Technical Lead (Rust)

Technical Lead (Rust)

Keyrock, a leading change‑maker in the digital asset space, is seeking a Technical Lead to bridge business objectives with technical execution. This hybrid position combines hands‑on engineering, architectural leadership and team enablement.

About Keyrock

Since 2017 we have grown to 180+ team members worldwide, with hubs in London, Brussels and Singapore. We trade on more than 80 exchanges, and are pioneers in adopting Rust for algorithmic trading. Our services span market making, options trading, high‑frequency trading, OTC and DeFi trading desks. We also support Web3 startups through our Accelerator Program and drive industry progress with research and governance initiatives.

Mission Statement

The Tech Lead acts as a crucial link between engineering outcomes and broader business strategy. The role is not purely managerial nor solely individual contributor; it involves actively contributing to the codebase, guiding the team technically and aligning execution with long‑term goals.

Job Description

• Act as the technical point of accountability for the Service Market Making Business Unit.
• Balance strategic thinking with pragmatic delivery, ensuring systems are built to last while meeting immediate needs.
• Champion collaboration across teams, ensuring alignment between product, design, QA, and engineering.
• Inspire and develop engineers through mentorship, coaching, and technical guidance, fostering growth and autonomy within the team.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the Head of Engineering to own delivery of entire work‑streams, ensuring architecture and engineering decisions align with business strategy.
• Contribute directly through coding while focusing on architecture design, peer reviews, and cross‑functional communication.
• Provide structured feedback through design and code reviews, support skill development and empower junior and mid‑level engineers.
• Guide system design, ensure scalability and resilience, and optimise performance across applications and infrastructure.
• Uphold engineering best practices, enforce coding guidelines and partner with QA to embed automation and validation in the delivery pipeline.
• Manage technical debt, lead refactoring initiatives and ensure long‑term maintainability and operational excellence.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, designers and QA engineers to define scope, refine requirements and plan delivery.
• Anticipate technical risks, dependencies and trade‑offs early, and propose mitigations to safeguard delivery timelines.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years in a Technical Leadership position guiding teams, shaping architecture and driving delivery of complex projects.
• Expertise in architecting and maintaining high‑concurrency, low‑latency trading systems at scale.
• Advanced proficiency in Rust; working knowledge of Node.js (JavaScript/TypeScript) and Python is an advantage.
• Deep experience with data‑intensive architectures and real‑time data pipelines.
• Proven track record deploying, optimising and operating AWS environments for ultra‑low‑latency workloads.
• Hands‑on experience containerising applications and managing Kubernetes clusters in production.
• Familiarity with GitOps workflows to automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration and deployments.
• Solid command of software engineering best practices, including Agile methodologies, DevOps principles and full‑stack CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of DevSecFinOps principles to embed security, compliance and cost‑governance throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Demonstrated leadership of engineering teams, fostering collaboration, mentorship and continuous professional growth.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder‑management skills, able to partner effectively with Product, Architecture, Quantitative Research and Operations.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving mindset, with a passion for building scalable, reliable and secure systems.
• Deep domain knowledge of finance and trading, particularly within the cryptocurrency sector.
• Experience in fast‑paced, dynamic financial or fintech environments is highly desirable.

Soft Skills & Competencies

• Ownership & Reliability – Take full responsibility for your work, deliver high‑quality service and meet deadlines.
• Initiative & Problem‑Solving – Make sound, independent judgments and drive solutions proactively.
• Operational Diligence – Respond strategically to technical and operational challenges, ensuring robust trading infrastructure.
• Curiosity & Growth Mindset – Continuously improve technical skills, stay ahead of industry trends and experiment with new technologies.
• Excellent Communication – Collaborate effectively within a fully remote global team.

Recruitment Philosophy

We value self‑awareness in our recruitment process. We look for people who understand themselves, their career goals and are crypto enthusiasts who are driven, collaborative and deliver solid, scalable outcomes.

Our Offer

• Competitive salary package, with benefits varying by engagement type (employee or freelancer).
• Autonomy in time management with flexible working hours and remote work options.
• Opportunity to create an entrepreneurial experience as part of a high‑performance team.

Equal Employment Opportunity

As an employer we are committed to building an inclusive, diverse and non‑discriminating work environment. We welcome employees of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, creed and sexual orientation. We hire, reward and promote entirely based on merit and performance. Background checks are required for all potential employees.

Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Engineering and Information Technology

Location

Candidate should be based in the UK or Europe. Remote and flexible work options are available.