Software Engineer, Developer & SDKs

Location

New York

Full time

Hybrid

Engineering Stellar Labs

Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high‑scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem.

About the Project & Team:

At the SDF, a small team of roughly 8 engineers is incubating a novel distributed systems prototype. Not a blockchain as you know it, something new. This is a rare opportunity for a zero‑to‑one build where much of the infrastructure and tooling does not exist yet. You will be building it.

To be clear: this is not a maintenance role for our existing network, nor is it an academic research project. We are actively building a high‑performance platform designed to handle real value.

We operate as a fast-moving, highly technical team with no layers of management. You will work directly with the protocol architect and core systems engineers to take this completely greenfield project to production. If you thrive on the urgency of a new launch and want the agility of an early‑stage startup with the stability of SDF, this is the place to be.

About the Role

We have a working Rust SDK and a core system approaching its first e2e test. What we don't have is the developer experience layer that turns "it works for us" into "anyone can build on it."

You will own the SDKs, developer tooling, documentation, and the initial technical onboarding for our partners. This starts as a hardcore building role (Rust/Type Script SDK, docs site, faucet, CLI tooling) and grows to include Developer Relations as we bring partners onto the platform. We need an engineer who can write production‑quality developer tools and act as the primary technical interface for our first external users.

You aren't just demoing other people's work, you are building the tools, writing the docs, and ensuring developer success.

What the First Few Months Look Like:

• Month 1: Get the full system running locally. Understand the Rust SDK and workflow. Identify the gaps between "works for the team" and "works for an outside developer."
• Month 2‑3: Type Script SDK with core functionality (submit transactions, query state). First draft of getting‑started guide. Web faucet live.
• Month 4‑6: CLI tooling, block explorer polish, API docs, example applications. Onboarding tested with real partner developers. Iterate based on feedback.
• Beyond: SDK expansion, developer portal, public testnet developer experience.

In this role, you will:

• Type Script SDK: Build and maintain the SDK for application developers to complement the Rust SDK, wrapping our JSON‑RPC API.
• Developer Tooling: Build the "developer daily driver," including CLI tooling for contract deployment, a reliable web faucet, and a web block explorer UI.
• Documentation: Write and maintain the "Getting Started" guide, API documentation, and realistic example applications to ensure new developers can deploy within 30 minutes.
• Developer Relations: Serve as the first point of contact for partner developers during the private testnet, translating their feedback directly into SDK and tooling improvements.

You have:

• Strong programming skills in Type Script and an ability/willingness to work with Rust (you will build the TS SDK and contribute to the existing Rust SDK).
• Experience shipping developer tools, SDKs, or public‑facing libraries.
• A high degree of empathy for developers and the ability to write clear, accurate, and engaging technical documentation.
• Comfortable being the public face of a highly technical product for early adopters.

Bonus Points if (optional):

• Experience with blockchain developer tooling (SDKs, block explorers, faucets, wallets).
• Familiarity with smart contract development patterns.

We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $140,000 - $210,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience,…