MartinGbz
Software Engineer - ACI (Aave)
Motivation
I’m Martin Grabarz (MartinGbz), a Software Engineer based in France, actively involved in blockchain and DeFi since 2020 as both a user and a developer. I have contributed to the ecosystem through major conferences like EthCC and Devcon and participated in hackathons as a hacker, sponsor, and mentor, including EthGlobal Paris, Bangkok, ZK Hack Lisbon, EthCC Hack, and others.
Currently, I work at the Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) within the Aave DAO structure, where I handle key security-related tasks such as incentives management and transaction verification. My previous experience at Sismo, focusing on privacy and ZK, further strengthens my technical and operational expertise.
Through my work in DeFi, I’ve seen firsthand how critical security is to the stability and trust of an ecosystem. While I’m not a security engineer, I actively apply best practices in transaction execution, governance implementation, and risk mitigation. Joining the Arbitrum Security Council would allow me to contribute this mindset, ensuring the safe execution of decisions while supporting the ecosystem’s long-term resilience.
Experience
Relevant Experience:
- Software Engineer at ACI: Currently contributing to Aave, one of the largest DeFi protocols. My responsibilities include:
- Incentives Distribution: Responsible for incentives distribution, requiring high availability during critical operations and thorough security checks. Built the backend infrastructure for incentives distribution and a frontend for claiming rewards: Merit.
- Secure Transaction Execution: Creating and proposing transactions on Safe wallets managing millions in funds, requiring rigorous verification, including Tenderly simulations, to ensure security.
- AIPs Implementation & Review: Creating and reviewing proposals (AIPs) for adding assets, adjusting risk parameters, and other protocol changes, with a focus on identifying potential technical issues, and inconsistencies between governance decisions and their on-chain implementation. Contributions visible at: GitHub - bgd-labs/aave-proposals-v3
- Risk Steward: Preparing and verifying transaction calldata for the Aave Risk Steward, ensuring no security vulnerabilities are introduced
Developer Relations Engineer at Sismo:
- Owner of the Sismo Hub project:
- Actively developing it, managing the developer community contributions.
- Bridging technical complexity: Translated complex ZKP concepts into clear documentation and tutorials for both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Enhancing developer experience: Maintained high availability to support contributors, ensuring a smooth and collaborative development process.
Technical Expertise:
- DAO & DeFi Protocol Experience: Working with Aave has given me a deep understanding of lending platforms, their associated risks, and both on-chain and off-chain governance systems. This includes hands-on experience with protocol safety mechanisms.
- DAO Operations: Actively working within a DAO structure at Aave gives me practical understanding of governance processes and emergency response procedures.
- Developer Tools: Built and Contribute to tools that enhance risk management and response time, improving security monitoring and enabling quicker reactions to emerging risks.
Skills
Cybersecurity
I apply security best practices in my work at Aave, focusing on transaction verification and governance implementation. Although I’m not a security engineer, I contribute to tools that improve risk monitoring and gained foundational cybersecurity knowledge during my studies.
Projects
Aave DAO