Cryptography Research Engineer Intern (February - May 2025)

At Ripple, we’re building a world where value moves like information does today. It’s big, it’s bold, and we’re already doing it. Through our crypto solutions for financial institutions, businesses, governments and developers, we are improving the global financial system and creating greater economic fairness and opportunity for more people, in more places around the world. And we get to do the best work of our career and grow our skills surrounded by colleagues who have our backs. 

If you’re ready to see your impact and unlock incredible career growth opportunities, join us, and build real world value.

THE WORK:

The Cryptography Research Intern will be joining the RippleX Research team.

RippleX operates on the belief that realizing the Internet of Value hinges on how easily new technology works for more people, and how effectively we can change the way the world operates today.

RippleX is helping more people participate in the digital economy through:

• Practical support and capabilities to develop applications that move digital value faster and more easily
• Empowering a community that’s democratizing the digital economy 
• The expertise of a technology company that is known for vision and pragmatism 
• Blockchain infrastructure that is supported by RippleX and owned by everyone

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Explore the next generation of cryptographic algorithms and protocols to support the latest advancements required to further the state-of-art of XRPL and more broadly the crypto ecosystem
• Collaborate with engineers and product teams to drive critical projects into a tangible roadmap
• Design and write technical specifications and academic papers for innovative projects and independently develop proof of concepts to validate your research
• Closely collaborate with the engineering team and be responsible for the implementation of your research
• Provide review and guidance to the leadership to ensure business and strategic alignment
• Set milestones for timely and on-budget completion of high-quality work
• Be a representative of Ripple research in the community via active participation in standards bodies, academic conferences, social media, organizing and participating in workshops, hackathons, etc.
• Work with the teams across the broader organization, including engineering, product, legal, compliance, finance, and business development to think beyond the technical design in delivering the best experience for our developers’ community

WHAT YOU’LL BRING:

• Strong familiarity of the latest blockchain cryptography and security
• Deep understanding of elliptic curve and pairing based cryptography, Multi-party computation and threshold cryptography
• Familiarity with privacy enhancing technologies such as Homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, federated learning and zero-knowledge primitive
• Skilled in Python, C/C++, Rust or Go and familiarity with cryptographic libraries
• A passion for and knowledge of decentralized technologies
• An open-minded research approach and genuine intellectual curiosity with a mindset of continuous learning
• Strong communicator, well versed in communicating to varied audiences
• Attention to detail and a commitment to excellence
• Currently enrolled in PhD program (Cryptography, Computer Security, Computer Science, Mathematics).

A plus, but not required:

• Understanding of the XRPL
• Direct experience working in Crypto/Blockchain

Other common names for this role: 

Blockchain Researcher, Cryptography Researcher

For positions that will be based in CA, the annual salary range for this position is below. Actual salaries may vary based on numerous factors including, among other things, an individual applicant’s experience and qualifications for the position. This range does not include equity or additional compensation, such as bonuses or commissions. CA Annual Base Salary Range$37—$42 USD

WHO WE ARE:

Do Your Best Work

• The opportunity to build in a fast-paced start-up environment with experienced industry leaders
• A learning environment where you can dive deep into the latest technologies and make an impact.  A professional development budget to support other modes of learning.
• Thrive in an environment where no matter what race, ethnicity, gender, origin, or culture they identify with, every employee is a respected, valued, and empowered part of the team.
• In-office collaboration for moments that matter is important to our culture, and we give managers and teams the flexibility to decide which 10+ days a month they come in. 
• Weekly all-company meeting - business updates and ask me anything style discussion with our Leadership Team
• We come together for moments that matter which include team offsites, team bonding activities, happy hours and more!

Take Control of Your Finances

• Competitive salary, bonuses, and equity
• Competitive benefits that cover physical and mental healthcare, retirement, family forming, and family support
• Employee giving match
• Mobile phone stipend

Take Care of Yourself

• R&R days so you can rest and recharge
• Generous wellness reimbursement and weekly onsite & virtual programming
• Generous vacation policy - work with your manager to take time off when you need it
• Industry-leading parental leave policies. Family planning benefits.
• Catered lunches, fully-stocked kitchens with premium snacks/beverages, and plenty of fun events

Benefits listed above are for full-time employees. 

Ripple is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We do not discriminate against qualified employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, military status, or any other characteristic protected by local law or ordinance.   Please find our UK/EU Applicant Privacy Notice and our California Applicant Privacy Notice for reference.