Onhires

Backend Developer (Rust)

Berlin, Germany full-time Mid Salary not listed
full-time Mid level Technology & IT Curated
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About the role

Rust Engineer — Distributed Execution Engine
Berlin (hybrid) or Remote (countries within ~4–5 hours travel of Berlin)

About our client
Our client is a B2B sourcing platform serving the automotive dealership industry. They're a small, fast-moving engineering team building core infrastructure from the ground up rather than assembling off-the-shelf tools — the kind of environment where a single engineer's technical decisions shape the product for years.

About the role
You'll join a small engineering team building the client's sourcing platform. Your focus will be their flowgraph — a horizontally scalable, step-based execution engine, similar in spirit to n8n or Unreal Engine's Blueprints, but built from the ground up in Rust with strong typing and production workloads in mind. It drives their order processing and ETL pipelines.
This isn't a typical backend role. Rather than wiring together managed queues and off-the-shelf orchestration tools, the team builds its own coordination and fault-tolerance mechanisms from scratch — because the workloads don't fit neatly into existing solutions. If you enjoy thinking about graph theory, type systems, parsers and compilers, WASM runtimes, or distributed systems architecture as part of your everyday work — not just as a personal interest — you'll feel at home here.
What you'll do
Research, design, and build on the client's bespoke distributed graph execution engine, written in Rust.

Design and implement graph executor node implementations to power third-party integrations with partner and supplier systems.

Build and maintain infrastructure for the distributed execution engine — deployment pipelines, observability, and site reliability.

Design and implement coordination and fault-tolerance mechanisms from scratch (not by wrapping existing message queues) — handling partial failures, node coordination, and recovery within the engine itself.

Develop and maintain logistics and ETL workflows within this ecosystem, tied directly to the core business.

What we're looking for
Must-have:
7+ years of backend development experience.

3+ years of professional Rust experience.

Strong, practical grasp of distributed systems and fault-tolerant software architecture.

Familiarity with at least some of: graph theory, type theory, parsers and compilers, and related CS fundamentals. We don't expect mastery of all of these — most strong candidates bring deep expertise in 3–4 out of 5 core areas, with distributed systems being the one we weight most heavily.

Real-world DevOps experience.

Nice to have:
A background in C/C++ before moving to Rust.

Experience with key-value stores or distributed databases — FoundationDB or TiKV are a big plus.

Experience with frontend web development.

Experience with existing low-/no-code workflow tools (n8n, Prefect, AWS Step Functions).

Understanding of WASM runtimes.

Previous experience with logistics or process management systems.

Location & setup
Berlin / Wildau area: hybrid, with 1 day per week in the office.

Elsewhere within ~4–5 hours' travel of Berlin: fully remote, no office requirement.

Employment: official employment in Germany, or B2B contract elsewhere in Europe.

Full-time, ~40 hours/week, with meaningful overlap with CEST hours.

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Interview prep

Walk in with sharper answers.

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Mid
Technology & IT Operations Remote Collaboration Backend Developer Rust Mid level

Likely questions

  1. Tell us about work you have done that is close to the Backend Developer (Rust) role.
  2. How would you approach your first 30 days at Onhires?
  3. Which of Operations, Remote Collaboration and Backend have you used recently, and what did it help you achieve?
  4. Describe a time you solved a problem without waiting to be told exactly what to do.
  5. How do you handle busy days, changing priorities, or pressure at work?

Prepare before the call

  • A recent example that proves your experience with Operations, Remote Collaboration and Backend.
  • One short story with a problem, your action, and the result.
  • Two examples that show the strengths listed on your CV.
  • A clear reason why this role and company interest you.
  • Your availability, preferred work style, and salary expectations.

Ask them

  • What would success look like in the first 90 days?
  • What are the main problems this hire should help solve?
  • How does the team give feedback and measure good work?
  • What does a normal working week look like for this role?
Practice line

I am interested in the Backend Developer (Rust) role because I can bring practical experience in Operations, Remote Collaboration and Backend, learn the team quickly, and contribute to the outcomes Onhires needs from this hire.

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