Samira Carolina Oliva Madrigal

I am a cryptographer, research scientist, and engineer with deep expertise in post-quantum cryptography, fully homomorphic encryption, and zero-knowledge proofs, currently serving as Founder, Research Scientist and Engineer at Cryptologia, LLC, a remote-first cryptology lab and consultancy I established in March 2025, where I lead research and development in advanced cryptographic technologies.

Prior to this role, I served as Cryptography Researcher and Engineer at Villanova University for over two years, where I collaborated with a small group of cryptography and engineering experts and PhD students, focusing on homomorphic encryption, optimized arithmetic for FHE, preliminary doctoral work, and special projects in zero-knowledge proofs. My work contributed to the publication of CASA: A Compact and Scalable Accelerator for Approximate Homomorphic Encryption, published in IACR's prestigious CHES 2024, and I co-authored SMALL: Scalable Matrix OriginAted Large Integer PoLynomial Multiplication Accelerator for Lattice-based Post-Quantum Cryptography, presented at WAIFI 2024. I also drafted a state-of-the-art bootstrapping algorithm in hardware for RNS-CKKS based on the Golang Lattigo library.

I also served as Senior Engineer in Cryptology at Marvell Technology for nearly two years, where I focused on post-quantum cryptography, including algorithm breakdown and analysis, OpenSSL, TLS, FIPS 203, 204, 205, Falcon, and Hash-based Signature Schemes. I developed cryptographic firmware in C, interfaced with hardware, and led software-hardware co-design mapping in Verilog and SystemVerilog. I served as lead cryptographer and developer for PQC, trained and collaborated with two teams, and developed platform-agnostic proof-of-concept solutions for acceleration.

Earlier in my career, I served as Research and Development Scientist at a stealth-mode company, where I worked on applied cryptography and networking to establish a cryptographically secure, quantum-safe compute platform, and as Instructional Student Assistant at San José State University's College of Engineering, where I prepared review notes and graded coursework for Cryptography and Network Security.

Across my career in cryptography, research, and engineering, my work has been driven by a passion for advancing the science of cryptography and building secure, quantum-safe technologies that protect data and enable trust in an increasingly digital world. Whether I am leading a cryptology lab, publishing state-of-the-art research, or developing post-quantum cryptographic solutions, I bring a deep technical expertise, a research-driven mindset, and a dedication to innovation and excellence. I am proud of the work I have done throughout my career and excited to continue advancing the field of cryptography through my work at Cryptologia, LLC.