Lead Rust Engineer (Core)

Location: Remote (Europe-friendly time zones preferred)
Type: Full-Time
Compensation: Competitive Salary + Token Allocation

The Role

As the Lead Rust Engineer (Core) at Raiku, you will not only drive the innovation and implementation of next-generation, high-performance distributed systems but also play a key leadership role in managing and mentoring our engineering team. You'll oversee the technical and operational aspects of our core infrastructure, ensuring system reliability, scalability, and performance, while supporting the team in delivering high-quality solutions. By taking ownership of engineering leadership and infrastructure responsibilities, you will free up our CTO to focus on strategic, high-level initiatives.

You’ll collaborate closely with a highly proficient team of core engineers who have contributed to foundational and novel network components. As a leader, you will guide the team through complex challenges and architectural decisions, ensuring alignment with Raiku's broader technical goals.

We believe in hiring exceptional individuals with the motivation to tackle complex infrastructure challenges and who possess a coherent system design philosophy that will drive the industry forward. Expect frequent discussions on architecture, design specs, code reviews, and team growth. We are all deeply committed to shipping quality code frequently, but also to fostering an environment of learning and mentorship.

About the Team

As a team, we are building an entire platform in Rust, which bridges L1 and L2 systems and enables deeply complex interactions across network components. In addition to your core focus on Rust and distributed systems, you will take a lead role in infrastructure management (e.g., Kubernetes), scripting, and overall system operations. You'll have the opportunity to influence decisions across the entire stack, ensuring a unified and scalable architecture that integrates all layers of the platform seamlessly.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor the core engineering team, facilitating effective collaboration and ensuring efficient workflow.

• Oversee the architecture and implementation of core distributed systems, ensuring they are scalable, secure, and highly performant.

• Manage infrastructure responsibilities, including system reliability, scalability, CI/CD pipelines, and incident response protocols.

• Collaborate with the CTO to establish technical direction, while driving day-to-day engineering initiatives and ensuring that the team’s output aligns with overall strategic goals.

• Break down complex protocol specifications into clear tasks and translate them into performant Rust code.

• Maintain a modular, well-designed, and future-proof codebase that evolves alongside the project’s growth.

• Drive the development and automation of security benchmarks, performance testing frameworks, and innovative tooling for system improvement.

• Champion best practices in software design, infrastructure management, and team operations.

What You'll Bring

• Proven experience in leading engineering teams, ideally in blockchain or distributed systems projects.

• Deep understanding of both L1 and L2 architectures, with a track record of designing, deploying, and maintaining scalable distributed systems.

• Expertise in infrastructure management (e.g., Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, observability tools) and ensuring system reliability at scale.

• Strong proficiency in Rust or similar system-level programming languages like C, C++, or Go.

• A collaborative leadership style with the ability to mentor, manage, and grow an engineering team.

• Experience with protocol design, distributed systems architecture, and blockchain security principles.

• Strong communication skills, with a focus on team management and technical alignment across engineering and product goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active open-source contributions in core protocol engineering (e.g., Firedancer, Reth, Lighthouse, Geth).

• Direct involvement in the Solana ecosystem, including contributions to runtime or other core systems.

• Experience working with blockchain security research and open-source projects.

• Previous experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure at scale.

Benefits

• Competitive remuneration packages, including tokens and equity, based on iterative market research.

• A remote-first, flexible working environment that promotes self-initiative.

• Lead a talented and motivated team that is excited about their work and their potential impact.

• Professional growth opportunities within a dynamic, fast-growing technological frontier.