Senior Software Engineer, C++

Position Overview

Are you excited to work on cutting-edge blockchain technology while creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation has powered the growth of the Stellar blockchain network—a high-scale, open-source platform enabling developers and companies worldwide to build innovative financial solutions. In this role as a C++ Engineer, you will design and evolve Stellar Core, the distributed engine behind Stellar's global ledger and consensus, tackling complex challenges in performance, decentralization, and security to drive long-term network health.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and build key components of Stellar Core, the backbone software behind the Stellar Network.
• Develop robust, scalable, and extensible technologies that empower developers and network participants.
• Collaborate on new architectures and subsystems alongside the CTO, engineering team, and open source community.
• Write clean, maintainable code with an emphasis on edge case analysis and future-proofing.
• Own core subsystems of Stellar Core and drive critical product milestones.
• Participate in code review and design sessions to establish engineering best practices.
• Investigate and refactor performance bottlenecks to help scale the system.
• Author detailed technical feature and protocol (RFC) specifications as part of the design process.

Required Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience developing software on a team.
• BS or MS in Computer Science or an equivalent field.
• Proficiency in writing code in modern C++ or Rust in a production environment.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to lead technical discussions during design and code reviews.
• Solid understanding of software design patterns and ability to build reusable, extensible, and modular components.
• Passion for performance debugging and benchmarking.
• Enthusiasm for tackling first-time challenges in an ever-evolving technological space.
• Ability to thrive in a small, growing team with a high degree of autonomy.
• Open, empathetic, and collaborative mindset.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with designing and implementing distributed systems.
• Strong curiosity about blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies, with an understanding of their fundamentals.

Benefits & Perks

• Compensation: Base salary range of $180,000 - $290,000 (based on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location) plus lumen-denominated grants.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee and dependents.
• Flexible time off, 15 company holidays, and a company-wide holiday break.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave (plus up to 14 weeks for birthing parents).
• Gym reimbursement of $80 per month.
• Life insurance and ADD coverage (up to $50K), along with short & long term disability.
• 401K plan with a 4% match, Health & Dependent Care FSA, and HSA with monthly contributions.
• Commuter benefits with a $250/month employer contribution.
• Family building benefits through Kindbody and wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace).
• Learning & Development budget of $1,500 per year.
• Daily lunch, snacks in the office, and company retreats.