Backend Engineer (HFT / Low-Latency Systems)

Pod Network is rethinking blockchain performance from first principles. If you’ve pushed systems to nanosecond-level determinism and want to apply that mindset to a global decentralized exchange layer, this role is for you. ABOUT THE ROLE: We’re looking for engineers with high-frequency trading (HFT) or ultra-low-latency systems experience to help architect and optimize our execution and matching infrastructure. You’ll work on the core runtime and networking stack that powers sub-millisecond order propagation and deterministic settlement across a distributed validator network. WHAT YOU’LL DO: - Design and implement latency-critical components of the pod L1 and order book engine. - Optimize network pipelines, serialization, and state access for deterministic performance. - Contribute to new protocol primitives for timestamped execution and atomic batch auctions. - Collaborate with researchers on incentive design and cross-domain settlement models. QUALIFICATIONS: - Experience building or optimizing HFT systems, exchange matching engines, or low-latency trading infra. - Strong systems background (Rust, C++, or Go). - Deep understanding of concurrency, networking, and performance profiling. - (Bonus) Experience with blockchains, consensus, or distributed systems. WHAT WE OFFER: - Competitive salary. - High-impact role in an ambitious, fast-moving startup. - Travel opportunities and thought leadership visibility in the crypto community. ABOUT POD NETWORK: We are an ambitious, early-stage Web3 startup building a revolutionary new layer-1 protocol designed to bring Web2-like experience to Web3 systems. Our team is creating a chainless, blockless, leaderless protocol that challenges the conventional notion of consensus. Read more about pod network here. https://pod.network We’re backed by a16z crypto, 1kx, BBF, and Lemniscap—and we’re looking for exceptional engineers to help us shape the future of decentralized systems.