Senior Systems Software Engineer

ABOUT UNTO LABS Unto Labs is a team of low-level engineers pushing distributed systems to the physical limits of modern hardware. We’re reimagining blockchains, from core consensus primitives to performance-tuned networking stacks, in the service of global scale applications. ABOUT THE ROLE We're seeking a Senior Systems Software Engineer to take on the toughest challenges in distributed, high-performance computing. You'll be responsible for designing and building key parts of a base-layer blockchain, focused on juicing every last ounce of performance from commodity hardware. As a member of our fast-paced team, you'll work across the entire modern blockchain stack, including cryptography, consensus, distributed systems, and core kernels. RESPONSIBILITIES - Design and implement system-level components for blockchain infrastructure using C, C++, and Rust. - Maintain strong emphasis on computer systems analysis and implementation. - Gather requirements for high-throughput, low-latency (≤ 200 ms p95) services; design distributed systems that meet 99.9 % availability SLAs. - Perform benchmarking and performance profiling to enhance execution efficiency. - Specify, version, and maintain public and internal APIs plus JSON-RPC/gRPC endpoints. - Document interfaces and generate strongly typed client libraries. - Collaborate on the development of secure, low-latency networking protocols and cryptographic primitives. Build fault-tolerant ETL pipelines that transform on-chain events into query optimized relational & NoSQL stores. - Tune indexes for millisecond reads. - Provision and scale commodity server fleets (on-prem & cloud). - Automate with Terraform/Kubernetes, monitor health, capacity, and SLOs. Migrate legacy computing pipelines to modern CI/CD frameworks. - Support the design of fault-tolerant systems with advanced debugging, logging, and error recovery functionality. - Model token- economic incentives, auction fee markets, and validator/operator behaviors; prototype algorithms and run agent-based simulations. - Leverage generative-AI coding agents, static analyzers, and self-healing runbooks to accelerate delivery and cut MTTR. - Review performance metrics to refine software components for memory and process or efficiency. - Profile CPU, I/O, and network paths; execute load-tests; instrument metrics/tracing/logs; drive post-mortems and capacity plans. - Maintain and manage a performant suite of APIs, SDKs, and developer tools for consumption by external developers. - Integrate cryptographic primitives, secure key management, vulnerability scanning, and incident response playbooks. - Write RFCs, lead design reviews, mentor junior engineers, and coordinate cross-functional delivery with product, infra, and legal teams. - 100% telecommuting/working from home permitted from various and unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. QUALIFICATIONS - This position requires a Master’s degree, or foreign equivalent, in Economics, Business Economics, Computer Science, or a related field. - 10 years of experience as a Systems Engineer, Software Engineer, Software Developer, Information Technology Officer, or a related occupation - Additionally, the applicant must have employment experience with: - Systems programming in C, C++, and Rust; - Low-level performance optimization and hardware interfacing; - Distributed systems and threading runtimes; - CI/CD pipeline design using GitHub Actions and on-prem infrastructure; - Work with multiple systems, including web development platforms, high-performance computing systems, core operating system kernels, developer tools, and systems related to economic applications; - Develop distributed ledger technologies or crypto economic distributed systems. WHY JOIN US? - Be at the forefront of blockchain technology, working on next-generation performance optimization, on a small, fast-moving, tight-knit team - Work with a team of experts with deep expertise in high-frequency trading and scaling developer ecosystems - Shape the architecture of a system designed to process millions of transactions per second - Access to cutting-edge hardware and development tools COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS - Competitive salary ($213,512 - $220,000 USD) - Significant equity and upside potential - Flexible work environment - Unlimited vacation policy - Health insurance - Hardware and development tool allowance - Conference and learning budget Requisition ID: 245