Systems Administrator

at  Irreducible

Irreducible is a team of innovators pushing the boundaries of cryptographic computing. Join us as we accelerate the ZK revolution by supporting web3 networks with the world’s fastest, most reliable, and cost-efficient proof generation through cryptographic software and hardware co-design. We challenge conventional wisdom, simplify complexity, and execute with precision to build category-defining technology. As we continue to scale, we are looking for a talented Systems Administrator to join our Infrastructure team in our Berlin office.

NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong understanding of network protocols and infrastructure.
• Proficiency in Linux and macOS administration.
• Experience with system administration tools and utilities.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to troubleshoot technical issues efficiently.
• Strong communication skills and ability to write clear, structured documentation.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating with remote teams.

BONUS QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with cloud infrastructure or data center hardware administration.
• Proficient in a scripting language such as Python.
• Familiarity with automation tools and hybrid infrastructure.
• Experience managing enterprise security tools and policies.
• Familiarity with observability principles such as monitoring, alerting, and log aggregation.

ABOUT US (DEEP DIVE):

We’re building out a high-performance, cost-efficient compute stack for advanced cryptographic proofs, specifically zk-SNARKs. Verifiable computing with zk-SNARKs is taking off as a solution to the scalability and privacy limitations that today’s blockchains suffer from. A new wave of blockchain protocols that use zk-SNARKs to prove smart contract executions, such as Polygon zkEVM, Starknet, and zkSync, are already in production. We believe there is a big market opportunity to generate proofs for these networks at scale in a cost-effective way [1]. There are lots of interesting performance engineering challenges we need to solve to keep up with the maximum device throughput.
We take the approach of co-designing hardware and software systems to accelerate SNARK generation end-to-end. Our first-generation tech stack uses FPGA accelerators running custom digital logic tailor-made for our use case [2].
We also conduct cryptography research to identify computationally efficient algorithms for verifiable computing. These research efforts produced a novel cryptographic construction based on towers of binary fields called Binius [3] [4], which we are currently developing into a production-grade system.
Our team has cross-domain expertise and includes hardware designers, low-level systems software engineers, cryptography engineers, and data center specialists, several of whom worked in HFT previously.
[1] https://www.paradigm.xyz/2022/04/zk-hardware
[2] https://www.ulvetanna.io/news/fpga-architecture-for-goldilocks-ntt
[3] https://www.ulvetanna.io/news/binius-hardware-optimized-snark
[4] https://cointelegraph.com/news/vitalik-buterin-explains-binius-improve-zero-knowledge-proofs
[5] https://www.ulvetanna.io/news/introducing-ulvetanna
We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where talented individuals can thrive and grow. We value the different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds that each person brings to our team. Even if you don’t fit 100% of the job’s necessary qualifications, we’d still love to hear from you.
To all recruitment agencies: Irreducible does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Irreducible employees, or any other organisation location. Irreducible is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Please read our full policy here

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are looking for a Systems Administrator to join our team in Berlin and support our growing organization. This role will be responsible for managing employee hardware, providing technical support, and ensuring smooth IT operations in the office. As our company expands, we envision this role evolving into a critical position supporting our production environments.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain and track IT assets, deploy employee laptops and peripherals, and ensure smooth hardware lifecycle management.
• Provide hands-on support for hardware, software, and network issues in our office and for remote employees.
• Support and maintain local network infrastructure, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and ensure office IT systems run smoothly.
• Provision and configure accounts and devices for new hires, and securely de-provision access and hardware for departing employees.
• Implement basic security measures, respond to security incidents, and ensure adherence to IT security best practices.
• Write and maintain IT documentation and architect IT processes as the company scales.
• Explore and suggest new technologies and methodologies for the company to adopt.

ROLE LOCATION

• This role is based in Berlin. You must be located there, or open to relocation.
• Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas in certain cases! However, we aren’t able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, but we can’t make any guarantees.
• You’ll need to be in the office three days per week, in addition to more on “as needed” basis. For example, if we have a week-long company offsite, you’ll need to be in the office the entire time.