Senior Research Partner

About Hack VC
Hack VC is a web3 venture capital firm. We focus on early-stage investments in crypto infrastructure and networks. Hack VC is a tight-knit team that believes in autonomy, transparency and fundamentals. In addition to the investment team, we run hack.summit(), one of the largest global conferences and communities for blockchain programmers (130k+ attendees from 150+ countries to date), and hack.labs(), our in-house tech platform for institutional grade network participation through which we provide liquidity, stake, make open-source contributions, and more.

For more information on the firm and our investment theses, refer to our recent fund announcement here and visit our website here.

Role and Responsibilities

• Conduct deep technical protocol research and analysis in sectors like ZK, Infrastructure, Dev Tooling, Interoperability, Shared Security and DeFi
• Publish research in your focus area and make open-source contributions
• Source and diligence investment opportunities in crypto startups and protocols
• Prepare memos for our investment committee and present your analysis/opinions at our committee meetings (and be prepared to defend them!)
• Support the firm’s portfolio post-investment with mechanism design, tokenomics, product feedback and partnerships
• Work with our team to design and seed new experimental companies

Requirements

Required Experience

• Eat, sleep and breathe crypto
• Prior experience with technical research
• Technical crypto experience, such as engineering at a crypto startup or graduate/research experience in areas like distributed systems, smart contract engineering and cryptography
• Prior work experience building or advising blockchain infrastructure and middleware, such as L1s, L2s, privacy solutions, interoperability protocols, etc.
• Strong network within the crypto startup ecosystem

Preferred Experience

• PhD in related field (distributed systems, computer science, etc.) or experience publishing PhD level long-form research
• Deep expertise in specific key areas of blockchain tech, including ZK, FHE, VM design or components of the modular stack
• Experience with DeFi, crypto trading and various crypto tools (show us your Debank rank / DegenScore, etc.)
• Strong public presence with the ability to disperse your own thought leadership through social platforms

About the Role

• Competitive salary and potential for carried interest
• 401(k) and health, dental and vision benefits
• Travel with the team for crypto conferences around the world to meet founders in the wild, build relationships, organize events, etc.
• We’re a flat org. You will work directly with the partners, our research team and hack.labs().

Expected salary range: $100,000 to $200,000 plus potential for carried interest

This expected salary range reflects the good faith salary range for this role and is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. Specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on factors such as education, experience, qualifications, market conditions, business needs and more.

Hack VC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, marital or partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic predisposition, veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, a sex offense or stalking, or any other class or status in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.