Senior Protocol Engineer
Jito Labs
Other Engineering
United States
USD 205k-225k / year + Equity
Posted on Mar 3, 2026
Jito Labs is architecting the future of high-performance distributed systems on Solana. We're the team behind Jito-Solana, the leading MEV Solana client, and the Jito Block Engine, which has revolutionized block building on Solana. Today, Jito-Solana currently runs on 93% of stake and 1,100 validators, producing an additional $1B of revenue for stakers and validators on the network.
At Jito Labs, you'll work alongside a small, nimble group of engineers and operators who are passionate about solving complex technical challenges at the cutting edge of Solana trading and infrastructure. As a small, profitable company with product-market-fit, we're in a unique position to tackle ambitious technical challenges while maintaining our startup speed.
Our team culture emphasizes:
- High ownership: Every team member drives significant technical decisions and shapes our product roadmap.
- Fast execution: We ship rapidly and iterate based on real-world feedback. Progress, not motion.
- Technical excellence: We tackle complex problems with elegant, scalable solutions.
- Sustainable growth: Strong financials and proven market fit enable us to focus on long-term impact.
If you're excited about:
- Solving complex distributed systems challenges
- Working with cutting-edge MEV and trading infrastructure
- Contributing to open-source blockchain technology
- Making a tangible impact on one of the fastest-growing L1 blockchains
..then we want to hear from you.
We're not just building tools - we're architecting the future of high-performance distributed systems. Our work directly impacts Solana's ecosystem, enabling a faster network, better capital efficiency, and more robust DeFi applications for millions of users.
We offer competitive compensation, significant equity, and the opportunity to work on problems that matter. Don't just watch the future of blockchain unfold—help us build it.
Jito Labs is seeking a Senior Protocol Engineer to build the future of decentralized finance on Solana. We are looking for creative and motivated engineers that can effectively wrangle problems with large design spaces and come up with simple and elegant solutions. The role is extremely dynamic and a place where low-level problem solvers will thrive. You will be building protocols that have the potential to custody billions of dollars of capital; if this excites, you please apply!
Responsibilities
- Architect Solana programs using Solana native and Anchor programming models
- Build safe, secure, and performant code
- Write public-facing test plans and documentation for the code you’ve produced
- Build substantial testing infrastructure to ensure code is following a defined specification
- Collaborate with the team and customers to leverage internal knowledge and tooling
- Drive features and products from beginning to end with extreme ownership
- Comfortably dive deep into performance bottlenecks and debug problems across the entire stack
Qualifications
- 5+ years of systems programming experience writing code in Rust, C, or C++
- Multiple Solana programs written in Solana native programming or using the Anchor framework
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills
- Experience wrangling complex problems into simple solutions
- Worked at a <50 person startup
Nice-to-Have
- Security background
- Knowledge of DeFi landscape
Benefits
- Above market compensation and multiple forms of equity
- All-expenses-paid team retreats and conferences!
- Weekly meal voucher
- And more!
205000 - 225000 USD a year