Staff Software Engineer (Rust and Distributed Systems)

Fortanix; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

Stock options

Hybrid or remote work

Health insurance

Job summary

Fortanix is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join the Confidential Computing Management team. You will design, build, and own core platform services that power secure, distributed systems at scale.

This role combines leadership with hands-on development across microservices, APIs, and deployment pipelines. You will shape architecture, drive technical direction, and mentor engineers while delivering secure by design, highly reliable systems in multi-cloud environments.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong backend and distributed systems expertise.
• Authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.
• Experience owning end-to-end services: design, development, deployment, scaling, operations.

Responsibilities

• Design and build distributed microservices powering confidential computing platforms.
• Own architecture end-to-end from API design to deployment and reliability.
• Lead critical design decisions and influence how services interact across the platform.
• Mentor engineers and raise the bar on code quality and engineering rigor.
• Contribute to core components like Runtime Encryption technology.

Skills

Rust

C/C++

Go

Kubernetes

Tools

Linux

Job description

Overview

• We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to join our Confidential Computing Management team—an engineer who can design, build, and own core platform services powering secure, distributed systems at scale
• This is a high-impact, hands-on technical leadership role. You’ll shape architecture, lead critical design decisions, and build microservices that are foundational to how our platform operates—ensuring they are secure by design, highly reliable, and built to scale
• Design and build distributed microservices that power Fortanix’s confidential computing platform across hybrid and multi-cloud environments
• Own system architecture end-to-end—from service design and APIs to deployment, scaling, and production reliability
• Drive technical direction across services, ensuring they fit cohesively into the broader platform architecture
• Lead system design and API discussions, influencing how services interact across the platform
• Build with a security-first mindset, ensuring services are resilient, auditable, and safe by design
• Write high-quality, production-grade code (Rust, C/C++, or similar) and contribute to critical code reviews
• Partner closely with engineering, product, and infrastructure teams to deliver complex, cross-functional systems
• Mentor and guide engineers, raising the bar on system design, code quality, and engineering rigor
• Contribute to core components such as our Runtime Encryption® technology and confidential computing services
• This isn’t just another backend role. You’ll be:
• Building foundational systems, not just features
• Working at the intersection of security, distributed systems, and modern infrastructure
• Owning architecture decisions that shape the entire platform
• Solving problems where performance, security, and scale all matter at once

Benefits

• Generous Leave: Fortanix offers generous leave packages including competitive PTO, a global recharge day every quarter, paid volunteer time off and paid parental leave
• Insurance: We offer competitive health, dental, and vision plans as well as short-term and long-term disability and life insurance
• Financial: Our financial benefits include Employee Stock Options for every employee
• Flexible Work Options: Hybrid or remote work options depending on location
• Social: Socialize with your co-workers through company-provided lunches and dinners for in-office employees, quarterly beer bashes, weekly happy hours, and other special events
• Proven experience designing and building microservices from scratch, and understanding how they fit into larger system architectures
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with strong backend and distributed systems expertise
• Strong experience with distributed systems concepts (scalability, reliability, fault tolerance, data consistency)
• Experience owning end-to-end services (design, development, deployment, scaling, and operations)
• Experience with or interest in:
• Experience working in Linux environments, including debugging and performance tuning
• CI/CD and production deployment pipelines
• Deep understanding of service architecture, API design, and system design
• Kubernetes and containerized environments
• Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Strong inclination toward building secure, reliable, and maintainable systems
• Strong programming experience in Rust (will also consider C/C++, Go, or similar systems-level languages)
• Familiarity with data storage systems (SQL/NoSQL, distributed storage, caching)
• Hands-on experience with:
• Background in infrastructure platforms or developer platforms
• Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire
• Security infrastructure (key management, encryption, secure storage, access control)
• Exposure to secure AI / privacy-preserving systems
• Experience with performance-critical systems or systems programming
• Confidential computing / Trusted Execution Environments (Intel SGX, AMD SEV, Nitro Enclaves, etc.)
• For this role, candidates must have a minimum of 24 months of current U.S. work authorization remaining without the need for employer sponsorship