Backend Engineer - Blockchain Trading Infrastructure

Ink is a next-generation Ethereum Layer-2 network incubated by Kraken, built using Optimism’s OP Stack and designed to make decentralized finance faster, cheaper, and more accessible. As part of the Optimism Superchain, Ink combines Ethereum-level security with high-performance execution, enabling developers and users to interact with DeFi at scale.

We’re building a chain and ecosystem that bridges the reliability and reach of a global exchange with the openness of on-chain infrastructure. Our focus is on empowering developers, improving user experience, and accelerating real-world adoption of decentralized applications. Joining Ink means working at the intersection of Ethereum scaling, DeFi innovation, and production-grade blockchain infrastructure, alongside a team committed to shipping impactful, secure, and user-centric technology.

Building the Future of On-Chain Trading

Nado is building high-performance perpetual and spot trading infrastructure that combines the security of on-chain settlement with the speed of off-chain matching. Our team is focused on creating institutional-grade trading infrastructure that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in DeFi.

What makes us different?

Nado operates at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology. We’re building a vertically integrated trading platform that includes smart contracts, matching engines, market making infrastructure, and developer tools. As a Nado engineer, you’ll work on systems that process thousands of transactions per second while maintaining the security and transparency guarantees of blockchain technology.

We value engineering excellence, deep technical expertise, and pragmatic problem-solving. Our team includes experts in distributed systems, financial infrastructure, blockchain technology, and high-performance computing.

The Team

You’ll be joining a lean, highly technical team building production systems that handle real financial transactions. We write Rust microservices, Solidity smart contracts, and TypeScript tooling. Our engineers own features end-to-end, from smart contract deployment to backend services to developer SDK maintenance.

Our Tech Stack Includes

• Rust for high-performance backend services (matching engine, sequencer, gateway, signing services)
• Solidity for EVM smart contracts with custom optimization patterns
• PostgreSQL and Redis for data persistence and caching
• AWS infrastructure (ECS, VPC, Load Balancers, CloudFormation, Route53 and more)
• Custom EVM implementation for simulation and gas estimation
• Python for infrastructure automation and deployment tooling
  
  

About The Role

As a Backend Engineer at Nado, you will:

• Design and implement core trading infrastructure components including matching engines, order routing, risk management systems, and settlement logic
• Build and maintain microservices in Rust that handle high-throughput trading operations with strict latency requirements and reliability guarantees
• Develop and optimize smart contracts in Solidity for perpetual and spot trading, including clearinghouse logic, order verification, and settlement mechanisms
• Work on blockchain integration layers including transaction sequencing, EVM simulation, signature verification, and chain indexing
• Design database schemas and optimize query performance for PostgreSQL databases handling millions of trading events and real-time position updates
• Build developer tools, SDKs, and APIs that external teams use to integrate with Nado’s trading infrastructure
• Implement monitoring, alerting, and operational tooling to ensure maximum reliability and availability for production trading systems
• Collaborate on system architecture decisions affecting performance, scalability, security, and maintainability
• Participate in code reviews, write technical documentation, and contribute to engineering best practices
• Debug complex issues spanning multiple services, blockchain interactions, and third-party integrations
  
  

Requirements

• 4+ years of professional software engineering experience building production backend systems
• Strong proficiency in Rust or demonstrable ability to quickly master systems programming languages. Experience with async Rust (Tokio), web frameworks (Axum/Actix), and systems programming
• Solid understanding of distributed systems, database design, API design, and service-oriented architectures
• Experience with relational databases (PostgreSQL preferred) including schema design, query optimization, and transaction management
• Strong computer science fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, concurrency, networking
• Ability to read and reason about system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement optimizations
• Self-directed work style with ability to own projects from conception through deployment
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and cross-team collaboration
  
  

Preferred

• Experience with blockchain technology, smart contracts, or cryptocurrency trading systems
• Solidity smart contract development experience, especially with complex DeFi protocols or exchanges
• Understanding of EVM internals, gas optimization, and blockchain indexing patterns
• Experience building financial systems, trading infrastructure, or high-frequency trading systems
• Familiarity with order matching algorithms, market microstructure, or trading venue operations
• DevOps experience with Docker, AWS (ECS, RDS, ElastiCache), Infrastructure as Code (CloudFormation, CDK, Terraform)
• Contributions to open-source Rust or blockchain projects
• Experience with WebSocket APIs, real-time data streaming, and pub/sub architectures
• Knowledge of EIP-712 signatures, account abstraction, or layer 2 scaling solutions
  
  

Our Engineering Culture

• Code quality matters: We use clippy, rustfmt, ESLint, Prettier, and enforce lint-clean code through CI.
• Test everything: Integration tests, unit tests, property tests. We run comprehensive test suites before every deployment.
• Ownership and autonomy: Engineers own features from design through deployment and maintenance.
• Pragmatic problem-solving: We value simple, maintainable solutions over clever complexity.
• Continuous improvement: Regular code reviews, architecture discussions, and knowledge sharing.
• Production-first mindset: Our code handles real money, so we prioritize reliability, security, and observability.
  
  

Ink is built by a globally distributed, remote-first team, and we value the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and perspectives that each person brings. We hire based on merit, focusing on the abilities, knowledge, and skills that make someone well-suited for the role. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every listed requirement — especially if you’re passionate about blockchain, DeFi, or Ethereum scaling.

Ink is an equal opportunity team and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. This includes discrimination based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity or expression, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as defined by applicable local, national, or international laws.