Mission-Critical Backend Engineer (Rust/Distributed)

Dex; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Dex, in partnership with a leading defence-tech company, seeks a backend-focused engineer to design and build a mission-critical backend stack. You will tackle extreme operating conditions, including intermittent connectivity and air-gapped networks, using Rust, Python, and other systems languages.

The role emphasizes reliability, testing, and robust architectural decisions in high-stakes environments. You will work with a Rust/Python-based stack, improve fault tolerance, and learn from top

Qualifications

• Strong backend development experience in a systems language (Rust, Java, Go, C++, or similar).
• Proven ability to build and operate complex distributed systems, with a focus on failure modes.
• Deep expertise in at least one area: edge computing, latency optimization, or platform engineering.
• Familiarity with backend interface tools like REST, GraphQL, gRPC/Protocol Buffers, and Arrow.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement features, algorithms, and infrastructure for a mission-critical backend.
• Engineer for extreme conditions: intermittent connectivity, resource-constrained embedded systems, and untrusted networks.
• Ensure system robustness and reliability through comprehensive testing and benchmarking.
• Contribute to a Rust and Python-based stack, with opportunities to learn from prominent open-source contributors.
• Solve complex distributed systems problems where partial degradation and failure modes are the default.

Skills

Rust

Java

Go

C++

Distributed systems

Edge computing

Latency optimization

Platform engineering

Tools

REST

GraphQL

gRPC/Protobuf

Arrow

Job description

Dex, in partnership with a leading defence-tech company, seeks a backend-focused engineer to design and build a mission-critical backend stack. You will tackle extreme operating conditions, including intermittent connectivity and air-gapped networks, using Rust, Python, and other systems languages.

The role emphasizes reliability, testing, and robust architectural decisions in high-stakes environments. You will work with a Rust/Python-based stack, improve fault tolerance, and learn from top