GoKawiilIndependent engineer publishes solution to Jane Street's ASIC reverse-engineering challenge
A blogger with an engineering background details how they spent about a month reverse-engineering an ASIC chip design as part of a public puzzle set by trading firm Jane Street. The challenge involved analyzing a GDS chip-layout file to determine the chip's function, first through an easier warmup version with more design information, then a harder unaided version. The author has published their code on GitHub and plans follow-up posts explaining each technical step in more depth.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Jane Street's puzzle highlights how quantitative trading firms use hardware-level challenges to attract engineering talent skilled in low-level chip analysis, a niche but valuable skill for firms building custom silicon for trading speed. The solver's public writeup also offers a rare, accessible walkthrough of real-world ASIC reverse engineering, a field with limited public documentation outside academic or security research contexts.
- A hobbyist engineer solved Jane Street's ASIC reverse-engineering challenge after roughly a month of effort.
- The challenge required interpreting a GDS chip-layout file to deduce circuit functionality, starting from a guided warmup to an unaided full puzzle.
- The solver has shared their code on GitHub and promises detailed technical follow-up posts on the process.
The Hardware Hacking Handbook (No Starch Press) — If a month-long ASIC reverse-engineering rabbit hole sounds like fun, this No Starch Press book is the natural next step, walking through how embedded hardware is probed, analyzed and broken down. It covers the practical side of poking at real silicon rather than just theory, which is exactly the mindset the Jane Street challenge rewards.
See The Hardware Hacking Handbook (No Starch Press) on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: jestoph.com — Jestoph'S Tech Blog, 2026-09-04
Published there as: “Solving the Jane Street Reverse Engineering Challenge”
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