New 
Senior Research Software Engineer - Security & Cryptography
 Microsoft | |
 United States, Washington, Redmond | |
 Oct 23, 2025 | |
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OverviewThe Security Research Group at Microsoft Research Redmond is pushing the boundary of what is possible with the fascinating primitive of zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs. You'll work alongside experts who are shaping the future of secure and privacy-preserving computation through real-world applications of this primitive. Your contributions will help define the next generation of secure, scalable, and private systems in the cloud. As a Senior Research Software Engineer, you will design and implement zero-knowledge (ZK) circuits for core cryptographic operations, while building reusable components and SDKs to accelerate development across the ecosystem. You'll advance high-speed cryptography by extending libraries like Nova, integrating optimizations, and scaling proof generation across machines and Graphics Processing Units (GPU). Your work will directly impact the performance and scalability of modern proof systems, enabling secure, real-world applications. In this role, you'll deepen your expertise in constraint systems, ZK proof frameworks, parallelization, and systems programming in Rust. You'll grow your skills through hands-on innovation and collaboration with world-class researchers and engineers. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond. In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
ResponsibilitiesDesign and implement ZK circuits for real-world applications including signature verification and state management via Merkle trees.Use and extend circuit Software Development Kits (SDKs) to accelerate development.Develop reusable circuit components and SDKs to support new token standards.Add new functionality, extend existing functionality, and maintain high-speed cryptography libraries like Nova.Upgrade proof systems to include recent developments/optimizations.Parallelize proof generation across machines.GPU-based optimization of proving process.Embody our culture and values. | |