Full-Time

Backend Engineer

Updated on 9/4/2026

LayerZero Labs

LayerZero Labs

51-200 employees

Omnichain interoperability protocol for blockchains

Compensation Overview

$120k - $200k/yr

+ Equity

Vancouver, BC, Canada

In Person

Bachelor's

Category
Software Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Distributed Systems
Software Testing
Smart Contracts
TypeScript
Blockchain
AWS

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Requirements
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • At least 2 years of experience in backend development, building and maintaining scalable, production-grade systems.
  • Experience with AWS services, particularly deploying, managing, and scaling applications.
  • Proficiency in backend development languages such as TypeScript.
  • Experience working with workflow engines.
  • Strong understanding of backend system design and experience designing complex distributed systems.
  • Ability to write clean, scalable, and well-tested code.
  • Ability to articulate complex technical concepts clearly and succinctly.
  • Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Responsibilities
  • Develop robust and scalable backend systems that power web3 technologies.
  • Build and maintain scalable, production-grade backend systems.
  • Design and support systems handling tens of billions of dollars in daily transactional volume.
  • Navigate across a deep technical stack to solve engineering problems.
  • Collaborate with others to develop architecture, designs, and solutions.
  • Learn blockchain technologies and apply new technologies and design patterns.
Desired Qualifications
  • Previous experience with blockchain technologies, smart contracts, and decentralized finance.

LayerZero Labs builds a cross-chain interoperability protocol that connects more than 50 blockchains, enabling omnichain applications, tokens, and experiences. Its product runs on immutable on-chain endpoints with a configurable Security Stack and a permissionless set of Executors that carry censorship-resistant messages between chains. Developers and blockchain organizations use LayerZero to define their own security and efficiency configurations, making it possible to transfer assets and governance data across networks (for example, Curve’s token transfers between Ethereum and Fantom, and Uniswap governance messages on Avalanche). The platform differentiates itself by offering direct, configurable cross-chain messaging and asset transfer through a unified protocol rather than relying on third-party bridges. LayerZero’s goal is to provide seamless, scalable interoperability for building multi-chain applications and ecosystems.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Late Stage VC

Total Funding

$318M

Headquarters

Vancouver, Canada

Founded

2021

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Citadel Securities invested $55 million in ZRO during the August 25 ATLAS rollout.
  • ATLAS launched August 25, 2026, and ZRO jumped about 20% on the news.
  • Institutional exploration from DTCC and ICE validates LayerZero's push beyond crypto-native messaging.

What critics are saying

  • Kelp DAO's $292 million exploit drove $15 billion announced migrations to Chainlink CCIP.
  • LayerZero will retire support for 14 low-activity chains by September 2026, stranding assets.
  • If trust keeps eroding, LayerZero becomes a shrinking bridge utility instead of critical infrastructure.

What makes LayerZero Labs unique

  • LayerZero powers 165 blockchains and crossed $290 billion in cross-chain volume by August 2026.
  • Zero blockchain, announced with Citadel Securities and DTCC, targets onchain institutional market infrastructure.
  • ATLAS gives exchanges backend matching, clearing, settlement, and risk without a consumer venue.

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Benefits

Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

3%

1 year growth

4%

2 year growth

6%
Crypto Briefing
Sep 2nd, 2026
LayerZero introduces Otter, a MEV-resilient AMM design built on auction theory.

LayerZero introduces Otter, a MEV-resilient AMM design built on auction theory. The new mechanism uses batch auctions to neutralize front-running and sandwich attacks, redirecting extracted value back to liquidity providers 2 hours ago Sponsored: Zorbi - Automated Market Engine Open Account LayerZero has proposed Otter, an automated market maker mechanism designed to strip block builders of the informational advantages that make front-running and sandwich attacks profitable. The name stands for Optimal Truthful Trading with Excess Redistribution, and the core idea is deceptively simple: if you clear trades as a batch instead of sequencing them one by one, the order of transactions stops mattering. That's the whole game. MEV, or miner extractable value, relies on block builders rearranging transaction order to profit at traders' expense. Remove the sequencing advantage, and the economics of exploitation collapse. How Otter actually works. Otter borrows from a well-studied corner of auction theory called the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism. In a VCG auction, each participant's payment depends on the impact their bid has on everyone else, not on where their bid lands in a queue. It's the same principle that powers second-price auctions, where the winner pays the second-highest bid rather than their own. Applied to an AMM, this means trade execution outcomes are determined by the collective pool of bids submitted during a batch window rather than the precise nanosecond each one arrives. A block builder who tries to insert a front-running transaction gains nothing because the clearing price doesn't shift based on ordering. The mechanism is designed so that truthful reporting, submitting your actual valuation and budget, becomes the dominant strategy for both traders and builders. In game theory terms, there's no incentive to lie about what you're willing to pay because the system is structured to make honesty the most profitable move for every participant. Where the extracted value goes. One of Otter's more interesting design choices involves what happens to the surplus value that would normally flow to MEV extractors. Rather than requiring all outputs to be distributed to the traders in a given batch, Otter allows residual surplus to be redirected locally within the liquidity pool. This creates a direct channel for rewarding liquidity providers, subsidizing fees, and supporting other ecosystem participants. It's essentially a recycling system: value that would have leaked to arbitrageurs gets pumped back into the infrastructure that makes trading possible in the first place. The censorship resistance requirement. There's a significant caveat buried in the design. Otter's guarantees only hold up if the underlying consensus layer is censorship-resistant. Without that property, block builders can simply exclude bids they don't like, undermining the batch auction's fairness guarantees. The LayerZero team is explicit about this constraint: achieving both user honesty and builder strategy-proofness in AMMs becomes impossible when bids can be censored and block space is finite. Otter follows LayerZero's earlier release of ATLAS, an exchange engine focused on efficiency and fee mechanisms. Together, the two projects suggest a sustained research effort aimed at rethinking on-chain market structure from first principles rather than patching existing designs. The paper is still pending peer review and carries no deployment timeline or token launch details. VCG mechanisms in particular are known for being theoretically optimal but computationally expensive, and adapting them to the constraints of blockchain execution, where gas costs and block times impose hard limits, will be a meaningful engineering challenge. Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how Crypto Briefing create and review content, see its Editorial Policy.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 31st, 2026
LayerZero unveils ATLAS 'headless exchange' infrastructure as Citadel, DTCC and ICE explore adoption

LayerZero launched ATLAS on 25 August 2026, a "headless exchange" infrastructure designed to consolidate fragmented financial plumbing. Built on the Zero blockchain, ATLAS processes over two million transactions per second with sub-millisecond latency. It functions as a modular settlement layer for third parties to build markets, not as a trading venue itself. The platform offers two configurations: Open ATLAS for permissionless crypto markets and Institutional/Regulated ATLAS with embedded KYC and AML compliance. Citadel Securities invested $55 million in the ZRO token and is collaborating on market structure design. The DTCC and ICE are exploring Zero blockchain for tokenisation and trading infrastructure, though neither has committed to full deployment. The infrastructure race intensifies as Coinbase launched 13 tokenised US equities on Base on 24 August, and Robinhood Chain went live in July.

Coinfomania
Aug 29th, 2026
LayerZero announces blockchain-based exchange launch this fall.

LayerZero announces blockchain-based exchange launch this fall. August 29th, 2026 LayerZero announces a blockchain-based exchange launch this fall. Here's why it could reshape the crypto landscape. Quick take. Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. * LayerZero to launch a blockchain-based exchange this fall. * The move expands LayerZero's ecosystem significantly. * Market sentiment is cautiously optimistic amid mixed signals. Sponsored: CoW Swap - Swap Without Paying Gas Swap Now! LayerZero has announced plans to launch a blockchain-based exchange this fall, as reported by @WuBlockchain. This strategic move aims to enhance LayerZero's ecosystem with innovative features and offerings. Such developments are crucial as they may attract new users and liquidity into the platform, impacting the broader crypto market positively. For more details, see the original source here. What went down. The broader crypto market is currently experiencing mixed signals, with varying momentum across major assets. LayerZero's decision to introduce a blockchain-based exchange could be a significant factor in shaping market dynamics. As traders look for new opportunities, the launch may enhance LayerZero's competitive edge and attract more participants. Moreover, the timing aligns with a period of heightened interest in decentralized finance and innovative trading solutions. The essentials. * LayerZero is set to launch its blockchain-based exchange this fall. The exchange aims to enhance LayerZero's ecosystem. The initiative could attract new users and liquidity. This move aligns with market trends towards decentralized trading. Increased competition in the crypto space could follow from this launch. What the data shows. Currently, LayerZero's trading volume stands at $0, reflecting its nascent stage in the market. However, the anticipated launch of the blockchain-based exchange could change this, potentially driving volumes higher as interest builds. Given the mixed signals in the broader market, LayerZero's initiative may provide a fresh catalyst for increased trading activity and investor engagement. LayerZero is a blockchain interoperability protocol that allows seamless communication between different chains. Its upcoming exchange launch showcases the commitment to expanding its ecosystem and enhancing user experience, crucial for capturing market interest and driving adoption. What traders are watching next. Traders are closely watching LayerZero's exchange launch for potential market impacts. Key factors to observe include user adoption rates and liquidity levels post-launch. Additionally, any subsequent partnerships or integrations could further enhance the platform's appeal, making it a focal point for crypto enthusiasts and investors alike. Contributors: Coinfomania News Room Followed by top voices in crypto Follow Coinfomania on google News. Get the latest crypto insights and updates.

Yahoo Finance
Aug 26th, 2026
LayerZero launches ATLAS settlement engine, ZRO surges 10% amid $15B protocol exodus

LayerZero has launched ATLAS, a trading and settlement engine designed to operate underneath exchanges rather than compete with them. The infrastructure has no frontend — trading venues integrate it whilst maintaining their own interfaces and customers, avoiding the need to build matching, clearing and settlement systems themselves. ATLAS will support markets ranging from spot and perpetual contracts to stocks, bonds, commodities and predictions. Venues stake ZRO tokens for fee rebates of 20% to 65%, with 75% of remaining fees used to buy and burn ZRO, and 25% going to market creators. The announcement comes as LayerZero works to rebuild momentum following April's $292 million Kelp DAO bridge exploit, which prompted protocols managing roughly $15 billion to leave the ecosystem. ZRO rose more than 20% on the news, trading above $1.

The Coin Rise
Aug 25th, 2026
LayerZero unveils ATLAS trading infrastructure, ZRO token surges 20%.

LayerZero unveils ATLAS trading infrastructure, ZRO token surges 20%. August 25, 2026 The interoperability protocol's new platform targets both crypto and tokenized asset markets, sending its native token higher. LayerZero introduced ATLAS, a new trading infrastructure built to serve both crypto-native markets and tokenized real-world assets. The announcement came on August 25, 2026, according to reports from CoinDesk and CryptoBriefing. Following the unveiling, ZRO, LayerZero's native token, jumped roughly 20%. LayerZero is known primarily as a cross-chain interoperability protocol. It allows applications and assets to move messages and value across different blockchain networks without relying on centralized bridges. The launch of ATLAS marks an expansion beyond that core messaging layer into trading infrastructure, a segment that touches custody, market structure, and settlement. Details on ATLAS's specific mechanics were not fully outlined in initial reports. What is clear is that the product is positioned to serve two distinct market segments. One is the existing crypto trading ecosystem. The other is the growing field of tokenized markets, where traditional assets like bonds, equities, or funds are represented on blockchain rails. Tokenization has become a focal point for both crypto-native firms and traditional finance institutions over the past two years. Banks, asset managers, and fintech firms have explored issuing tokenized versions of money market funds, treasuries, and other instruments. Infrastructure providers that can offer reliable settlement and interoperability across chains are positioning themselves to capture demand from this shift. LayerZero's move into trading infrastructure suggests an attempt to capture value beyond simple message-passing between chains. By building tools that support both crypto assets and tokenized instruments, the protocol appears to be targeting a broader base of institutional and retail users. This could include exchanges, asset issuers, and trading firms that need cross-chain settlement capabilities. The market reaction was immediate. ZRO's 20% price increase reflects investor interest in the announcement, though the token's price move should be understood in the context of broader crypto market volatility. Token prices tied to protocol announcements often see sharp short-term reactions that can moderate as more details emerge about adoption, timelines, and revenue models. Market impact. The ZRO price surge indicates investor optimism about LayerZero's expansion into trading infrastructure. Interoperability tokens have historically reacted strongly to product announcements that promise new use cases or revenue streams. Whether this momentum holds will likely depend on adoption metrics, partnerships, and further technical disclosures about ATLAS. More broadly, the launch adds to a wave of infrastructure projects targeting tokenized markets. If ATLAS gains traction with exchanges or asset issuers, it could reinforce LayerZero's position as a foundational layer for cross-chain settlement. Competing interoperability and infrastructure providers may respond with their own tokenized market offerings, intensifying competition in this segment. LayerZero's entry into trading infrastructure with ATLAS signals a broader push toward serving tokenized asset markets alongside crypto trading. The token's sharp price reaction underscores investor interest, though the platform's long-term impact will depend on execution and adoption. Frequently asked questions. What is ATLAS? ATLAS is a trading infrastructure product unveiled by LayerZero, designed to support both crypto asset trading and tokenized real-world asset markets. Why did ZRO's price rise? ZRO, LayerZero's native token, rose approximately 20% following the ATLAS announcement, reflecting investor interest in the protocol's expansion into trading infrastructure. What does LayerZero normally do? LayerZero is an interoperability protocol that enables messaging and asset transfers across different blockchain networks without centralized bridges. What are tokenized markets? Tokenized markets refer to traditional financial assets, such as bonds or funds, represented and traded on blockchain infrastructure.