Engineer, Contract Runtime (Pagoda)

role overview

We are looking for an Engineer with experience in low-level programming who is intrigued by a variety of open problems inherent to running compilers in completely trustless but high-performance setting, and who likes contributing and collaborating with open-source communities.

We are looking for an innovative, empathetic, and productive person who is excited about building the next generation of crypto startups, feels comfortable challenging opinions, and most importantly who shares with us the same desire to make the web free again.

responsibilities

• Solve cutting-edge compiler and VM problems related to safe, deterministic, and high-performance compilation and execution
• Interface with many open-source projects where you might be asked to represent NEAR organization

In the future, your work might extend beyond WebAssembly VM into other types of VMs that Pagoda will choose to support.

requirements

• Knowledge of C, C++ or Rust. All of our code is in Rust. We can teach you Rust if you are already a C or C++ expert
• Familiarity with low-level programming (compilers, operating systems, hypervisors, etc). Knowledge of virtual machines specifically is a plus
• Ideally you’ll have 5+ years of experience
• Experience of maintaining a project
• You should be able to work with your peers and other teams with a shared sense of purpose. No room for ego here. People should want to work with you
• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a related field is a must

We'd Love If You Have:

• Contributions to open-source software
• Experience with Rust API design

culture & perks

Our Values

• Innovate and deliver—so our customers can build. We deliver new solutions for real, often urgent, customer needs. Practical over hype. We uphold our standards of excellence while balancing velocity and pragmatism.
• Focus precious time and energy on what matters. We are intentional about where we aim our resources. We channel our talents to focus on the critical missions in order to make an outsized impact. 
• Favor ownership, agency and action. Everyone is an owner. As individuals, we are responsible and accountable for our work. We empower builders to make decisions and innovate without the burden of unnecessary roadblocks or complexity. 
• Work as a team of empathetic humans. We practice mutual respect, open communication, humility and collaboration. We are kind and empathetic. We are welcoming towards diversity in all forms, including differences of perspective.
• Never break trust. Integrity is rare—and valuable—in this space. Reputation is hard to build and easy to break

What You’ll Get For Joining:

• Unlimited Annual Leave / PTO
• $2,000 Yearly Continued Education Reimbursement
• $2,000 Home Office Setup Reimbursement
• Yearly Company Retreats (2022 in Lisbon!)
• Paid Holiday Week: the last week of the year
• Paid Summer Wellness Week: the first week of July
• Mental Health Support and access to licensed therapists through Spill, 100% paid by us

about us

Pagoda is the first-ever Web3 Startup Platform where developers and entrepreneurs can build, launch, and operate new blockchain-based products and services. As a primary builder of the NEAR Protocol, Pagoda delivers capacity, velocity, simplicity, and affordability needed to power tomorrow’s Web3 startups.

The core component of Pagoda is WebAssembly virtual machine that runs in a completely trustless and fully deterministic mode, as it executes contracts implemented in WebAssembly-friendly languages using a fast compiler. NEAR contributes a lot of effort into performance and safety optimizations of WebAssembly VMs/compilers which helps not only Pagoda but the entire WebAssembly ecosystem.