Solana Program Engineer

📋 Description

• • The Solana Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Zug, Switzerland, is at the forefront of advancing the Solana network's adoption, decentralization, and security. We are driven by a vision of a world where individuals have sovereign control over their data, can freely utilize permissionless networks, and engage in the seamless transfer of information and value globally. To realize this ambitious future, we are actively seeking exceptionally talented individuals eager to contribute their expertise and help shape the burgeoning Solana ecosystem.
• • As a Solana Program Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in developing and enhancing the core infrastructure and applications that power the Solana blockchain. This is an exceptional opportunity to work on cutting-edge decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, contributing to the innovation and growth of one of the world's leading high-performance blockchains. Your work will directly impact the user experience, security, and scalability of the Solana network, enabling a new generation of financial applications and services.
• • The Foundation actively collaborates with a diverse range of internal contributors and external ecosystem teams. Our mission is to tackle critical technical challenges and accelerate the development of essential components, including on-chain protocols, sophisticated developer tooling, and robust open-source standards. This encompasses a broad spectrum of work, from the intricacies of on-chain protocols themselves to the development of growth-oriented tooling, advanced smart contract frameworks, and the creation of novel developer experiences.
• • We foster close partnerships with many of the most forward-thinking and ambitious teams within the cryptocurrency space. These collaborations span a wide array of sectors, including the development of next-generation DeFi platforms, innovative payment solutions, immersive gaming experiences, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), and platforms for managing real-world assets (RWAs).
• • This specific role offers an open application to express your interest in joining one of several high-impact teams operating across the Solana ecosystem. We are particularly interested in developers with a proven track record of building, or a strong desire to build, advanced DeFi protocols on Solana. Your background and specific interests will guide us in matching you with projects that align with your expertise and career aspirations.
• • Potential areas of focus include:
• • Advanced DeFi Protocols: Contributing to the development of sophisticated financial instruments such as Central Limit Order Books (CLOBs), on-chain Automated Market Makers (AMMs) and hybrid liquidity models, robust lending markets, margin trading platforms, and perpetual futures (perps). You may also work on innovative bonding curves, structured products, complex oracle integrations, efficient liquidation engines, and advanced mechanisms for governance, fee sharing, and staking.
• • Core Infrastructure & Tooling: Enhancing the foundational elements of the Solana network. This could involve building secure smart contract wallets and programmable access solutions, developing gasless relayers and session key functionalities, creating efficient indexers and custom RPC endpoints, and contributing to critical projects like Anchor and Pinocchio.
• • On-chain Applications & Middleware: Developing frameworks for token launches and fair distribution mechanisms, building registries for real-world assets and enabling seamless payment rails, and architecting DePIN coordination systems.
• • Selected candidates will be thoughtfully matched with relevant ecosystem teams or, in some instances, with the Foundation's internal contributors. This matching process is based on your unique skills, expressed interests, and availability. The nature of these roles can vary, ranging from full-time employment opportunities to grant-based engagements, depending on the specific requirements of the host team.
• • You will thrive in this role if you possess a strong ability to build high-performance, production-grade Solana programs using Rust, leveraging frameworks like Anchor or native Solana development. A genuine passion for DeFi and a deep understanding of on-chain mechanics are essential. We value individuals who excel at taking nascent ideas from conception to launch (0 to 1), iterating rapidly based on real user feedback, and demonstrating a keen ability to reason about complex technical trade-offs and system design under demanding constraints. A commitment to contributing to open-source projects and a drive to improve developer tools are highly encouraged. Success in this role requires thriving in dynamic, startup-like environments characterized by fast-paced execution, a high degree of independence, and a strong focus on measurable impact. We are particularly interested in candidates seeking entrepreneurial, founding opportunities alongside exceptionally talented individuals, who are willing to invest their 'skin in the game' early on.
• • Your responsibilities will be diverse and impactful, potentially including: designing and implementing novel smart contracts for DeFi applications, optimizing existing programs for performance and security, contributing to the development of core Solana infrastructure, building tools to enhance the developer experience, collaborating with cross-functional teams to define and execute project roadmaps, and actively participating in code reviews and architectural discussions.
• • This is more than just a coding role; it's an opportunity to be at the vanguard of blockchain innovation, shaping the future of decentralized finance and contributing to a global movement towards greater financial freedom and accessibility. You will be instrumental in building the next generation of decentralized applications on one of the most powerful and scalable blockchain networks available today.