Systems Engineer

Company: Unto Labs

Unto Labs is a team of low-level engineers pushing distributed systems to the physical limits of modern hardware. Founded by Jump Crypto alumni and core contributors to the Solana protocol and the Firedancer client (https://github.com/firedancer-io/firedancer), they recently announced $14.4 million in funding. They are building the next generation of blockchain technology, tackling fundamental scalability, performance, and usability challenges, focusing on core consensus primitives, performance-tuned networking stacks, and a RISC-V based runtime developed in C for maximal control. Their goal is to make blockchains & digital assets useful for the world.

About the role:
We're seeking a Systems Engineer to take on the toughest challenges in distributed systems and high-performance computing. You'll be responsible for designing and building key parts of our Layer 1 blockchain, focusing on getting the best performance from commodity servers. As a member of our fast-paced team, you'll work on the entire modern blockchain stack, including core cryptography, consensus, distributed systems, and performance issues.

Responsibilities:
- Build and test high-performance sub-systems from scratch in C, focusing on cryptographic operations, consensus mechanisms, and networking protocols.
- Design systems for robust process isolation on modern CPU architectures and tile-based multi-core layouts.
- Optimize memory hierarchies, cache utilization, and low-level I/O for commodity servers.
- Implement advanced error correction and data recovery mechanisms.
- Create comprehensive benchmarking suites and performance testing frameworks.

Technical Requirements:
- 5+ years of systems programming experience with deep expertise in languages like C, C++, Rust, focusing on performance optimization.
- Deep expertise in modern CPU microarchitecture, memory subsystems/hierarchies, and low-level optimization techniques.
- Strong understanding of distributed systems design and consensus algorithms/protocols.
- Expertise in high-performance networking and protocol design, particularly in real-time environments.

Cultural Requirements:
- Crave ownership and seek to make a lasting impact.
- Thrive in ambiguous environments and can create structure from chaos.
- Proactively seek opportunities beyond your initial scope.
- Strong bias for action and ability to move fast.
- Excellent communication skills and ability to work closely with technical teams.
- Excited about being one of the first employees at a fast-growing startup.
- Excited to work in-office in San Francisco (Hybrid OK) or Remote (US).

Why join us?
- Be at the forefront of blockchain technology, working on next-generation performance optimization.
- Work with a team of experts from leading high-frequency trading and blockchain companies.
- Shape the architecture of a system designed to process millions of transactions per second.
- Access to cutting-edge hardware and development tools.
- Significant equity and upside potential.
- Flexible work environment and unlimited vacation policy.
- Health insurance, hardware allowance, conference/learning budget.