Visa, Microsoft, and IBM Are All Hiring Blockchain Developers

Blockchain Developers Wanted

Good news for programmers well-versed in the ways of the blockchain: IBM, Microsoft, USAA, and Visa are all searching for blockchain developers to join their teams right now, according to ads listed on their respective websites.

According to IBM's job listing, the company is seeking out “Consultant Developers” with experience on one or more blockchain platform, citing Ethereum, Hyperledger, and Ripple specifically, but also indicating that “equivalent proprietary platform experience” might also be considered. They are not particular about whether the developer has UX, backend, or full-stack experience.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is looking for a “Principal Program Manager." This person will “develop a deep understanding of how customers use distributed ledger technologies as well as compute, storage, database, and networking services in Azure to architect their applications.”

 

USAA is hoping to find a “Lead Blockchain Developer.” As for their “preferred qualifications,” the financial services company is hoping to find someone with at least two years experience with blockchain, cryptocurrencies, decentralized autonomous organizations, digital registries, distributed ledger, or smart contracts. Their ideal candidate will also have a conceptual knowledge of the mathematical foundations of blockchain technology.

Visa is searching for “a strong developer experienced with Ethereum and blockchain architecture.” As for specifics, they want someone who "has built and released distributed applications, has worked with the Ripple, R3, Ethereum, and/or Bitcoin blockchain, and has experience with Solidity.” Visa also notes that their candidate will need to “maintain [the company's] relationship with the [IBM] Hyperledger initiative.”

Transforming Society

The interest in developers with blockchain experience is just one more sign that the technology is poised to radically transform our world. Notably, both USAA and Visa are looking for developers with Ethereum experience — no surprise given the strong presence the blockchain now has among financial companies, many of which are using Ethereum as the basis for their blockchain technologies.

IBM and Microsoft are already well on their way to integrating the blockchain into their business models. PC Mag reports that both have custom blockchains for their own blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms (Bluemix for IBM and Azure for Microsoft) using their cloud infrastructure. These platforms allow the companies to experiment with use cases for customers and for their own purposes.

 

At the heart of IBM's short-term goals is blockchain identity management — a real-world, ultra-secure applied use of the technology to guard identity and associated financial and other sensitive information online — so if you're thinking about applying there, chances are excellent you'll be working on something related to that.

Whether they land at IBM or one of the several other companies looking to delve deeper into blockchain, the developers who fill these open positions will be the people ushering  in an entirely new era in technology.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.