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Senior Engineer, Agentic Identity

Baselayer
Location
San Francisco, California
Posted
19 days ago
Department
Engineering
Salary
$230,000 – $340,000
What they actually want (must-haves)
  • Shipped systems where cryptographic correctness was load-bearing: OAuth/OIDC IdP, token issuer, signing service, HSM-backed signer, passkey/WebAuthn flow, or similar.
  • Fluent in Python and Go, or strong in one with a track record of learning the other quickly.
  • Reads RFCs as primary sources and holds informed opinions on JWK thumbprint canonicalization, pairwise-sub derivation, and Signature-Input header serialization.
  • Deep understanding of the distinction between identity and authorization, mandate and claim, snapshot and live state.
  • Production experience with async Python on Postgres, including migration safety and observability.
Nice to have
  • Verifiable credentials / SSI / DID work - especially SD-JWT-VC, OID4VC, or the W3C VC stack.
  • Certificate Transparency, Trillian, or similar append-only-log experience.
  • KYC/KYB pipeline experience: provider abstraction, evidence retention, eIDAS/FATF CDD level mapping, ownership-chain resolution.
  • Edge/CDN engineering - Cloudflare Workers, Fastly Compute, Envoy filters, or mTLS at the edge.
  • Familiarity with AP2, x402, MPP, UCP, or Mastercard VI specs and how identity rides alongside mandate.
What the job really is

As a Senior Engineer at Baselayer, you will be responsible for building and maintaining critical components of a cryptographic identity substrate, including the runtime issuer/mint and user account management systems. You will work with a small team to tackle complex engineering challenges related to real-time entity resolution and identity verification, using technologies like Python and Go. Your role will involve shipping production-ready systems that ensure cryptographic correctness and high performance.

Benefits
  • Flexible PTO so you can recharge without red tape
  • In-person energy: We're based in SF and meet in the office 4 days a week
  • Competitive compensation: We pay well and back it with equity. We want you to think and act like an owner
  • Career rocket fuel: You'll help build the foundation of a high-growth startup, working side by side with experienced founders and team members who've done it before
  • We cover 100% of your health, dental, and vision premiums. No surprise deductions from your paycheck
  • 401(k) with company match: We match your contributions so your future self benefits too
Things to weigh
  • No specific mention of remote work flexibility beyond hybrid 4 days per week in office.
  • The role involves complex engineering challenges that may require a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with cryptographic systems.
Job score4.8/5
Benefits5/5
Freshness4/5
Career value5/5
Role clarity5/5
Pay transparency5/5

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