The role involves developing a decentralized darkpool with high-performance matching engine, cross-chain liquidity aggregation, and fault-tolerant architecture while ensuring cryptographic privacy and low latency.
Location: Remote / Americas Preferred
Compensation: $160k — $240k USD base, 0.4-0.8% equity
Today, if you’re trading onchain, you’re broadcasting your trades to the world before they happen. Sophisticated actors systematically front-run all trades (MEV, stat arb), resulting in most high value trading activity remaining within the confines of centralized exchanges that share all the downsides of the system crypto was meant to replace.
At Tristero, we're building the world's first performant decentralized darkpool, where your trades are private until they clear, and you maintain full autonomy through the entire trade cycle.
What you'll work on:
- High-Performance Matching Engine & Zero-Knowledge Privacy - At the core of our darkpool lies a custom-built, low-latency matching engine that processes orders with microsecond precision while maintaining cryptographic privacy guarantees. You'll work on optimizing order matching algorithms, implementing efficient data structures for order books, and building zero-knowledge proof systems that hide order details until settlement. Our matching engine handles cross-chain order routing across 15+ EVM chains plus Solana, with strict performance targets: <100ms p99 latency for quote generation and <500ms for order matching.
- Cross-Chain Liquidity Orchestration at Scale - Our liquidity layer intelligently aggregates across Jupiter (Solana), DEX aggregators, Binance, CCTP, and more. You'll build adaptive pathfinding algorithms that dynamically route orders through optimal liquidity sources, implement real-time slippage management systems, and develop cross-chain settlement protocols. The system processes complex multi-hop trades with automatic fallback routing and maintains sub-second response times across 10+ blockchain networks.
- Fault-Tolerant Distributed Architecture - Our microservices architecture includes specialized components for real-time pricing, industry-leading order execution, and distributed order routers with Redis-backed state management. You'll work on horizontal scaling patterns, implement circuit breakers and backpressure control, build real-time WebSocket feeds for market data, and design async processing pipelines capable of handling many concurrent orders. All systems include comprehensive telemetry, structured logging, and observability.
What we expect:
- 4+ years of professional back-end engineering experience (we’re hiring at multiple seniority levels)
- Strong proficiency with modern back-end systems design
- Deep understanding of API design, databases, and distributed systems
- Familiarity with DeFi protocols and crypto infrastructure—or a proven ability to ramp up quickly
- Strong ownership of your work
We’ve got unlimited PTO, a full suite of healthcare options, and some swag with your name on it. We foster a high-trust, high-autonomy culture. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense team to build groundbreaking financial products with—Tristero may be the place for you.
We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you do not have any direct crypto experience, please
make sure to include a brief cover letter that explains why you think you can onboard to a new domain smoothly. This can be
very short - we do read these.
Similar Jobs
Information Technology
As a Senior Backend Engineer at DuckDuckGo, you'll lead backend projects, mentor engineers, and develop AI-enhanced features for the company's privacy-centric product line.
Top Skills:
Ai ToolingGoNode.jsPerlRag Pipelines
Insurance • Legal Tech • Social Impact
The Senior Backend Engineer will enhance data integration infrastructure, manage internal systems, and collaborate with teams to execute engineering tasks for growth initiatives.
Top Skills:
GCPGoKubernetesSalesforceTerraform
Big Data • Fintech • Mobile • Payments • Financial Services
The Senior Software Engineer will lead and support a team in developing reliable and scalable backend systems, collaborating on product development, and improving infrastructure for secure communication between services.
Top Skills:
AWSHelmKotlinKubernetesMySQLPython
What you need to know about the Colorado Tech Scene
With a business-friendly climate and research universities like CU Boulder and Colorado State, Colorado has made a name for itself as a startup ecosystem. The state boasts a skilled workforce and high quality of life thanks to its affordable housing, vibrant cultural scene and unparalleled opportunities for outdoor recreation. Colorado is also home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, helping cement its status as a hub for renewable energy innovation.
Key Facts About Colorado Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 260,000; 8.5% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Lockheed Martin, Century Link, Comcast, BAE Systems, Level 3
- Key Industries: Software, artificial intelligence, aerospace, e-commerce, fintech, healthtech
- Funding Landscape: $4.9 billion in VC funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Access Venture Partners, Ridgeline Ventures, Techstars, Blackhorn Ventures
- Research Centers and Universities: Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Denver, Colorado State University, Mesa Laboratory, Space Science Institute, National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Gottlieb Institute
