Lead Software Engineer, Rust Consensus Protocol

About MakeInfinite Labs

At MakeInfinite Labs, we build the infrastructure that enables developers and creators to build data-driven applications, tokenize and monetize, and win in the AI economy. With a focus on blockchain data at extreme scale, MakeInfinite Labs first contributed to Space and Time.

Join us in building the future of AI x Blockchain

Join our team at MakeInfinite Labs and be at the forefront of revolutionizing how decentralized technologies and artificial intelligence converge. Embrace the opportunity to innovate, grow, and shape a new era of digital transformation.

ℹ️About the role

We’re looking for a Lead Software Engineer to join our team in a full-time capacity. This is an individual contributor role.

This role is remote, with occasional travel required for company offsites or industry events.

• This role is available to those located in the United States, and some LatAm regions (see job posting for available countries; please ensure resumes are submitted in English)
• LatAm candidates: Please note that candidates based in LatAm must have existing work authorization for the country where the role is posted, as visa sponsorship cannot be provided. Employer-of-record (EOR) partners are generally unable to support any form of employer sponsored visa sponsorship.

As a Lead Software Engineer focused on Rust development within our Consensus Protocol Engineering team, you will be joining highly skilled engineers, cryptographers, and researchers who actively contribute to enhance the Space and Time protocol. You will collaborate with the rest of your team and the Space and Time open source community, to implement and test core on-chain SQL like features or improve the performance of an advanced BFT consensus algorithm. In this critical position, you will not only contribute to the technical aspects but also lead the design, and manage the implementation of your projects while obsessing over our code base, ensuring its excellence and adherence to industry best practices.

What you'll do

• Write production ready Rust code to build an efficient, resilient BFT consensus algorithm.
• Develop supporting tools, performance benchmarks/metrics and tests in Rust and/or other languages.
• Codify best practices for future reuse in the form of accessible, reusable patterns, templates, and code bases to facilitate future growth.
• Work with engineering leadership to define, prioritize, and ensure smooth deployments with other operational components
• Deploy, monitor, and manage basic node operations to ensure the health of the network
• Provide support for critical issues (e.g. bugs, application crashes) during assigned on-call rotation.

What we're looking for

The ideal candidate brings:

• 8+ years software engineering experience, preferably in areas like distributed systems, consensus, p2p/libp2p, core networking.
• Experience in asynchronous programming with Rust
• Contributions to a public substrate based network
• Deep understanding of blockchain and web3 fundamentals
• Experience with using k8s and docker
• Strong command of the English language, both written and spoken
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively articulate ideas and communicate across teams, in a remote and async environment
• Strong collaboration skills, with the ability to to work effectively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Ability to work independently

Nice to Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in math, computer science, computer engineering, or related technical field. Masters or PhD is a plus.
• Familiarity with libp2p, gossipsub
• Familiarity Byzantine Fault Tolerance protocols.
• Familiarity with cryptographic primitives such as elliptic curves, BLS, key management.
• Familiarity with microservices, gRPC/protobufs in Rust.

That said, research shows that some candidates—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—may hesitate to apply unless they meet every listed qualification. If this role excites you and you believe you have the skills and perspective to contribute, we encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn’t match every requirement.

💸Compensation & Benefits⚕️

For U.S.-Based Candidates

• Base Salary: $135,000 to $190,000 USD
• Additional Compensation: Eligible roles may include performance bonuses, equity awards, and other incentives
• Benefits:
• • Medical, dental, and vision insurance (100% of premiums covered by employer)
  • Short-term and long-term disability, accidental death & dismemberment, basic life, and supplemental voluntary insurance
  • 401(k) with employer match
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Employee discount programs and awards
  • Lunch & Learns
  • Flexible personal paid time off and sick time
  • Work from anywhere in the United States
  • 15 company-paid holidays in 2025 (including a year-end holiday shutdown)
• The final offer will be based on a thoughtful review of your experience, skills, and alignment with both the role and the value we believe you’ll bring to our team.

For Non-U.S.-Based Candidates

Compensation and benefits will vary by country and local market standards.

• Salary and benefits will be administered through a third-party Employer of Record (EOR)
• Full details will be provided at the time of offer
• The final offer will be based on a thoughtful review of your experience, skills, and alignment with both the role and the value we believe you’ll bring to our team.

🗒️Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

At MakeInfinite, we are committed to fostering culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at MakeInfinite are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law.

⚠️Important: Job Scams & Interview Process Integrity

Please be aware that, across the industry, there has been an increase in fraudulent job postings and recruitment scams. While we have not confirmed any impersonation of our company, we encourage all candidates to stay vigilant.

• All legitimate communication from our internal team will come from an official [at]makeinfinite.com email address.
• We will never ask for personal financial information, payments, or request you to purchase equipment during the interview process.
• If you receive a suspicious message or job posting, please forward the contents to our Security team, [email protected].
• To help ensure a fair, secure, and consistent experience for all applicants, interviews may be recorded. These recordings are used solely for internal review, training, and quality assurance purposes and are handled in accordance with our privacy and data security policies. Read the policies here.

🗒️Notice to Third-Party Recruitment/Staffing Agencies:

MakeInfinite Labs, Inc. (the "Company") does not accept unsolicited resumes or CVs from recruiters or employment agencies without a binding, fully executed, written agreement. Any written or verbal communication with any person within the Company does not create a binding agreement.

The Company will not pay a fee to any parties that do not have a valid, fully executed Agreement in place. Any unsolicited resumes or CVs, including those submitted to hiring managers, employees, advisors, or consultants, are deemed to be the property of MakeInfinite Labs, Inc. The Company explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency.

Parties without a fully executed and valid agreement are requested not to contact any hiring managers of the Company with recruiting inquiries or resumes. All candidate resumes must be presented to the hiring managers with direct involvement of the Company’s internal People & Talent team.

Agencies interested in partnering with MakeInfinite Labs, Inc. may contact our team ([email protected]).