Founding Language Engineer - Compiler & Runtime

Employment Type:

Full-time (post-funding)

About Rivellum:

Rivellum is an intent-centric Layer 1 blockchain protocol built from the ground up in Rust. Not a fork. Not an iteration. Every architectural decision was made from first principles — structural MEV elimination through encrypted batch ingress, post-quantum cryptography from genesis using Dilithium3 at NIST Level 3, guaranteed execution outcomes through an intent-based model, and ZK privacy by default. The protocol is complete, running on a live private devnet, and backed by a founding technical team that includes a PhD cryptographer covering consensus and security.

The Role:

We are looking for a Founding Language Engineer to own the Mist compiler and runtime lane. Mist is Rivellum’s native smart contract language. It compiles to a custom IR called VIR, which feeds into a value-flow graph and ultimately into the execution and settlement layer. This is not a maintenance role on an existing compiler. This is owning the design, correctness, and long-term architecture of a novel language and its execution model.

What you will own:

• Mist language design and compiler implementation

• VIR intermediate representation and lowering pipeline

• Move runtime boundary and execution model

• Developer-facing inspection, debugging, and tooling

• IR architecture decisions including evaluation of LLVM, MLIR, or Cranelift as potential foundations for VIR

• Test infrastructure and compiler correctness

• Owning the lane in investor conversations when funds want to go deep on the compiler and language layer

What we are looking for:

• Several years of production compiler engineering experience, LLVM, MLIR, GCC, JVM, or equivalent industrial compiler work

• Strong systems programming background, Rust preferred but not required

• Someone who understands IR design, optimization passes, codegen tradeoffs, and how to debug optimizer behavior at depth

• Blockchain experience is not required and is secondary to compiler engineering discipline

What this is not:

This role is not suitable for someone looking for an immediate salary. Rivellum is pre-funded. The pre-funding period is equity-only. Full-time employment with salary begins at funding close.

What we are offering:

• Founding team equity, meaningful and consistent with the rest of the founding team

• $175,000 USD annual salary starting at funding close

• Standard four-year vesting with a one-year cliff, vesting commencement from day of signing

• Token allocation at mainnet launch

• 18-month funded runway target behind the role

• The opportunity to own a critical lane in a protocol built to matter

Pre-funding ask:

Roughly 10 to 15 hours of focused review of the relevant code in your lane, key risks identified, and a rough sense of what hardening looks like and how long it takes. That is the full pre-funding scope. The deep execution work happens post-funding when everyone is full time.

Process:

Intro call, technical materials, follow-up call, NDA and scoped code access, founding intent letter, full access and lane review.

To apply or learn more:

Reach out directly to Ben Abbott at [email protected] or connect on LinkedIn.