Applied Cryptographer at Mercor

Applied Cryptographer | $10.5/hr | Remote

Join Mercor as an Applied Cryptographer and help shape the security foundations of advanced AI systems. In this contractor role, you will design, implement, and review cryptographic primitives and protocols, ensuring robust security for production-grade systems.

• Key Responsibilities:
• Design and implement cryptographic primitives and secure protocols.
• Review code for cryptographic misuse, side-channel vulnerabilities, and entropy issues.
• Guide secure key management, PKI, and certificate handling practices.
• Integrate cryptography into AI systems with a focus on performance and reliability.
• Collaborate with engineers to ensure end-to-end encryption and secure communications.
• Document cryptographic workflows and establish best practices.

Ideal Candidate:

• Background in computer science, mathematics, or information security.
• Proficiency in Python and C or Rust, with secure systems programming experience.
• Strong knowledge of cryptographic primitives and protocols (AES, RSA, ECDH, TLS).
• Experience with OpenSSL/LibreSSL, libsodium, and PKI infrastructure.
• Understanding of HSMs, secure key storage, and certificate management.
• Ability to identify and mitigate side-channel vulnerabilities and entropy problems.

This is a flexible, part-time contractor position (20–30 hrs/week) with weekly payments and performance bonuses. Work from anywhere and contribute to the security of mission-critical AI applications.