Darren Jensen

LLM Engineer & Security Researcher

Salary / Daily rate

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Freelance, open to permanent contract

Skills

PythonSolidityn8nProduct ManagerReactJavascriptAWSRabbitMQPostgreSQLLinuxTypescriptRedisMongoDBElasticsearchPostmanWebpackBurp SuiteDockerJiraSQLiteELK StackGraphQLGitHubProduct ManagementTerraformCircleCIProduct OwnerConfluenceKanbanScrum

About me

Intro

I am a Security Researcher & Blockchain | LLM Engineer with 5+ years of dedicated Solidity auditing and 20+ years in software engineering across DeFi, Web3, and FinTech. While at Quantstamp and Oak Security I delivered 60+ audits, acting as lead auditor on roughly half of my engagements. I hold an MSc in Computer Science from The University of Manchester alongside a Blockchain Developer Nanodegree and an AI / Machine Learning Nanodegree from Udacity. I am also building an agentic DeFi yield platform which is a multi-agent system where a Portfolio AI Agent reasons over a user's on-chain positions and a Researcher AI Agent continuously embeds DeFi news and exploit reports into a vector index for semantic retrieval. I have also held senior leadership roles including CTO at a FinTech startup in SE Asia. I'm currently open to both smart contract security engagements and AI Engineering roles where deep blockchain and security context is a valuable enhancement for building agents, retrieval systems, and LLM-powered tooling for DeFi, security, and on-chain intelligence.

Links

Work experience

LLM Engineer & Security Researcher

ReanblockFreelance

Apr 2026 - Present

7 months

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

- Built an autonomous multi AI agent system using LangGraph that audits EVM and Solana DeFi protocols and produces working proof-of-concept exploits with audit-grade reports. - Designed a pluggable LLM runtime (Claude / Codex) with per-agent model selection - Designed a parallel agent pipeline automated scoping from bounty platforms, static analysis, fuzzing, invariant testing, and fork-based PoC validation across iterative review rounds. - Implemented safe exploit reproduction on ephemeral mainnet forks with layered anti-broadcast guardrails, multi-chain/multi-repo support, and a pluggable Claude/Codex runtime.

Smart Contract Security Researcher

Quantstamp, Inc.

Sep 2024 - May 2026

1 year 9 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

During my time at Quantstamp, I completed over 50 audits across Solidity and Rust-based protocols, acting as lead auditor on approximately half of all engagements. The protocols spanned a broad range of DeFi verticals including Oracles, Perpetuals, RWA, Bridges, Vaults, and Wallets. Notable clients include API3, Blockdaemon, PancakeSwap, RFX Exchange, SoDex, OnRe, Exceed Finance, Camp, Hipo Finance, and Crouton Finance, among others.

Smart Contract Security Researcher

Oak SecurityFreelance

Jan 2024 - Oct 2024

10 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

As a Smart Contract Security Researcher at Oak Security, I focused on auditing and enhancing the security of smart contracts. My role involved collaborating with innovative protocols like Mars V2 and Size Lending, ensuring robust security measures were in place. I utilized my expertise in Solidity, Yul, and Rust (CosmWasm) to identify vulnerabilities and improve overall contract integrity.

Smart Contract Security Researcher

Alethea AIFreelance

Jul 2023 - Oct 2024

1 year 4 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

At Alethea AI, I specialized in auditing smart contracts, ensuring the security and efficiency of the protocol. My role involved evaluating ERC20 tokens, NFT tokens, and LayerZero bridging integrations across multiple EVM chains, including Ethereum and Polygon. I contributed to the integrity of the AletheaAI protocol by focusing on critical integrations and security measures.

Smart Contract Developer (Solidity) & Blockchain Architect

Point Network

Jan 2021 - Dec 2022

2 years

As a Smart Contract Developer and Blockchain Architect at Point Network, I focused on building a decentralized internet through a blockchain-based peer-to-peer network. My role involved developing backend nodes and creating a suite of decentralized applications to showcase innovative solutions in social networking, email, and content sharing.

Smart Contract Security Researcher & Developer

Ze.FiFreelance

Sep 2020 - Dec 2022

2 years 4 months

Berlin, Germany

In my role at Ze.Fi, I contributed as a Smart Contract Security Researcher and Developer, focusing on blockchain technology and full-stack engineering. I developed trading platforms and performed security audits on smart contracts, ensuring the integrity of the Ze.Fi platform. Additionally, I prototyped layer 2 solutions and provided strategic advice on NFT integration for Ze.Academy, enhancing their offerings in the blockchain space.

Chief Technology Officer (Fintech Mobile Payments & KYC Blockchain)

Clik

Jan 2018 - Jul 2020

2 years 7 months

Krong Pursat, Cambodia

At Clik, I played a pivotal role in shaping the technology landscape for our fintech mobile payments and KYC blockchain solutions. I was instrumental in building the technology department from the ground up, recruiting talented developers, and integrating with banking partners. My efforts included designing a prototype for an Ethereum blockchain layer, which enhanced transaction security and accountability.

Blockchain Developer (Telegram TON, Node JS, Vue JS)

TigerBeeFreelance

Sep 2019 - Mar 2020

7 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

Helped to deploy and set up a fork of the Telegram TON Blockchain for a private group of investors. Worked on building WebAssembly extensions to a client Vue JS application. Connected a custom Telegram bot to a chat based client for interacting with the private fork of the TON Blockchain.

Bitcoin Exchange API Developer

PaxfulFreelance

Apr 2019 - Mar 2020

1 year

Remote, OR 97458, USA

Designed and built a RESTful API in using Python Flask-RESTful API to interact with an existing Bitcoin exchange system in order to process trades for Bitcoin traders to facilitate an international cash remittance service.

Founder and CEO

Rotati

Jan 2015 - Jan 2020

5 years 1 month

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Rotati was a software consultancy firm that I founded which is mainly focusing on Ruby on Rails and Javascript (React Js / Vue JS) projects. Rotati also developed a number of projects using the AWS Serverless platform.

Rails Developer

Golden Gate Ventures

Jun 2016 - Oct 2016

5 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

Worked on a smart RSVP system for inviting and managing VIP's to attend various shows, presentations and parties in and around Singapore.

Rails / React JS Developer

Trail

Mar 2015 - Jul 2015

5 months

Remote, OR 97458, USA

Contractor for Trail App for a few months to help create new React JS components, manage Rails backend processes to provide data to the components and keep RSpec tests updated and in order.

Rails Developer

Sanelabs

Feb 2014 - Dec 2014

11 months

Rails developer responsible for writing fully tested features for custom enterprise solutions for Internet Service Providers worldwide building everything from the front end to integration with network backend solutions and billing systems. Technologies used: Rails 4.1, RSpec, jQuery, CoffeeScript and Sigma.js (for ISP network visualisations).

Co-Founder

coLAB Cambodia

Jan 2012 - Dec 2014

3 years

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

coLAB is a non-profit co-working space in Toul Tom Pong (near Russian Market) run and managed by its very members! We provide a comfortable, safe working environment with fast internet and good company. Our motto: "Work solo but not alone".

Founder and Organizer for Cambodia and SEA Facilitator

Cambodia Startup Weekend

Apr 2011 - Dec 2014

3 years 9 months

South East Asia

I introduced Startup Weekend to Cambodia with the first event held in September 2011, second event in June 2012 and our third in November 2013. I am also a facilitator for Startup Weekend events in South East Asia and attended events in Singapore, Manila and Bangkok. I also attended the 2012 Startup Weekend Global Organizers Summit in Austin, Texas.

Co-Founder

Hackerspace Phnom Penh

Dec 2010 - Dec 2014

4 years 1 month

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Part of a team that founded Hackerspace Phnom Penh - a non-profit technology club! We have an arduino kit, Microsoft kinect and other hacking tools in addition to training sessions, movie nights, social events and more.

Rails Developer

MangoMap

Feb 2010 - Dec 2014

4 years 11 months

Rails Developer working on billing systems (using Recurly), backup systems (written in Ruby) and a custom spreadsheet geocoding gem.

Co-Founder, CTO and Rails Developer

Yoolk

Feb 2004 - Mar 2014

10 years 2 months

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Yoolk is a business that provides online, mobile and database to print publishing solutions for the Yellow Pages / Business Directory industry. Operators anywhere in the world can use Yoolk to manage sales, build relations with their customers and sell online advertising and SME tools all built on the Yoolk platform. Yoolk also integrates with a number of other data providers like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Yoolk even provides an easy online publication tool to serve each SME's listing data via their own website customized specifically for SME's using via their own domain.

Rails and Backbone.js Developer

Solano Labs

Jul 2012 - Dec 2012

6 months

San Francisco, CA, USA

Ruby on Rails developer for Solano Labs CI Server product Tddium. Responsible for writing full tested features for the Tddium site and application using Ruby on Rails, RSpec and Cucumber as well as some client side development using Backbone.js.

Lecturer

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology

Sep 2011 - Dec 2011

4 months

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I taught Management Information Systems (MIS) and Interaction Design for Mobile Applications using HTML5 at the Phnom Penh campus of the prestigious Limkokwing University.

.NET Developer

CIBC World Markets

Jun 2007 - Jul 2008

1 year 2 months

London, UK

.NET Developer for Client based Credit Derivatives system for CIBC World Markets in the City of London

Microsoft Developer

Interquess Enterprises

Jan 2002 - Jan 2004

2 years 1 month

76249 Parque Industrial Global Park Querétaro, Qro., Mexico

Produced various software products using VBA, ASP and Javascript.

Java Developer

Halogen Enterprises Ltd

Jan 2001 - Jul 2001

7 months

London, UK

Java Developer for an automated insurance quotation system for AIG

Java Developer

Oven Digital

Sep 2000 - Dec 2000

4 months

London, UK

Research and development using EJB


Education

Udacity

AI for Trading, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

2021 - 2021

8 months

Grade: Pass

Covered topics such as Momentum Trading, Time Series Modeling, Quants, ETFs, Risk Factor Models, Portfolio Optimization, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Deep Learning, Recurrent Neural Networks, Decision Trees, Random Forests and more.

Udacity

Blockchain Developer Nanodegree, Ethereum Blockchain

2020 - 2020

1 month

Grade: Pass

Course covered Bitcoin Fundamentals, Ethereum Fundamentals, Blockchain Architecture, Transactions, Smart Contract Development using Soliditiy, ERC-20, ERC-721 (NFTs), Dapps, Contract Deployment, MetaMask and more.

The University of Manchester

MSc, Computer Science

1999 - 2000

1 year 1 month

Engineering Degree holders conversion course to Computer Science. Studied C, Java, Database Theory, Human Computer Interaction, Artificial Intelligence, Linux. Thesis on Component Based Software using Java.

Nottingham Trent University

Bachelor's Degree, Civil Engineering

1993 - 1997

4 years 1 month

Degree included structural engineering, surveying, construction management, soil mechanics, fluid mechanics, advanced mathematics, computer programming as well as work placement experience and research project in environmental studies.


Licenses & certifications

AI Engineer Core Track: LLM Engineering, RAG, QLoRA, Agents

Issued: Apr 2026

Certified by Udemy

AI Engineer Agentic Track: The Complete Agent & MCP Course

Issued: Apr 2026

Certified by Udemy

AI Engineer Production Track: Deploy LLMs & Agents at Scale

Issued: Apr 2026

Certified by Udemy

AI for Trading

Issued: Sep 2021

Certified by Udacity

Blockchain Developer

Issued: Jun 2020

Certified by Udacity

Cryptocurrency Trading: Complete Guide to Trading Altcoins

Issued: May 2020

Certified by Udemy

AWS MasterClass: Docker Containers In The Cloud With AWS ECS

Issued: Aug 2018

Certified by Udemy

AWS MasterClass: Networking & Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

Issued: Aug 2018

Certified by Udemy

Automate Your React Native Releases with Fastlane & Bitrise

Issued: May 2018

Certified by Udemy

React - Mastering Test and Behavior Driven Development

Issued: May 2018

Certified by Udemy

Ethereum Blockchain Developer: Build Projects Using Solidity

Issued: Mar 2018

Certified by Udemy

Elasticsearch 6 and Elastic Stack - In Depth and Hands On!

Issued: Mar 2018

Certified by Udemy

Ethereum Game Development: Build A Game On The Blockchain

Issued: Mar 2018

Certified by Udemy

Learn DevOps: The Complete Kubernetes Course

Issued: Dec 2017

Certified by Udemy

Portfolio

Liquid Loans Protocol Deployments

Quantstamp Security Audits

The best place to find your next move

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