About this role
o1Labs incubated the Mina Protocol—the first succinct zero-knowledge blockchain—and built o1js, the leading framework for writing ZK applications. We are exploring new applications of programmable cryptography and verifiable infrastructure, with an initial focus on institutional custody and authorization workflows. Our goal is to create portable, independently verifiable evidence that authorization and policy are enforced correctly. We are in an exciting, high-conviction 'zero-to-one' phase, validating our hypotheses and building from the ground up. What this role is If landing the first design partners and shaping the product around what institutions need is appealing to you, then this is a role for you. You own the product rigor and quality of the custody product, and — because we're pre-commitment — you're hands-on in landing and learning from the first institutional design partners and you make sure every idea is pressure-tested against evidence, specified well, and either advanced or killed cleanly. Concretely, you will: ● Lead design-partner discovery and validation with a small set of institutional custodians, help land the first relationships, and turn what they actually need into product direction. ● Own the bar for evidence: every feature or direction is gated against defined proof-of-concept exit criteria. ● Translate complex systems concepts into precise product specifications that engineers can build against without a second translation layer. ● Pressure-test competitive and threat-model claims (e.g. how our enforcement-and-evidence story actually differs from incumbents) ● Maintain the roadmap and manage cross-functional dependencies, timelines, and sequencing as the product takes shape.