Top Skills to Look Out for When Hiring Blockchain Developers

Bringing blockchain developers onto your team can either be rewarding or disatisfying, depending on the candidates you choose. Yet, when you want to hire blockchain developers, you’ll get multiple resumes listing tons of projects, experiences, and accolades throughout their careers. Don’t be deceived! You have to maintain absolute objectivity to ensure you hire the right person. After all, if your blockchain network fails, your business would be bearing the bulk of the brunt. 

But what specific blockchain developer skills should you be looking for to make sure you’re hiring the perfect professional for your enterprise blockchain development project? 

If you’re confused about the perfect answer to this question, we’ve got you covered! 

In this guide, we break down everything from what a blockchain developer is expected to be to the hard and soft skills they need to be efficient. We also provide you with some subtle tips to help you make the best hiring decisions. 

Let’s begin! 

Who is a Blockchain Developer? 

A blockchain developer is a software engineering professional who develops blockchains. They understand blockchain technology, its architecture, and protocol and leverage this knowledge to program, develop, and test blockchains, decentralized apps (dApps), distributed ledgers, and smart contracts. 

There are two major categories of blockchain developers, namely: 

• Core blockchain developers 
• Software blockchain developers 

Core blockchain developers specialise in building the core web architecture and security of a blockchain system upon which other dApps and web varieties are built. Additionally, the core blockchain developer designs security patterns, protocols, and every other component vital to the smooth functioning of the network as a whole. 

On the other hand, software blockchain developers specialise in building different dApps, smart contracts, and other web varieties that run on existing blockchain platforms or systems. Additionally, these blockchain developers handle the design, maintenance, front-end, and back-end development of blockchain applications. 

While some blockchain engineers might be skilled enough to handle both responsibilities, it is important to know that they are two distinct job descriptions. 

Considering the complexity of these job descriptions and the fact that blockchain development is an emerging field, there is a limited supply of quality blockchain developers capable of delivering results. However, the “gigabrain” blockchain developers often possess some telling skills and abilities. In the following section, we identify these skills so that you can spot them easily when you want to hire blockchain developers. 

Top 6 Hard Skills Blockchain Developers Should Possess

Whether they’re building the core blockchain architecture or developing innovative dApps to run on existing blockchains, the following are six of the specific abilities and skills you must spot in blockchain developers before hiring them. 

1. Basic Understanding of the Blockchain Architecture

Any blockchain developer you’ll be hiring must be able to explain the inner workings of a simple blockchain architecture comfortably. They must be able to describe the four types of blockchain architecture, namely: 

• Private blockchain
• Public blockchain
• Hybrid blockchain
• Consortium blockchain 

Furthermore, they must understand the different types of consensus mechanisms that bring all the nodes of a distributed ledger technology (DLT) into agreement on a single dataset. These consensus mechanisms include Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Proof-of-Work (PoW), Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS), Proof-of-Capacity (PoS), and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). 

When hiring, it’s not enough for the developer to just name-drop these fancy concepts. You need to make sure they get how it all fits in the bigger picture, and most importantly, you need to make sure they can transfer that knowledge into building secure, decentralised, and efficient systems. 

2. Strong Foundation of Cryptographic Concepts

Many businesses like yours are often involved in enterprise blockchain development as they try to create and implement blockchain solutions tailored to their businesses. In such cases, you need to create private and permissioned networks where only select participants can access data. Therefore, your blockchain network must be highly secure and functional. 

Consequently, any blockchain developer you hire for blockchain business development must have a strong foundation of cryptographic concepts. Cryptography is the backbone of blockchain security and functionality. It ensures that all the business data stored on the blockchain is encrypted. 

Not only that. 

Cryptographic techniques like zero-knowledge proofs allow businesses to verify transactions without exposing sensitive details. As a matter of fact, the best blockchain developers often possess the following cryptography-related  skills: 

• Cryptographic hash functions
• Public key cryptography
• Consensus algorithms
• Wallet security
• Merkle trees
• Zero-knowledge proofs 

Make sure you confirm these cryptographic skills and more before hiring a blockchain developer. 

3. Web Development Expertise 

After building the core functionalities of a blockchain network, you still need a web interface through which users can interact with and use the platform. The blockchain developer (usually, the software blockchain developers) is responsible for building this web app. That’s why it is important to confirm their proficiency in web development technologies like HTML, CSS,  and JavaScript, at the very least. You may also need competencies in backend frameworks like Node.js, Python, Java, etc.

Blockchain developers must be able to design, develop, optimise, and secure web applications to ensure efficiency and user-friendliness without disrupting a blockchain network.  

4. Familiarity With Data Structures 

Immutability—the ability of a blockchain ledger to remain unchanged–is one of the most important attributes of blockchain technology. Once a transaction has been verified and processed, the details cannot be reversed. 

Do you know why that is the case? 

Blockchain data structures! 

These are essential lists of blocks interconnected through unique cryptographic hashes to form a chain of blocks or “blockchain.” In other words, all blockchain systems are entirely built on data structures. They are responsible for the blockchain’s security, transparency, immutability, and decentralisation. 

The following are some common examples of blockchain data structures: 

• Linked lists
• Hash tables
• Distributed ledgers
• Merkle trees

As a result, blockchain developers need to be familiar with data structures because they are the foundation of how blockchain networks store, organise, and secure information. For any blockchain developer to build the blockchain itself, they must understand common concepts like linked lists, hash tables, and Merkle trees. Furthermore, a proper understanding of how to build these data structures also helps the developer optimise the blockchain network’s performance by minimising latency and maximising stability. 

5. Smart Contracts Expertise 

Smart contracts are computer programs, scripts, or digital contracts stored on a blockchain network that automate transactions and agreed-upon actions when certain conditions are met.  They eliminate the need for intermediaries, thus making blockchain technology more reliable. 

As such, they’re pivotal to the smooth functioning of decentralised applications (dApps) and other blockchain use cases across several industries. Every blockchain developer worth their salt must know what smart contracts are, how they enforce logic, and how to build airtight smart contracts. This expertise shows that the developer is fully capable of designing secure, efficient, and scalable solutions tailored to various industries. 

Some common programming languages for building smart contracts include the following: 

• Vyper
• Rust
• Solidity 
• C++
• Clarity 

You can gauge a developer’s smart contracts expertise by testing their experience and proficiency in these programming languages.  

There, you have some of the most vital hard skills every blockchain developer you’ll be hiring should possess. With those skills, they should be able to fulfill most of the technical requirements of your blockchain network or system. 

However, blockchain developers must also be able to collaborate effectively with others, adapt quickly to changes, communicate their ideas clearly, and solve blockchain problems creatively. So, apart from their hard skills, you also need to check if they have some essential soft skills. 

Let’s check those out in the next section. 

Top 5 Soft Skills Blockchain Developers Should Possess

The following are some essential soft skills blockchain developers should possess before hiring them:

1. Communication 

Communication skills go beyond being able to introduce oneself or merely responding to emails. For your enterprise blockchain development project, it’s more about articulating ideas, describing what they mean for the average user, and breaking down complex technical jargon into sizable bits that can be understood. 

You need blockchain developers who get the link between the technicalities of blockchain technology and business implications. Many blockchain developers are often caught up in their “little technical world.” They’re good at what they do, but they struggle at helping others understand it, and that may not be too good for your project. 

Ineffective communication can derail a project, extend project timelines, and cause confusion among team members. Therefore, you should look for blockchain developers who can explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences. 

2. Problem Solving 

While discussing the vital hard skills earlier, we mentioned a couple of technologies and technical concepts that the right blockchain developer should be familiar with. It’s not enough to hire a blockchain developer who only knows these concepts or can throw fancy terminologies around during a conversation. Rather, you want someone who has mastered the concepts and, more importantly, is capable of analysing complex challenges inherent in blockchain systems and devising creative, efficient, and secure solutions. That’s what true problem-solving is about! 

Do you know why this is absolutely crucial? 

Blockchain technology has so many intricate complexities that developers have to work around to build reliable systems. Yet, they must be able to identify and mitigate possible security risks. Additionally, they must scale these networks to handle large transaction volumes as blockchain adoption grows. 

Therefore, you must screen your options by presenting them with scenario-based problems. Monitor how they respond to test their creative and analytical skills.

3. Teamwork 

Blockchain developers will be working with other developers, stakeholders, product management teams, and plenty of other professionals when building blockchain solutions. True success can only come when all these departments work together. That’s why you need blockchain developers who are team players to the core. 

They must be able to provide and accept feedback from others and implement them progressively for the project’s greater good. 

When hiring, look out for proficiency with collaborative tools like Slack, Trello, and Github. These tools promote collaboration and workflow integration among team members. Proficiency with them shows that such developers have experience collaborating with other team members towards a project. 

4. Innovation 

Innovation refers to a blockchain developer’s ability to generate new ideas, create novel solutions, improve existing systems, and stretch the limits of blockchain technology. More specifically, you want to look out for blockchain developers that can: 

• Design new use cases for your blockchain solutions
• Optimise the performance of blockchain systems
• Enhance blockchain security
• Address scalability and interoperability challenges as they arise

To effectively do any or all of these, the blockchain developer must demonstrate their ability to design new consensus protocols, create efficient smart contracts and decentralised apps, and integrate emerging technologies like AI and ML.

It’s very important to hire a blockchain developer who’s light on their feet and ready to maintain a growth mindset, considering that the blockchain ecosystem is constantly changing. 

5. Adaptability 

In line with the dynamic nature of the blockchain ecosystem, we’re always seeing new frameworks and technologies. Likewise, market demands and industry norms are changing at a fast rate. Therefore, businesses need to keep up with these changing demands in order to stay ahead of the curve. When new frameworks that can create more efficient blockchain networks emerge, blockchain developers must be able to grasp the core concepts and implement them as soon as possible to guarantee progress. 

One way to test a blockchain developer’s adaptability is to assess their familiarity and proficiency with agile methodologies and tools like JIRA. These tools help developers stay flexible and responsive to changes. 

Conclusion: Blockchain Developers for Hire at Debut Infotech Pvt Ltd

If you’re finding it difficult to hire blockchain developers, you’re not alone. Plenty of other brands are facing the same challenge, and that’s why we at Debut Infotech Pvt Ltd have come up with a unique solution to help you find true technical talents for your project. 

We understand the key hard skills needed to launch efficient and scalable blockchain networks and decentralised apps (dApps). Additionally, we know the exact soft skills required to function collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams. Most importantly, we’ve used these skills to craft the perfect blockchain developer job descriptions to filter out only the best technical talents from the rest. 

As a result, you can now hire blockchain developers capable of handling your development projects via a smooth and hassle-free hiring process at Debut Infotech Pvt Ltd. 

Discuss your project requirements with us today!

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