Expert in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) - ESCB/IO

Expert in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) - ESCB/IO

Your team

You will be part of the Central Banking Services Division in the ECB’s Directorate General Information Systems. Our Division provides a comprehensive portfolio of IT services supporting core capabilities in monetary policy preparation and implementation, statistics, banknotes and market infrastructure and payments.

In your role as an Expert in distributed ledger technology (DLT), you will be part of the Appia project team of around 20 members contributing to a programme to enable the wholesale settlement of DLT-based transactions in central bank money. We are currently seeking an expert to join our team as of July 2026.

You will work closely with stakeholders in other business areas of the ECB (e.g. the Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments and the Directorate General Market Operations) and national central banks.

Your role

As an Expert in DLT, you will:

• contribute to the analysis and scoping of practical work in the context of Appia, as well as to initial research and analytical work;
• analyse the business and policy implications of DLT, including the analysis and design of various proofs of concept in diverse aspects of DLT networks, with a focus on security, resilience and risk management;
• analyse and contribute to the design, testing and deployment of smart contracts;
• keep abreast of the latest developments and innovations in the field of DLT architectures and technologies, e.g. by attending workshops and conferences;
• coordinate and contribute to briefings, notes, presentations, speeches and reports for the ECB’s committees and decision-making bodies, as well as for Eurosystem working groups, collaborating with other project team members and counterparts at national central banks;
• assess the architecture and security-related aspects of different DLT solutions.

The position offers you an excellent opportunity to work in a stimulating environment and explore how DLT technologies can be used to enable wholesale settlement of DLT-based transactions in central bank money, thereby helping the ECB to fulfil its mandate. You will be part of a multicultural team working together with market participants to shape a future ready, innovative, tokenised and integrated European financial ecosystem.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Essential:

• a master’s degree or equivalent in computer engineering or another relevant field;
• in addition to the above, a minimum of four years’ professional experience (other than as a trainee or intern) in the field of computer engineering and/or software development;
• proven ability to use, analyse and compare DLT designs and hands-on experience in designing, programming, deploying and testing smart contracts (e.g. Ethereum and Solidity);
• sound knowledge of IT architecture, IT security and cryptography;
• programming skills (e.g. Python, Java) and the ability to define, design and implement proofs of concepts;
• experience presenting your analysis in a clear and concise manner for use in reports, publications and policy discussions;
• an advanced (C1) command of English and an intermediate (B1) command of at least one other official language of the EU.

Desired:

• familiarity with innovative financial market infrastructure solutions in terms of integrity, resilience and compliance;
• sound knowledge of technical architecture in transactional and settlement systems;
• technical expertise in blockchain fundamentals, ensuring secure and scalable implementation.

You engage collaboratively with others. You pursue team goals and learn willingly from other people’s diverse perspectives. You signal any need for change by explaining it and proposing alternative solutions. You analyse complex information effectively and can evaluate different views to arrive at solutions. You know and anticipate stakeholder needs.

You are motivated to contribute to the ECB’s mission, to serve the citizens of the EU as a member of a public institution and to work with colleagues from all over Europe. You are motivated to be part of our team and to develop and use your skills and competencies to achieve the aims of this position.

Working modalities

We would be happy to discuss a part-time arrangement for this role.

Further information

The contract offered will be short-term ESCB/IO, the appointment being for 12 months as of the exact starting date of the selected person, extendable to up to 36 months. Candidates must have a contract of employment with their home institution for a period of at least one year beyond the duration of the ECB contract being offered.