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About Us Nu is one of the largest digital financial platforms in the world, with more than 127 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Guided by our mission to fight complexity and empower people, we are redefining financial services in Latin America and this is still just the beginning of the purple future we’re building.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NU), we combine proprietary technology, data intelligence, and an efficient operating model to deliver financial products that are simple, accessible, and human.
Our impact has been recognized by global rankings such as Time 100 Companies, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and Forbes World’s Best Bank. Visit our institutional page https://international.nubank.com.br/careers/
About The Role
Nu is building secure, compliant crypto infrastructure that will expand financial access for millions of people across Latin America. In crypto, there is no margin for error — a mistake in production can be irreversible, with direct financial exposure. As we open our Silicon Valley engineering hub, we’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer, Crypto who thinks adversarially, builds defensively, and operates at the intersection of cryptography, distributed systems, and financial regulation.
You’ll be part of a focused crypto team in Palo Alto, collaborating with security, compliance, and product teams across our global offices. Our crypto engineering culture values correctness above all — we design systems assuming they will be attacked, and build accordingly. We move deliberately, with a high bar for security reviews and code quality.
In this role, you’ll own cryptographic systems, protocols, or blockchain infrastructure for your domain — key management, signing flows, consensus mechanisms, and on-chain integrations. You’ll ensure correctness, security, and regulatory compliance, and you’ll be the person who says “no, that’s not safe” and makes it stick.
You’ll be responsible for
- Own cryptographic systems, protocols, or blockchain infrastructure for your domain, including key management, signing flows, and on-chain integrations.
- Design and implement secure, compliant crypto infrastructure that meets the highest standards for correctness and reliability.
- Think adversarially: design systems assuming they will be attacked, conduct threat modeling, and build defensive architectures.
- Navigate the intersection of cryptography, distributed systems, and financial regulation, ensuring all systems meet compliance requirements.
- Lead security reviews and code quality processes for crypto-related systems, enforcing a high bar for production readiness.
- Collaborate with security, compliance, and product teams to ensure crypto features are both safe and user-friendly.
- Mentor peers on crypto engineering best practices and contribute to the team’s security-first engineering culture.
We are looking for a person who has
Required
- Track record of building and operating cryptographic systems, blockchain infrastructure, or secure financial systems in production.
- Deep understanding of cryptographic primitives, key management, signing protocols, and consensus mechanisms.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals with experience in languages used in crypto infrastructure (e.g., Go, Rust, Java, Python).
- Experience designing systems with an adversarial mindset: threat modeling, security reviews, and defensive architecture.
- Understanding of financial regulation as it applies to crypto and digital assets, with experience building compliant systems.
- Demonstrated ability to make high-stakes engineering decisions where correctness and security are non-negotiable.
- Experience collaborating with security, compliance, and legal teams on system design and review processes.
Nice to have
- Experience with specific blockchain protocols (e.g., Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana) and their integration patterns.
- Background in DeFi protocols, custody solutions, or institutional crypto infrastructure.
- Experience in fintech, payments, or other financial services environments with strict regulatory requirements.
- Familiarity with HSMs, secure enclaves, and hardware-backed key management systems.
- Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools and a thoughtful approach to leveraging AI in security-critical engineering.
Location
Palo Alto, United States
Our Benefits
- Opportunity of earning equity at Nu
- Medical Insurance
- Dental and Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance and AD&D
- Extended maternity and paternity leaves
- Nucleo – Our learning platform of courses
- NuLanguage – Our language learning program
- NuCare – Our mental health and wellness assistance program
- 401K
- Saving Plans – Health Saving Account and Flexible Spending Account
- Work-from-home Allowance
- Relocation Assistance Package, if applicable
Work Model
Hybrid 2-3 times/week: Our hybrid work model brings us to the office at least twice a week, on strategic days designed to maximize team connection and collaboration. For more details, visit https://building.nubank.com/nu-hybrid-work-model/
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