About the Role
C3iHub, IIT Kanpur, is looking for a Research Engineer - Blockchain to conduct advanced research and develop cutting-edge solutions in blockchain, distributed ledger technologies, Web3 security, interoperability, scalability, privacy-preserving technologies, decentralized identity, and smart contract security.
The role covers the complete research lifecycle – literature review, problem formulation, protocol and algorithm design, prototype development, experimentation, security evaluation, technical documentation, and dissemination through publications, patents, and technology demonstrators. It is best suited to candidates interested in applied research at the intersection of blockchain, cryptography, distributed systems, and cybersecurity, with an emphasis on converting research ideas into deployable solutions.
Key Research Areas
The candidate may work on one or more of the following areas depending on project requirements:
Blockchain Interoperability & Cross-Chain Systems – cross-chain communication protocols, bridge and atomic-swap security,



and interoperability between permissioned and public blockchains.
Blockchain Scalability & Distributed Ledger Technologies – consensus mechanisms (PoW, PoS, and emerging designs), DAG-based and sharded ledger architectures, and performance benchmarking.
Layer-2 and Layer-3 Technologies – sidechains, state channels, optimistic and zk-rollups, and their security and interaction with Layer-1 networks.
Smart Contract & Web3 Security – vulnerability research in Solidity/token contracts, automated auditing tools, and security frameworks for DeFi and cross-chain applications.
Privacy-Preserving Blockchain & Cryptographic Systems – Zero-Knowledge Proofs, Secure Multi-Party Computation, and privacy-enhancing protocols for identity, credentials, and financial applications.
Key Responsibilities
Research & Analysis – Conduct literature surveys, identify research gaps, and formulate novel research problems and hypotheses.
Prot

📌 Research Engineer (Kanpur)
🏢 C3iHub, IIT Kanpur
📍 Kanpur