Zed is a fast, collaborative code editor built from the ground up in Rust. We're seeking a Backend Engineer with a strong Rust background to own and maintain our server-side infrastructure.
The server-side infrastructure powers many of Zed's core features: all AI connections go through this system, as do the collaboration primitives, in addition to cross-cutting concerns like auth, billing and telemetry. We are currently rebuilding our backend from a single stateful server to a fully distributed system, and looking for someone to help lead this effort.
Responsibilities
Design and implement reliable, high-performant backend systems in Rust
Build on Zed's existing deterministic test execution environment to allow us to make large changes with confidence
Contribute to architectural decisions that shape Zed's future
Solve complex product challenges, drawing on your systems programming background when needed
Collaborate with designers and engineers to create intuitive user interfaces
Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code
Participate in code reviews and collaborate with teammates and community members in real time
Help improve our development processes and tooling
Optimize performance and user experience where necessary
Requirements
Strong proficiency in Rust
Experience deploying and maintaining distributed systems in production
Solid understanding of algorithms and data structures
Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills
Strong product sense and user-centric design approach
Self-directed work ethic and ability to operate autonomously
Excellent communication skills for remote collaboration
Willingness to work on both backend and frontend aspects of the application
Enthusiasm for pair programming, including several hours weekly in Zed
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with Cloudflare's worker infrastructure
Knowledge of database performance characteristics, particularly PostgreSQL and SQLite
Familiarity with tracing, logging and telemetry tools like Axiom or Honeycomb
Background in building real-time collaborative systems
Knowledge of cross-platform development challenges
Experience working on product code, front-end, or full-stack development