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Opportunities in Cardano (2025)

Welcome​

We're the Developer Experience Working Group - a community of Developer Advocates from Intersect who make building on Cardano accessible and rewarding for everyone.

Why This Session Matters: You're joining us at an exciting time. We're documenting every pathway into Cardano - for developers AND non-developers - so that anyone with an idea, skill, or passion can contribute and thrive.

Today's Goals:

  • Overview
  • Show opportunities available within the cardano ecosystem (technical and non-technical)
  • Help you understand how to get started
  • Answer your questions and gather feedback

Our Commitment: By the end, you'll know exactly where to go next. No question is too basic, and everyone here started somewhere.

Overview​

In the last session, we discussed about cardano, Intersect, and how to get started on Cardano. In this session, we will highlight the different opportunities that exist within the cardano ecosystem and how you can take advantage of them.

Pathways to becoming a contributor​

Cardano offers diverse pathways for participation, whether you code or not, there's a meaningful way for you to contribute and build a sustainable career. You can get started by following either of these two paths:

Technical Contributions: Build the protocol, create applications, develop tools, test and secure the network, write technical documentation.

Non-Technical Contributions: Build communities, lead initiatives and manage open source projects.

You can start at any level and grow from there.

TECHNICAL OPPORTUNITIES​

Opportunities for developers and those who want to build on or for Cardano.

  1. Building Decentralized Applications (DApps)​

    Create applications that run on Cardano - from DeFi to gaming to identity systems.

    What You Can Build:

    • DeFi platforms (lending, exchanges, stablecoins)
    • NFT marketplaces and platforms
    • Gaming applications
    • Identity and credential systems
    • Social platforms
    • Supply chain solutions
    • Voting and governance systems

    Smart Contract Languages:

    • Plutus - Haskell-based, powerful and expressive
    • Aiken - Modern, developer-friendly alternative
    • Marlowe - Domain-specific for financial contracts
    • OpShin - Python-based for accessibility
    • Helios - JavaScript-based for web developers

    Who This Is For: Developers interested in building products, experience with web development helpful

    Active Programs for Funding:

  2. Developer Tools & Infrastructure​

    Build the tools and services that make other developers' lives easier.

    What You Can Build:

    • SDKs and libraries (JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, .NET)
    • APIs and blockchain data services
    • IDE plugins and extensions
    • Testing frameworks
    • Development templates and boilerplates
    • Monitoring and analytics tools

    Examples of Existing Services:

    • Blockfrost - RESTful API service
    • Koios - Decentralized API
    • Maestro - Enterprise API platform

    Who This Is For: Developers who enjoy building infrastructure and tooling

    Active Programs for Funding:

  3. Testing & Security​

    Ensure Cardano's infrastructure and applications are reliable, secure, and bug-free.

    What You'd Do:

    • Participate in testnet initiatives (preview, preprod)
    • Conduct integration and performance testing
    • Smart contract auditing
    • Bug bounty hunting
    • Security research and vulnerability disclosure

    Who This Is For: Developers interested in quality assurance and security - can start at any experience level

    Active Programs for Funding:

  4. Technical Documentation & Education​

    Make Cardano easier to understand and use through clear, comprehensive documentation and tutorials.

    What You Create:

    • Technical tutorials and step-by-step guides
    • API documentation
    • Video courses and screencasts
    • Code examples and repositories
    • Workshop materials
    • Best practices documents

    Who This Is For: Developers who enjoy teaching and explaining technical concepts clearly

    Active Programs for Funding:

  5. Stake Pool Operations​

    Run the infrastructure that secures Cardano's network and earns rewards.

    What Stake Pool Operators Do:

    • Maintain 24/7 high-availability infrastructure
    • Produce blocks and validate transactions
    • Monitor node performance and network health
    • Participate in governance decisions
    • Build and engage with delegator communities

    Who This Is For: People with systems administration, networking skills, and interest in blockchain infrastructure

    Technical Requirements:

    • Linux system administration
    • Network security expertise
    • Understanding of Ouroboros consensus
    • 24/7 monitoring capabilities

    How You Earn: Block production rewards, transaction fees, delegation commissions

    Getting Started: developers.cardano.org/docs/operate-a-stake-pool

  6. Core Protocol Development​

    Work on the foundational code that powers the entire Cardano blockchain.

    What You'd Work On:

    • cardano-node (the core node implementation)
    • plutus (smart contract platform)
    • hydra (Layer-2 scaling solution)
    • Bug fixes and feature implementations
    • Protocol specifications and improvements
    • Testing and quality assurance

    Who This Is For: Developers comfortable with or interested in learning Haskell,Rust, and low-level blockchain development. Those who want to work on infrastructure rather than applications.

    Active Programs for Funding:

NON-TECHNICAL OPPORTUNITIES​

Opportunities in the broader ecosystem for those who want to contribute beyond coding.

  1. Open Source Committee​

    Help lead, grow and strengthen initiatives within the community.

    What You Can Do:

    • Manage and lead various working groups
    • Attend the open source committee meetings
    • Stay active in various community channels (Discord, Telegram, forums)
    • Become a core member of Intersect

    Who This Is For: Anyone who is interested in open source leadership and community building.

    Learn more: To learn more, visit the OSC documentation.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT INTERSECT​

The Intersect ecosystem is vibrant and growing, offering numerous career opportunities. You can find full-time, part-time, and contract work across various teams across the Intersect.

To learn more about job opportunities at Intersect, visit our careers page.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS​

We are actively working on different initiatives to support students participation in open source:

  1. Cardano Summer of Code​

    This program is created to encourage student developers to participate and contribute to the cardano ecosystem.

    Who This is For: Students who is interested in open source

    Learn more: To learn more, visit the program page.

NEXT STEPS​

  1. Join Intersect

    • Connect with the community
    • Attend working group meetings

  2. Take One Action This Week

    • Pick one resource to explore
    • Make one small contribution
    • Ask one question

  3. Stay updated on future paid open source opportunities

Remember​

Everyone starts somewhere. The Cardano community values quality, learning, collaboration, and your unique contributions.

The ecosystem needs you - whether you code, write, design, organize, or build communities.

Thank you for your interest! 🚀

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