Senior Solidity / Smart Contract Engineer
A Senior Solidity / Smart Contract Engineer designs and develops the on-chain architecture that secures a cross-chain protocol, driving projects from conception to deployment with reliability, efficiency, and security as the priority. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does a Senior Solidity / Smart Contract Engineer do?
The engineer contributes to the development of cutting-edge smart contracts that enhance the security and functionality of a Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). The role is integral to driving on-chain projects from conception to deployment while collaborating with engineering, operations, finance, and marketing teams.
The engineer works closely with a dedicated team of smart contract and software engineers and reports directly to the engineering lead. It is a hands-on senior role where code quality and security carry real weight, since the contracts often secure substantial user funds.
Solidity is the primary programming language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains. The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the runtime that executes that code. A smart contract is self-executing on-chain code, and securing it matters because contracts often custody substantial user funds.
Where does this role sit?
What are the key responsibilities?
- Design and develop core components of the smart contract architecture that secures the CCIP network.
- Lead the end-to-end development of on-chain projects, ensuring reliability, efficiency, and security.
- Collaborate with engineers to deliver seamless, fully functional decentralized applications (dApps).
- Partner with operations teams to streamline the deployment and management of smart contract-driven solutions.
- Work alongside research teams to build practical, user-friendly blockchain products.
- Engage with non-technical stakeholders so smart contract solutions align with business needs and enhance user experience.
- Mentor and support fellow engineers, fostering expertise in Solidity and smart contract development.
What qualifications are required?
- 5-8+ years of professional engineering experience in a collaborative, product-driven environment.
- 3+ years of hands-on smart contract development experience.
- Proven track record of deploying multiple smart contracts to Ethereum mainnet or other EVM-compatible chains, securing substantial user funds.
- In-depth knowledge of Solidity and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), with strong computer science fundamentals and system design.
- Experience managing multi-month development projects, including stakeholder communication, risk mitigation, and milestone tracking.
- Active participant in the blockchain ecosystem with a deep understanding of decentralized applications (dApps).
- Previous work developing and securing large-scale decentralized applications end to end.
- Familiarity with best practices for secure smart contract design.
- Experience optimizing gas efficiency and ensuring contract security.
Why is this role important?
On a cross-chain protocol, the smart contract layer is the trust layer. The contracts this engineer writes often custody substantial user funds, which means code quality, gas efficiency, and security translate directly into user protection and network reliability.
A senior engineer who can both ship secure architecture and mentor the team raises the bar for everything that follows, which is why these hires are weighted so heavily toward proven, deployed track records.
A hiring note from Excelon
For senior smart contract roles, the resume claim that matters most is contracts deployed to mainnet that have held real funds without incident. Excelon’s financial services practice recruits across Solidity, DeFi, and cross-chain infrastructure, and we vet for exactly that: verifiable on-chain history, sound security instincts, and gas-aware design, not just years on a CV. Audit experience and a security-first mindset move candidates to the top.
On a cross-chain protocol, the smart contract layer is the trust layer. Every line either protects user funds or risks them.
Related sample job descriptions
Frequently asked questions
What does a Senior Solidity / Smart Contract Engineer do?
The engineer designs and develops core components of the smart contract architecture that secures a cross-chain protocol, leading on-chain projects end to end, collaborating across engineering and operations, and mentoring fellow engineers in Solidity and smart contract development.
What qualifications are required?
This sample role requires five to eight or more years of professional engineering experience and three or more years of hands-on smart contract development, with a track record of deploying multiple contracts to Ethereum mainnet or other EVM-compatible chains securing substantial user funds, plus deep Solidity and EVM knowledge.
What is Solidity and the EVM?
Solidity is the primary programming language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains. The EVM, or Ethereum Virtual Machine, is the runtime that executes that code across the network.
Is this role remote?
Yes. This is a remote-first position, and candidates should have some overlap with Eastern Standard Time working hours to collaborate with the engineering team.
Why is this role important?
Smart contracts on this kind of protocol often custody substantial user funds, so the quality, efficiency, and security of the engineer’s work directly protects users and the reliability of the network.
Need to hire a Senior Solidity Engineer?
Excelon Associates connects crypto and Web3 companies with elite smart contract engineers through our financial services recruitment practice, sourcing builders who optimize gas efficiency, harden protocol security, and ship across Layer-1 and Layer-2 ecosystems. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC.
More Sample Job Descriptions
Templates you can adapt for your own roles.