Senior Backend Engineer (Rust)

CoW DAO Association

Job Overview

Location

Remote

Job Type

Full-time

Full Job Description

📋 Description

• As a Senior Backend Engineer at CoW DAO Association, you will play a pivotal role in safeguarding Ethereum users from MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) and optimizing trade execution across decentralized finance (DeFi) through the CoW Protocol, CoW Swap, and MEV Blocker—core products that secure, aggregate, and route trades for optimal outcomes in a rapidly evolving blockchain ecosystem.
• You will own and evolve critical backend services, including the core auction protocol and orderbook systems, ensuring they scale with the growing demands of DeFi while maintaining high reliability, performance, and security in a fully remote, globally distributed environment with a preference for Europe or +/-4 hours CEST.
• The team at CoW DAO is a transparent, community-driven, open-source collective with over 100 public repositories on GitHub, dedicated to advancing DeFi innovation through cutting-edge technology, rigorous engineering practices, and a strong ethos of decentralization, security, and user protection.
• In this role, you will deepen your expertise in Rust-based systems engineering, gain hands-on experience with Ethereum smart contracts (Solidity), DeFi auction mechanisms, and observability tooling, while contributing to high-impact features that protect users and improve market efficiency across the Ethereum ecosystem.
• You will architect and design resilient, concurrent off-chain services in Rust using Tokio, ensuring they adapt to evolving blockchain dynamics and support feature growth across CoW Protocol’s suite of products.
• You will write, test, and monitor production-grade backend code, collaborating closely with researchers and product teams to translate complex DeFi concepts into reliable, performant features—from initial concept through deployment and ongoing observability via Grafana, Prometheus, and Elasticsearch.
• You will participate in an on-call rotation (with additional compensation) to maintain system reliability, respond to incidents, and ensure continuous service availability for users interacting with CoW Swap and MEV Blocker.
• You will conduct thorough, constructive code reviews of peers’ contributions, upholding high standards for code quality, readability, testability, and observability in the open-source codebase.
• You will engage with Solidity-based smart contracts to understand auction logic and DeFi protocol interactions, bridging off-chain backend systems with on-chain functionality to enable seamless trade execution.
• You will drive technical excellence by proactively identifying performance bottlenecks, refactoring legacy code, optimizing data usage, and mentoring junior engineers to elevate team capability and system resilience.
• You will collaborate effectively in a remote-first, asynchronous environment, leveraging strong communication skills to align with researchers, product managers, and fellow engineers across time zones while contributing to a culture of ownership, simplicity, and continuous growth.

🎯 Requirements

• 5+ years of production experience with systems-level programming languages, including at least 1+ year of hands-on production experience with Rust
• Practical experience working in web3, preferably within DeFi and the Ethereum ecosystem, including familiarity with smart contracts, blockchain mechanics, or decentralized applications
• Strong computer science fundamentals, including expertise in algorithms, concurrency, distributed systems, and software architecture
• Proven ability to operate, maintain, and architect complex software systems in production, with experience in AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Pulumi, or similar cloud-native infrastructure
• Commitment to code quality, readability, observability, and testability, with a track record of writing maintainable, well-tested, and monitorable backend systems

🏖️ Benefits

• Flexible work environment: Option to work remotely or join the team hub in Lisbon, with a preference for candidates in Europe or within +/-4 hours CEST
• Token plan: Opportunity to receive a stake in CoW DAO’s mission and directly benefit from the protocol’s growth and success
• Learning and hardware budgets: Dedicated funding for professional development, courses, certifications, and equipment to support your technical growth and productivity
• Conference allocation: Financial support to attend industry events and stay current with advancements in DeFi, blockchain, and Rust ecosystems
• Periodic team gatherings: Regular opportunities to connect in person with the global team, fostering collaboration and culture despite remote work
• Impact-driven culture: Flat hierarchies, minimal bureaucracy, and strong ownership model enabling you to see your ideas come to life quickly and meaningfully

Skills & Technologies

Python

TypeScript

Rust

Elasticsearch

AWS

Backend

Senior

Remote

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CoW DAO Association

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About CoW DAO Association

CoW DAO Association is a Swiss-registered decentralized autonomous organization that governs the CoW Protocol, a decentralized trading infrastructure enabling batch auctions for peer-to-peer token swaps. It coordinates protocol upgrades, treasury management, and incentive programs for solvers, traders, and developers while minimizing MEV and optimizing trade execution.

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