Roles · Smart Contract Developer · Mid-level

What a Mid-level } should know

3 core skills, 72 in total. Expectations per skill, and what changes at the next level.

This page lists what a Mid-level } is expected to know and do, skill by skill. Core skills are the ones a manager and peers assess in a review cycle; the rest count only in self-assessment. Main areas: Blockchain & Web3.

3core skills

69additional skills

1skill areas

0%at Advanced or Expert

Assess myself as Mid-level Full role matrix

Core skills for a Mid-level

Grouped by area. The label on the right is the expected depth: Awareness, Working, Advanced or Expert.

Blockchain & Web3 · 3

Consensus Mechanisms: PoW, PoS, BFT Working

Analyzes how consensus mechanisms affect smart contract design: block time variability, reorg resistance, MEV extraction. Adapts contracts for different consensus models.

DeFi Protocols: AMM, Lending, DEX Working

Implements DeFi contracts: custom AMM with fee distribution, lending pool with collateral management, yield aggregator with auto-compound. Integrates Chainlink price feeds for oracle data.

Smart Contract Testing: Foundry, Hardhat Working

Writes fork tests, fuzz tests, and integration tests for complex DeFi flows. Tests edge cases with Foundry cheatcodes. Achieves 95%+ coverage with meaningful test scenarios.

Additional skills

Not assessed by the team, but part of the self-assessment and the development plan.

Algorithms & Complexity API Documentation Applied Cryptography Async Programming AWS Blockchain Fundamentals ChatGPT / Claude Clean Code Code Quality & Refactoring Code Review Cross-Chain Bridges Cross-Chain Bridges Crypto Economics Cursor IDE DAO Governance DApp Development Data Structures Dependency Vulnerability Scanning Design Patterns Distributed Systems Docker Ethereum Ecosystem Formal Verification of Contracts Gas Optimization Git Advanced GitHub Actions / GitLab CI GitHub Copilot GraphQL Design Integration Testing Kubernetes Core Layer 2 Solutions: Rollups, Sidechains Merkle Trees Multithreading Mutation Testing Network Fundamentals NFT Development NFT Standards OOP & SOLID Principles OWASP & Application Security PostgreSQL Prometheus & Grafana Prompt Engineering for Code Property-Based Testing Redis REST API Design Secure Coding Practices Smart Contract Audit Smart Contract Platforms Smart Contract Security & Auditing Solidity Solidity Development Structured Logging System Design Fundamentals TDD & BDD Threat Modeling Token Standards Tokenomics Design Type Safety & Type Systems Unit Testing Unit Testing Upgradeable Contracts Vyper Vyper Development Wallet Integration: MetaMask, WalletConnect Web3 Frontend: ethers.js, wagmi Web3 Libraries WebSocket API Design Zero-Knowledge Proofs ZK-Rollups

What changes at Senior

72 skills get a higher expectation or become core when moving from Mid-level to Senior. The biggest jumps first.

Applied Cryptography: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Async Programming: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Blockchain Fundamentals: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Cross-Chain Bridges: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Dependency Vulnerability Scanning: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Ethereum Ecosystem: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Integration Testing: Working → Advanced · becomes core
Mutation Testing: Working → Advanced · becomes core
NFT Development: Working → Advanced · becomes core
OWASP & Application Security: Working → Advanced · becomes core

See the Senior page →

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} in the open competency matrix: 72 skills across 5 levels. The matrix is free for individuals and stays free.