Senior Rust Protocol Engineer

About Fermah

Fermah is the universal proof generation layer.

It functions as a marketplace, where the supply side comprises GPUs and FPGAs. On the demand side, Fermah can generate proofs for any instance in which ZK is used.

Fermah is bringing moon math to the masses.

Fermah was founded by Dr. Vanishree Rao. She has been designing and building ZK for over 15 years and has a PhD in cryptography from UCLA.

We are building a world-class team that values delivering results with excellence and empathy.

The role

We are seeking a seasoned Rust backend generalist to join our passionate engineering team that operates in an environment of shared accountability and without hierarchy. You will collaborate closely on the design with the team and co-lead the implementation, while helping to assimilate new members as we build out the necessary team.

As an early team member, you will help shape not only the protocol, but also who we are as a company. You will have the freedom and autonomy to shape the direction of our culture and platform, contributing your ideas and expertise to drive its evolution. You will be challenged with complex problem-solving.

Responsibilities:

• Work on the backend systems, including networking, infrastructure, node software, and client software.
• Contribute to the protocol design as we progress through the SDLC and testing environments
• Work on building the proving workload orchestration to distributed prover machines and other core protocol components of the network.
• Provide technical co-leadership alongside the engineering team through a heavily hands-on mode of implementation.

What You Bring:

• Proven experience with Rust and its async libraries, particularly Tokio.
• Strong understanding of RPC protocols, including HTTP and WebSocket APIs.
• Extensive experience in backend blockchain development, including node and client software, as well as supporting infrastructure.
• Familiarity with leading Web3 technologies, particularly the EVM and its surrounding ecosystem.
• Demonstrated success in launching and developing greenfield projects.
• A track record of building and participating on high-performance teams, fostering a culture of excellence and strong execution.

Nice-To-Haves:

• Proficiency in PostgreSQL and Rust ecosystem libraries like Diesel, SQLx, and SeaORM
• Experience with containerization and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Familiarity with implementing and utilizing gRPC APIs
• Experience with observability tools, specifically OpenTelemetry and metrics aggregation
• Understanding of peer-to-peer networking concepts, including libp2p and Distributed Hash Tables (DHT)
• Basic knowledge of cryptographic principles, including hash functions and pairing-based cryptography (ECDSA, BLS)
• Basic knowledge of AWS and GCP

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity
• Take-what-you-need vacation
• Opportunity to work with a driven, talented, dedicated team that values collaboration, innovation, and making a strong positive impact
• Culture built upon mutual respect, empathy, excellence and delivery