Hire Ethereum developers rapidly and remotely without sacrificing quality

Ether (ETH) is now the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world. With a market cap of over $38 billion, ETH currently has a circulating supply of over 120,000,000. As a result, Ethereum developers — programmers who work with Ethereum, ETH's blockchain-based software platform — are in high demand.

If you work with Ethereum projects or plan to do so, you can't hire just any developer but need to seek ones with specific skills and capabilities. Unlike other cryptocurrency developers, such as Bitcoin experts, Ethereum developers have distinct skillsets revolving around Ethereum blockchain development.

We composed a comprehensive guide to help you learn more about Ethereum and the professionals who work on it. You'll discover everything from qualifications and skills needed for the job to salaries. Hopefully, this will help you hire Ethereum developers who will perfectly fit your company.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a blockchain platform known for its native cryptocurrency, ETH. Like other blockchain technologies, Ethereum is secure because it has a distributed nature. Essentially, it consists of a long chain of blocks linked together, with each link in the network having the same knowledge of the entire blockchain.

Every time new data gets added to the blockchain, the network requires distributed consensus — majority agreement — from all of the users on the blockchain for any changes to be made. This means that a group or individual would need to gain majority control of the platform's computers — a near-impossible feat — to manipulate the blockchain.

Ethereum also supports a network of decentralized apps (dApps). Smart contracts play a key role in how these apps work, and many decentralized finance (DeFi) apps use Ethereum's smart contracts to facilitate transactions.

Besides ETH and other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum can support many other applications, including:

• MetaMask: The web browser plug-in that links your device to the Ethereum network is MetaMask. It enables token sharing and peer-to-peer sharing.
• Rarible: One of the most popular non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces is called Rarible.
• Catalog: As an app for artists, Catalog allows you to collect, listen to, and trade music. Artists get 100% on initial sales.
• Compound Finance: This is a protocol for efficient money markets on Ethereum.
• Brave Frontier Heroes: Next in line is a crossover of the blockchain game My Crypto Heroes and the mobile game BRAVE FRONTIER.
• Sorare: As a fantasy soccer game, Sorare uses Ethereum's blockchain platform to distribute and secure the ownership of cards. Players can enter weekly tournaments, trade players, and more for money.

Ethereum vs. Bitcoin

Although Ethereum and Bitcoin are both blockchain platforms that offer cryptocurrencies, they are otherwise quite distinct.

Ethereum Isn’t Just for Cryptocurrency

Ethereum is often described as a "programmable blockchain," which means it can be used for many applications. On the other hand, blockchain was created only to support the bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Ethereum Has No Cap for How Much ETH Can Be Created

Bitcoin and Ethereum also differ when it comes to cryptocurrency support. While the total number of bitcoins in existence is capped at 21 million, there's no limit to how much ETH can be created.

Ethereum Users Pay Transaction Processing Fees During Transactions

Another difference is how Ethereum and Bitcoin approach processing fees. Ethereum users pay processing fees in transactions, while Bitcoin transaction fees get absorbed into the Bitcoin network.

Developer Qualifications Needed for Ethereum Development

Ethereum development requires specific qualifications, including a solid understanding of blockchain technology and robust programming skills. Here's what you should look for when hiring Ethereum developers for your project or startup:

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Information Technology

Most companies prefer to hire Ethereum developers with a bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology. A bachelor's degree shows that a potential hire has a strong grasp of mathematics, coding, logic, algorithms, data structures, and other blockchain and programming fundamentals.

However, that doesn't mean you should only limit yourself to hiring candidates with degrees. Many experienced Ethereum developers without degrees have ample experience developing and creating Ethereum apps and smart contracts. Conversely, not all Ethereum developers with degrees have the background and skillset you search for in your next hire.

In short, a potential hire's portfolio, skill set, and experience are more important than solely a degree. Moreover, many universities don't even teach blockchain and other latest cutting-edge technologies your Ethereum developer should be familiar with to succeed in the role.

Solid Understanding of Blockchain Fundamentals

Before you hire Ethereum developers, make sure they have a solid grasp of blockchain fundamentals. If they don't have plenty of experience working with blockchain technology, they won't be able to help you with your Ethereum project.

Your candidate needs to know how to create and use the following:

• Consensus algorithms
• Comparison of proof of stake versus proof of work
• Smart contracts
• Transactions and gas prices
• Sharding
• Token standards
• Incentives for miners
• Blockchain security

Ethereum Programming Languages

Your ideal Ethereum engineer should also know Solidity, the Ethereum programming language. A statically-typed programming language with curly braces, Solidity is specifically designed for creating Ethereum smart contracts.

Besides Solidity, your Ethereum developer should also have a strong grasp of other programming languages, including:

• Python
• Java
• Rust
• C++
• .NET
• Ruby
• JavaScript

Understanding of Cryptography

The best Ethereum developer for your startup or project should know cryptography. As a practice of protecting information from unauthorized third parties, cryptography is an essential developer skill. It involves using ironclad technologies that make it impossible for third parties to interfere with the data sent between two parties. We can also observe cryptography as a practice of keeping data secure without relying on a third party.

A skilled Ethereum developer should know the following cryptography topics:

• Private key encryption
• Public key encryption
• Digital signatures
• Encrypted storage
• Ring signatures
• Elliptic curve encryption
• Zero-knowledge proofs

Ethereum Blockchain Developer Skills Required

The qualifications we listed above are not the only representation of Ethereum developers' skills. Your ideal candidate should also know the following:

How to Create Smart Contracts and dApps

Your Ethereum blockchain developer needs to know how to program, use, and implement smart contracts. These protocols can digitally verify, facilitate, and enforce a contract without any paperwork. As a vital part of every transaction, smart contracts accelerate the execution of an agreement so that every user will immediately know the outcome.

Before you hire Ethereum developers, also ensure they are fluent in creating and debugging dApps that run on the Ethereum blockchain. dApps work just like regular apps — the only difference is that they're decentralized, which means they operate on peer-to-peer networks like blockchain. No entity or person controls the network.

dApps are also open-source and have public data and records. They use cryptographic tokens to keep the network safe and secure.

Learn More: What Is the Best Blockchain for Smart Contracts, and Why?

The Difference Between Solana, Ethereum, and Other Cryptos' Coding Languages

Finally, your Ethereum engineers should know the difference between Solana, Ethereum, and other cryptos' coding languages. In particular, they should be familiar with the disparity between Rust, Solana's main programming language, and Ethereum's Solidity.

Rust is a popular language with many blockchain applications, just like Solidity. However, the similarities end there. Unlike Solidity, which has a lot of similarities with JavaScript, Rust is the most similar to C++.

What's more, Rust is much harder to master than Solidity. According to the Rust Survey of 2021, 83% of programmers who used Rust at work found it challenging to operate. This echoes the results of the Rust Survey of 2020, where 15.8% of respondents said they would use Rust more often if it was easier to learn, and the largest feedback category was training and documentation.

Because learning and coding in Rust can be so draining, the ideal Ethereum developers should know when to use it and when to avoid it. Otherwise, they may waste a lot of time coding in Rust when they could easily use a more intuitive language such as Solidity.

Ethereum Developer Salary Comparison

Salaries of Ethereum developers depend on the positions. Besides generic tasks, developers can work on smart contracts, crypto gaming development, and more.

Here's a salary comparison of the most popular Ethereum developer roles:

Ethereum Developer

The average salary of an Ethereum developer varies depending on location. Professionals in Asia earn about $125,000 per year, while those in the U.S. have around $127,500 per year. Remote Ethereum developers make the most, reaching a whopping $145,000 per year.

What tasks do you pay Ethereum developers to perform? These professionals are typically responsible for creating, testing, and deploying smart contracts on dApps. Although they usually use Solidity for these tasks, they may also use other languages, such as JavaScript.

Additionally, Ethereum developers are responsible for:

• Creating a non-repeatable transaction record through Ethereum smart contracts
• Integrating Solidity through different platforms
• Managing and assisting with the full lifecycle of Ethereum development
• Working with multi-disciplinary teams and management to research new ideas for dApps and smart contract development
• Analyzing transaction and usage stats to spot areas for improvement
• Supervising web services and dApps that use Ethereum blockchain technology

Besides proven ability and experience with Solidity and Ethereum blockchains, Ethereum developers need the following skills:

• JavaScript, C++, and C
• Angular JS, Ember JS, and React JS
• HTML, JSReact, and CSS for application binary interface (ABI) integration
• Remix, Hardhat, and Truffle Suite for deploying smart contracts
• Knowledge of blockchain architecture, data structures, web development, and libraries
• Knowledge and experience with RESTful APIs
• Experience working with Ethereum mainnet and testnet

Smart Contract Developer

According to Glassdoor, the average salary of smart contract developers in New York City is $89,604 per year, with an additional cash compensation of $15,264.

There's some overlap between Ethereum developers and smart contract developers since both use the Solidity programming language to create smart contracts. However, the former professionals have bigger responsibilities, including developing, testing, and running dApps. In contrast, the later experts solely make smart contracts for Ethereum blockchains. Specifically, they're responsible for:

• Designing, developing, and deploying smart contracts architecture, incentive structures, yield pools, and strategies
• Crafting, implementing, and testing smart contract upgrades
• Researching smart contract design ideas and implications
• Working with the rest of the IT team to implement fixes to smart contracts

The ideal smart contract developer should also have the following hard skills:

• At least four or five years of full-stack web development
• Solidity, JavaScript, and NodeJS
• User Experience (EX)
• Experience with patterns that will boost the quality and performance of their Solidity code, such as:

• Guard Check
• Oracles
• Eternal Storage
• Emergency Stop
• Pull over Push
• Tight Variable Packing

Blockchain Developer

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for a blockchain developer is $154,550 per year or $74 per hour. Like Ethereum developers, blockchain developers are responsible for creating and deploying smart contracts and dApps. However, they need to know more than just Ethereum since they may be required to work on other blockchain platforms, such as Solana and Bitcoin. Therefore, this position requires a broad skill set.

Here's what most companies look for when hiring blockchain developers:

• Knowledge of different types of blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin
• Experience deploying smart contracts on Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin
• Understanding of a wide range of programming languages, including:

• C++
• C#
• Java
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Python
• Solidity
• Rust
• SQL
• Simplicity

• Experience working with different data structures
• Background in cryptography and security protocols

Crypto Gaming Developer

The average salary of a crypto gaming developer depends on two factors: the candidate's experience and the company size. Less experienced crypto game devs working at smaller companies usually earn $45,000 to $70,000 a year. However, experienced crypto gaming devs working at larger companies can make around $150,000 a year.

Also known as NFT game developers, crypto game developers are responsible for developing smart contracts for creating, using, and replacing NFTs in games. They may also work on designing the UX of crypto games.

Solidity Developer

The average salary of a Solidity developer is the same as the average salary of an Ethereum developer. That's because most companies use these two terms interchangeably.

However, some companies may offer lower rates for Solidity developers since they only use one language. In contrast, Ethereum developers typically use Solidity and other languages to create and test smart contracts and dApps.

Where to Find Ethereum Developers, Coders, and Programmers

Once you determine what kind of Ethereum developer you're looking for, you should create a list of places for finding such professionals. Here are the top places to source and hire Ethereum programmers:

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform you can use to find and hire Ethereum developers. By joining popular Ethereum and blockchain communities like Ethereum Network and interacting with programmers through comments and direct messages, you can locate great hires for your team.

Companies can also use LinkedIn business tools to target and locate candidates faster. LinkedIn also offers the following to help you hire Ethereum programmers:

• Recruiter: This all-encompassing platform helps discover and connect with potential leads. It gives you up-to-date insights on more than 740 million LinkedIn members, recommended matches, and advanced search filters.
• Career Pages: An employer branding tool for attracting leads, Career Pages helps you raise awareness, drive interest in your startup, and create a pipeline of candidates for open roles.
• Talent Insights: As a talent intelligence platform that lets you make smart hiring and workforce decisions, Talent Insights helps you:

• Deploy or find talent effectively through workforce benchmarks and snapshots
• Use real-time supply and demand data to inform headcount and retention planning
• Use competitive benchmarking and skill trends to address current and future skill gaps

Freelancer Sites

You can also use freelancing sites like Fiverr and Upwork to find and hire Ethereum developers. These sites boast many freelance devs willing to work for affordable rates. Unlike traditional full-time workers, freelance Ethereum developers charge by project or by the hour. You also don't need to pay them benefits, so you get to save money.

These sites are like one-stop-shops for all of your hiring needs since they have freelancers specializing in many roles and skills, from Ethereum and blockchain programming to illustration and UX. However, they don't offer pre-vetting or any other supportive recruiting services, so you need to do everything on your own.

Talent Marketplaces Like Revelo

Finally, you can use talent marketplaces like Revelo to source and hire Ethereum developers. Unlike freelancer sites and LinkedIn, talent marketplaces already have deep pools of pre-vetted candidates and offer the much-needed recruitment support.

With Revelo, you don't have to waste time looking through piles of resumes and profiles. We handle all the burdensome tasks instead of you. All you need to do is tell us your hiring needs and goals. We'll send you a list of Ethereum developers who best fit your requirements in just a few days. You can then interview the candidates and pick the ones you want to hire.

How to Hire Ethereum Smart Contract Developers

After you pick a platform for hiring Ethereum developers, you need to write a job post to attract the perfect applicants for the role. Once your post gathers the best candidates, well-composed interview questions will help you narrow down your choices. Coding challenges can also help you determine who is the best fit for your company.

Ethereum Developer Job Post Example

We composed an Ethereum developer job post example for inspirational purposes. Hopefully, it will serve you as a base for crafting your own.

Senior Ethereum Smart Contract Developer at Revelo

Revelo is looking for a remote Senior Ethereum Smart Contract Developer to join our team. Our ideal candidate will work with our IT and development teams to code, design, run, debug, and deploy our Ethereum blockchain platform. Your main goal will be to ensure our platform works the way it should.

Degrees, years of experience, and titles don't matter to us — your portfolio and skills do. This position is open to Senior Ethereum Smart Contract Developers located in the following time zones:

• Eastern Standard Time (EST)
• Pacific Standard Time (PST)
• Mountain Standard Time (PST)

Responsibilities:

• Give users more options to accept payments
• Build blockchain and web3 technologies and tools
• Lead and aid the development of blockchain algorithms
• Create and develop chain validators for managing data in the blockchain
• Manage nodes, which includes developing key rotation, administrative voting systems, slashing and staking algorithms, and multi-signature validation
• Create a transaction governor for managing heavy transaction pools
• Build blockchains and APIs for our developers to use
• Create features that bring blockchain, cryptocurrency, and web3 features to companies and developers using our platform

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent education in computer science or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in software and API development
• 3+ years of experience writing services and APIs in Solidity, Rust, JavaScript, and C++
• Background in building web3 applications and dApps
• Knows how to create, edit, and regulate smart contracts
• Able to create and use DeFi applications and cryptocurrency wallets
• Strong problem-solving skills
• A security-first mindset
• Self-motivated
• Passionate about blockchain technology and is always up to date about the industry's newest developments
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Open to trying out new tools and diving into the great unknown to solve challenging problems
• Can work unsupervised or with colleagues to solve problems

Nice-to-Haves:

• Knowledge of Kubernetes
• Familiarity with Kafka and event-driven architectures
• Understanding of Ansible, Terraform, Docker, and AWS
• Postgresql DBA

Schedule:

• 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM EST
• Monday to Friday

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Employee discount
• Paid time off
• 3 weeks of paid vacation time

More About Revelo

Revelo is Latin America's largest human resources tech company. We have a frictionless recruitment platform that matches companies with candidates in three days. Our goal is to connect tech startups with FAANG-calibre Latin American programmers.

We believe in a decentralized digital future where people own the products they buy and have full transparency into the app they're using. That's why we're hiring blockchain developers to help us realize this mission.

Visit our website at revelo.io to learn more about us, including our perks and benefits.

Ethereum Interview Questions

If you end up with more than one resume that looks to fit the role, the interview will help you sort out candidates and distinguish the best one. Therefore, don't ask generic tech questions when meeting with applicants. Opt for position-specific questions that will give you insight into your candidate's skills, personality, and experience.

Here's what you can ask Ethereum developers during an interview:

• How long have you worked in the blockchain field?
• How do you approach smart contracts?
• Do you prefer using Rust, JavaScript, or Solidify for Ethereum projects? Which is your favorite and why?
• What dApps have you worked on?
• Have you worked with DeFi companies or projects?
• Do you have any experience with UX? How do you incorporate UX into the dApp creation process?
• How do you keep up with Ethereum and blockchain trends?
• What is your favorite Ethereum or blockchain trend?
• How do you find working with containers like Docker and Kubernetes?

Ethereum Coding Challenges

With coding challenges, you can test your candidates' talents and see how true they were about their skills. But which one to choose? Fortunately, there are many coding challenges out there to inspire you. The three most common types are:

Take-Home Assignments

These coding challenges are comprehensive and will help you filter out dishonest candidates. Prospects can complete them at home after or before interviews. However, we recommend giving them after the first meet-up and before the last interview. As take-home assignments usually take a lot of time and effort, candidates won't invest in them if they don't know enough about your company.

Live-Coding Interviews

In live challenges, candidates get a coding problem they need to solve for a hiring manager who asks questions along the way. The questioning process allows you to learn more about a candidate's knowledge and thought process, communication skills, and other aspects you can't detect during take-home assignments.

However, there's one downside to consider. While these interviews are highly effective as there's almost no chance of cheating or plagiarism, they can be incredibly stressful for your hiring manager and the candidate.

Pair Programming

A happy medium between take-home assignments and live-coding interviews is pair programming. The activity involves pairing a member of your hiring team and a candidate to work on a coding project. The candidate usually writes the code, and the interviewer reviews it. They may also analyze a codebase or database together.

With the right hiring manager, this can be a great option. However, if your hiring manager doesn't know how to code and doesn't have a lot of patience, pair programming may not reveal much about your potential hire.

Start Building With Revelo

It can be challenging to find and hire Ethereum developers, particularly if you're new to the blockchain scene. Fortunately, we at Revelo got your back.

Our hiring process is simple — tell us your needs, and we'll find you the ideal candidates. All our Ethereum programmers have been pre-vetted for their knowledge, experience, and English proficiency. They also specialize in every tech stack and language.

What's more, Revelo handles payroll, taxes, and compliance for you. We manage the candidates and the tiresome paperwork so you can focus on driving success in the cryptocurrency world.

Sounds compelling? Contact us today and start building your Ethereum team with Revelo.