers on best practices for operating critical infrastructure and maintaining high availability in distributed systems.
• Drive automation to reduce manual toil and improve consistency across validator deployments and platform components.
• Evaluate new client versions, consensus changes, and protocol upgrades, ensuring safe adoption through testing and phased rollouts.
• Maintain strong visibility into system health through dashboards, alerts, and runbooks, enabling rapid diagnosis and resolution of issues.
• Work closely with product and infrastructure teams to align platform capabilities with evolving product strategy and client demands.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience operating distributed systems or infrastructure at scale.
• 3+ years of experience with Ethereum consensus and execution clients, validator operations, or similar blockchain infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of Kubernetes, container orchestration, and GitOps practices using tools such as FluxCD.
• Experience with AWS services and infrastructure as code patterns relevant to data center and cloud operations.
• Deep familiarity with messaging systems such as Kafka and their operational characteristics in production environments.
• Hands-on experience with secrets and key management, including KMS, HSM, and MPC-based signing infrastructure.
• Solid understanding of database systems, particularly Postgres, including performance tuning and reliability considerations.
• Demonstrated ability to work in an on-call rotation and manage incidents in production systems.
• Strong knowledge of networking, security, and observability principles as applied to distributed infrastructure.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for collaborating with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with ambiguous problems and shifting priorities.
• Willingness to travel occasionally for customer engagements, partner meetings, or industry events.
• Authorization to work in the United States must align with current New York, NY employment eligibility requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience contributing to open-source Ethereum client projects or other blockchain infrastructure software.
• Familiarity with secure hardware key management and cryptographic signing workflows.
• Background in tokenization, DeFi protocols, or institutional digital asset workflows.
• Exposure to regulated environments and compliance considerations for financial infrastructure.
• Experience with multi-region or multi-cloud infrastructure deployments.

Practical notes

This role is based in New York, NY and operates full-time hours. Occasional travel may be required for customer meetings, partner engagements, or industry events. Authorization to work in the United States is required. Candidates must meet the eligibility requirements listed in the job description. No additional benefits or compensation details are provided in this source material.