Senior Backend Engineer

CoW DAO is on a mission to protect Ethereum users from the dangers of DeFi. It does this by supporting the development of CoW Protocol, CoW Swap, MEV Blocker, and CoW AMM, and by funding values-aligned projects through the CoW Grants Program. 

CoW Protocol is the second-largest DEX aggregator by monthly volume and the first-largest intents-based exchange. MEV Blocker is currently involved in ~4% of all Ethereum transactions, making it the category leader. CoW AMM is the only live AMM that protects LPs from LVR (loss-versus rebalancing). 

As a member of CoW DAO’s core team, you will have the opportunity to shape these essential products, and contribute to the Ethereum ecosystem more broadly.

Location: We are a fully remote team, and although we hire almost globally, there is a preference for this role to be based in Europe or remote +/- 4 hours CEST time

Please note we’re not hiring from the US, Australia, or New Zealand

Position: Full-time contractor

We are looking for an enthusiastic, self-motivated, Senior Backend Engineer to help us build the next generation of decentralised trading protocols. As a dedicated backend engineer, you will gain ownership of our existing backend services and influence the creation, design, and execution of future features and products. You will work on technically challenging aspects of our off-chain services and our developer-facing APIs and help ensure the delivery of reliable and performant features to improve CoW Protocol.

• Architect and design our off-chain services (core auction protocol as well as the orderbook) to support feature growth and the rapidly changing requirements that come from being an application on a constantly evolving blockchain.

• While your focus will be writing concurrent backend systems in Rust, you will also interact with our Smart Contracts written in Solidity and develop your understanding of auction mechanisms and DeFi protocols

• Work closely with researchers and the product team to ship features and come up with new solutions for challenging technical problems

• Deliver high-quality code for features from concept until production (including state-of-the-art monitoring of our production systems)

• Help our engineering team maintain and improve the reliability of the existing features and join in the on-call rotation

• Give thoughtful and in-depth code reviews of your colleagues’ contributions to our open-source codebase

Our Tech Stack

• Backend Code: Rust, Tokio, Cargo, Git (https://github.com/cowprotocol/services)

• Infrastructure: Pulumi, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Grafana, Prometheus, Elasticsearch

• Other codebases: Typescript, Python, Solidity

• You have at least 1 year + of productional experience with Rust (experience with C++ is a great bonus)

• You have excellent computer science, programming, and algorithmic skills

• Experience in web3 (ideally DeFi and Ethereum blockchain)

• Experience with operating, maintaining, and architecting complex software systems

• You care deeply about the quality, readability, observability, and testability of your code

• You proactively give technical direction to improve performance, prevent issues, optimise data usage, and refactor the codebase

• You are a team player, strong communicator, and gladly share your expertise with others

• You collaborate effectively with a remote-first team on a large, open-source codebase

• Ideally, someone senior who can mentor colleagues and provide direction.

• You are excited to explore and gain experience with Ethereum

• Flexible work environment: Join our hub in Lisbon or work remotely

• Token plan: Have a stake in our mission and shape the future of CoW DAO

• Periodic gatherings: Enjoy opportunities to connect with the rest of the team through regular trips

• Conference allocation: Stay up-to-date with ecosystem advancements using our conference budget

• Learning budget: Use our learning budget to support your higher ambitions

• Hardware budget: Take advantage of a hardware budget for acquiring necessary equipment

• Make an impact: You are joining a startup where you can make a huge difference. Your work matters!

• Flat hierarchies mean fewer processes and bureaucracy - see more of your ideas come to life!

• Flexible work and vacation times: Prioritize work-life balance through our robust flexible work policy and vacation allowance

• Growth: If you're someone who loves taking the initiative and getting things done, CoW offers lots of opportunities for your individual growth

Earn 6.000 USDC or USD with the refer-to-earn program. More details here.

Life within the CoW Protocol is an incredible adventure! We take pride in our collaborative approach, embracing autonomy and fostering a culture of big thinking and continuous growth. We value impact, ownership, simplicity, and team spirit. Plus, we're all about feedback, coming together, and enjoying the journey along the way!