Hire top Blockchain developers to grow your startup

How to hire a Blockchain developer in 2023

Are you hiring a Blockchain developer for your startup? Learn how to get connected to talented developers, best practices for setting up an interview cycle, and in-demand skills to look for in a Blockchain engineer.

Want to hire a Blockchain developer?

Since 2012, Wellfound has helped the world’s most up-and-coming startups hire their team. Today, we’re helping companies like Opensea, Foundation, Uniswap, Dapper Labs, and thousands of other Web3 companies hire their teams.

‍Web3 is the next wave of innovation on the World Wide Web, powered by blockchain technology. A Blockchain developer designs, builds, and maintains blockchain applications and systems. Learn more about how we're helping web3 companies hire top talent today on Wellfound across web3, cryptocurrency, and blockchain.

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Top skills to look for when hiring a Blockchain developer

Skills to screen for in Blockchain developers

Programming Knowledge

‍C++, Golang, C#, JavaScript, Solidity, Python, Ruby, and Java are considered some of the most popular programming languages for blockchain development. It is also important for a blockchain developer to have familiarity with web development programming languages such as HTML and CSS as many roles are focused on building a web app or mobile application.

‍Cryptography

‍When sourcing candidates, look for a blockchain developer with a strong understanding of blockchain architecture key functions including cryptography and security principles. Experience with concepts including cryptography hashing, transactions, and wallets are key functions of cryptography.

‍Smart Contracts

‍Smart contracts are another important part of a blockchain developer's experience to scan for when hiring. Smart contract functionality in systems plays an important role in the development of blockchain companies and business applications. Network-specific languages include Solidity, Viper, Chaincode, Golang, and others.

‍Learning on the Go

‍With the ever-changing landscape of web3 and blockchain development, look for a developer willing to learn on the go and be adaptable to change. A good hire will continuously learn and showcase flexibility to adapt to new changes in the industry.

Popular Blockchain developer skills and frameworks

C++, Golang, C#, JavaScript, Solidity, Python, Ruby, and Java are considered the popular programming languages for blockchain development. Find a blockchain engineer with familiarity and understanding of blockchain architecture, smart contracts, cryptography, and data structures. Overall, invest in a blockchain developer who is willing to learn and adapt as it’s a new and emerging space.

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Blockchain developers at startups

Attract top Blockchain developers on Wellfound

Startups can post a job for Blockchain developers and review candidates on Wellfound Talent for free. When posting a job for Blockchain engineers, learn how to write a job posting to attract the right talent.

• Add a title, location, skills, and more. These are the most relevant fields to help your job post show up in a candidate’s job search. Include “Blockchain“ in the job description to filter for engineers with blockchain experience.
• Add details for the company, role, and ideal candidate. All Wellfound job postings have a free-form section where you can explain in detail about the company, role, and/or what you’re hiring for. A few suggestions to include:

1. Startup name
2. Title
3. Main role responsibilities
4. Programming languages required for the role (i.e. object-oriented programming)
5. Qualifications for Blockchain developers (i.e. knowledge of cryptography smart contracts)
6. Preferred or ideal soft skills for Blockchain developers (i.e. willing to learn on the go)

• Optimize your company profile. Typically, a candidate will first click on a company profile to learn more when evaluating a job post. Confirm your startup profile is up-to-date and with all sections filled out — candidates rely on this to inform their job search!

Source Blockchain developers on Wellfound with ease

On Wellfound, you can also discover candidates by sourcing — instead of posting a job and waiting for candidates to apply, you can find potential candidates and pitch your opportunity directly to them.

The vast majority of candidates on Wellfound are specifically interested in joining a startup. With Source, our team provides key information including which candidates are actively looking for a job, what skills they have, their ideal salary, and more.

When sourcing for Blockchain developer’s on Wellfound, we suggest beginning with the following key points:

• Role and Title: Begin your search by filtering for those with a current or previous “Blockchain engineer” title. Depending on your needs, you could also include “blockchain developer” or web3 developer“ to widen your search to help filter candidates with matching titles.
• Skills Required: Add specific languages and technologies you’re looking for experience in. For Blockchain developers, some programming languages include C++, Java, and Solidity. Your search will depend on what technologies your codebase is in.
• Location Preferences: Filter for candidates on remote preferences or in a specific location (whether they’re only open to remote, only open to in-office, or both). If you’re looking for remote Blockchain developers, you can search by remote candidates in specific time zones.
• Level of Experience: Clarify the level of experience in the Blockchain and web3 industry you’re looking for. If you’re open to multiple levels for Blockchain developer positions, you can always leave this filter open to allow a wider range of candidates to show up.

With Sourcing, a list appears based on whether they are passive Blockchain candidates (open to interviews, but not actively looking), active Blockchain candidates (actively looking and ready to interview), or curated Blockchain candidates (ready to interview and vetted by our team).

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Blockchain and web3 developer communities, meetups, and more

One other way of connecting with Blockchain developers is through different communities or events in the startup community. Explore the Blockchain and web3 communities to connect with top talent:

Crypto Events and Hackathons

• Dev Events

Blockchain Communities

• DEV Community - Blockchain
• GitHub Blockchain Community

Blockchain Discord Channels

• CrpytoDevs
• Crypto Coders

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Hiring Guide: Blockchain developers:

Hiring funnel for Blockchain developers

• Initial Phone Screen: For your first screen with a candidate, the conversation is behavioral. Look out for a candidate’s problem-solving skills, excitement for the role, and culture fit in the product and company.
• Hiring Manager Call: Hiring managers should press further into Blockchain experiences, projects, or interests. Ask about overall engineering interests and the type of work style. The evaluation focuses on the “culture fit” component and whether the candidate has the soft skills needed as a Blockchain developer and working in crypto.
• Technical Interview: There are multiple ways to test a candidate’s coding abilities for technical interviews — most commonly, companies will include either a coding test or a project-based exercise.

• Coding tests for blockchain developers are typically online or live assessments testing a candidate's proficiency in blockchain-related topics including smart contracts, cryptography, data structures and algorithms, and more.

‍Are you hiring your first Blockchain engineer? Read our blog post for more information on how to hire your first engineer in 5 steps.‍

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Top interview questions for Blockchain developers

• How would you describe Blockchain technology to someone who does not have any knowledge of it?
• What is the difference between a Blockchain and a Hyperledger?
• Explain what Merkel Tree is.
• What is a smart contract?

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Salaries and compensation for Blockchain developers

Determine a competitive salary you can offer candidates by comparing market data for Blockchain developer roles. Take a look at levels.fyi, a popular tool among developer candidates to see the ranges of market salaries in addition to web3.career. Leverage Wellfound's salary tool to see how your offer for Blockchain developers stacks up against other jobs on our platform.

If you can’t meet a competitive salary and still want to hire top engineering talent, double down on the benefits with the offer. Are there unique company benefits? Is there equity, stock options, or other compensation you can provide? Discuss with candidates the additional benefits beyond salary during the negotiation and interview process.

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Hire Blockchain developers around the world

You’ve learned skills to look for in a Blockchain engineer, tactics for finding Blockchain developers, and the basics of how to set up your hiring process. You’re ready to start looking 👀 Post your job on Wellfound and start sourcing top Blockchain developers today.