Founding Principal Engineer

Role Description

The Founding Principal Engineer at Joyride will take ownership of the core infrastructure for the first dedicated 0DTE options exchange, combining traditional high-frequency trading performance with blockchain verifiability. In this role, you will design, implement, and optimize a high-throughput Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) matching engine in Rust, ensuring sub-millisecond latency and ensuring system resilience under heavy load. You will also architect the cryptographic Trust Bridge, which provides verifiable proofs to the blockchain that off-chain matches occurred without front-running or tampering by operators. Additionally, you will develop the Atomic Settlement module to automate collateral movement based on on-chain proofs and build a real-time risk & liquidation engine capable of instant position settlement during periods of network congestion. Keywords: matching engine, CLOB, blockchain verification, hybrid architecture, high-frequency trading.

Key responsibilities:
* Architect and develop the high-frequency Central Limit Order Book in Rust, C++ or Go, optimizing for lock-free data structures, cache-friendly memory layouts, and minimal GC pauses.
* Design and implement the Trust Bridge using advanced applied cryptography techniques (zero-knowledge proofs, Merkle trees) to guarantee proof-of-trade integrity.
* Build the Atomic Settlement layer to manage collateral movement and ensure atomic on-chain settlement of options trades.
* Develop a real-time risk and liquidation engine to automatically monitor positions, calculate exposure, and liquidate 0DTE products within strict time constraints.
* Collaborate with blockchain engineers to integrate Solana and EVM smart contracts with off-chain components, ensuring seamless interoperability.
* Mentor and guide a small team of backend and blockchain developers, setting standards for code quality, performance, and security.
* Continuously profile and tune system performance, introduce new concurrency patterns, and evolve the architecture for scalability and fault tolerance.

Unique Opportunity

Choosing this Founding Principal Engineer position means becoming a key leader in a rapidly developing FinTech/crypto project with direct influence on product vision and technical roadmap. You will benefit from:
* Equity stake in Joyride and the chance to shape company strategy from day one.
* Remote-first culture with full autonomy, flexible hours, and minimal meetings.
* Competitive USD-denominated compensation with upside potential.
* Cutting-edge tech stack: Rust, C++, Go, Solana, EVM, advanced cryptographic frameworks.
* Opportunity to work at the intersection of blockchain and high-frequency trading, pioneering a new category in on-chain derivatives.

About Joyride

Joyride is building the industry’s first dedicated 0DTE (zero days to expiration) options exchange, bringing sub-second trading and on-chain settlement to the crypto derivatives market. Leveraging over $3.5 trillion in daily U.S. options trading volume, we aim to democratize sophisticated derivatives for crypto traders by providing better leverage, tighter spreads, and provable execution integrity. Our team combines veterans of traditional FTX, Alameda Research, and leading blockchain projects. We value transparency, technical excellence, and a hacker mindset. Join us to redefine what is possible in on-chain trading and to help drive the next wave of crypto innovation.