Founding Engineer - Platform

Uniflow Technologies Inc.; Toronto; Hybrid; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity participation

Hybrid working environment

Job summary

A seed-stage AI startup in Toronto seeks a Founding Engineer to build a next-generation core runtime in Rust. You will design and implement a robust runtime architecture, optimize the state machine execution model, and develop a high-performance query engine for complex business data. Ideal candidates have over five years of experience in system languages, particularly Rust, and a strong understanding of distributed systems principles. This role offers a competitive salary and equity participation in a groundbreaking platform.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building production systems in a systems language.
• Strong experience with Rust—ownership model and async runtime.
• Fundamentals of distributed systems: consistency models and failure modes.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement the Rust runtime architecture.
• Port and optimize the state machine execution engine.
• Build a high-performance query engine for business data.

Skills

Rust experience

C++ or C experience

Distributed systems fundamentals

Performance systems-level profiling

State machines or workflow engines

Tools

C#

.NET

Job description

Toronto, ON (Hybrid) Full-time, Founding Team Reports to: CTO

About Uniflow

Uniflow is building an AI-native business operating system—a complete platform for enterprise software that combines deterministic execution with governed AI. We're a seed-stage startup with a working compiler, runtime, and reference implementations. The concept is proven; the scale-out needs you.

The Role

As Founding Engineer - Platform, you will build the next-generation core runtime in Rust. This is the foundational layer that executes business logic, manages entity lifecycles, and ensures correctness at enterprise scale.

You'll own the performance envelope, the state-machine execution model, and the migration path from our current C# implementation to a zero-GC, sub-millisecond Rust runtime. Your work directly determines whether Uniflow can handle the throughput and latency requirements of mission-critical enterprise systems.

What You\'ll Own

Runtime correctness + performance envelope — Design and implement the Rust runtime architecture that guarantees deterministic execution with predictable, enterprise-grade performance under load.

Lifecycle and state-machine execution model — Port and optimize the hierarchical state machine (HSM) execution engine that drives all entity behavior, transitions, guards, and side effects.

Query engine for business data at scale — Build a high-performance query engine that supports complex business queries across large entity graphs with consistent, predictable latency.

What You\'ll Do

First 90 Days

• Understand the current C# runtime architecture, entity model, and state machine semantics
• Design the Rust runtime architecture with clear interfaces and migration boundaries
• Implement core entity lifecycle primitives in Rust with property-based tests for correctness
• Establish benchmarks and performance baselines for critical paths

First Year

• Complete the Rust runtime with full HSM execution, persistence integration, and query capabilities
• Achieve <1ms p99 latency for entity transitions under realistic load
• Implement incremental migration tooling so C# and Rust components can coexist during transition
• Define and enforce correctness invariants across the runtime boundary

Requirements

Must Have

• 5+ years building production systems in a systems language (Rust, C++, or C)
• Strong Rust experience — ownership model, async runtime (Tokio), unsafe boundaries
• Distributed systems fundamentals — consistency models, failure modes, state replication
• Experience with state machines or workflow engines in production
• Track record of performance at the systems level (profiling, memory layout, cache behavior)

Nice to Have

• Experience with C# / .NET (helpful for understanding the current codebase)
• Background in compilers, interpreters, or language runtimes
• Familiarity with enterprise software patterns (ERP, CRM, workflow systems)
• Contributions to open-source systems projects

Engineering Principles

We value:

• RFCs for big decisions — Architectural choices are documented and reviewed
• Correctness > cleverness — We optimize for maintainability and verifiability
• Determinism + observability as defaults — Every execution path is traceable and reproducible

Why Uniflow

Own the platform — Build a complete business operating system from the ground up. Your architecture decisions will power enterprise software for decades.

Hard problems, real stakes — Entity state machines, distributed persistence, enterprise-grade performance. This is mission-critical software where correctness isn\'t optional.

Founding team impact — Shape the platform\'s direction, culture, and technical trajectory. Early equity participation reflects your role in building the company.

Compensation

• Salary: Competitive, based on experience
• Equity: Meaningful founding-team equity package
• Location: Hybrid in Toronto (2-3 days/week in-office)

How to Apply

Send your resume and a brief note on why this role interests you to [e-mail] or apply through our website at uniflow.tech.

Include any relevant:

• Links to systems projects you\'ve built or contributed to
• Writing (blog posts, RFCs, design docs) that demonstrates your thinking
• Performance work you\'re proud of (before/after, methodology)

Uniflow is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members.

Interested?

Send your resume and a brief note on why this role interests you.

Key Skills Rust C# Distributed Systems State Machines Performance