About this role
About Alpen Labs
Alpen Labs is a New York-based startup founded in 2022 by four MIT alumni. Our mission is to build universal rails for money by creating a scalable, private and programmable Bitcoin ecosystem. We're achieving this through cutting-edge innovations in zero-knowledge cryptography and offchain solutions, without compromising Bitcoin's fundamental principles.
This endeavor is not just about technological advancement but a step towards a more resilient, free, and prosperous global society. Our current team consists of engineers and researchers from companies like Blockstream Research, Palantir, and Nethermind. We invite passionate individuals to join us in navigating this complex, yet rewarding journey towards redefining financial sovereignty.
About the Role
As an Engineering Team Lead, you will be responsible for leading a high-impact team focused on delivering production-grade infrastructure for our protocol. You'll set the technical direction, support the team through mentorship and collaboration, and ensure we ship high-quality code. This is a hands-on leadership role that combines people management with technical depth—you’ll guide architecture decisions, contribute to the codebase, and help shape our roadmap alongside product and protocol leads.
What You’ll Do
Lead and grow a team of talented engineers working on core infrastructure and protocol components
Set and uphold engineering best practices, including code quality, testing, and documentation
Collaborate with product, protocol, and infra teams to define and deliver on roadmap priorities
Participate in architecture design and technical planning across the stack
Provide regular coaching, support career growth, and lead performance reviews for your team
Help with hiring and onboarding new engineers as the team scales
Ensure the team is focused, unblocked, and shipping high-impact work on time
What we are looking for
Have 6+ years of software engineering experience, including 2+ years in a technical management role
Experience with Rust, EVM-compatible chains, and L2 technologies
Have strong experience with systems programming (Rust, Go, or similar) and/or full stack development
Experience contributing to open source projects or building public-facing developer tools
Are comfortable leading projects from architecture to deployment in a fast-paced, high-trust environment
Have worked in crypto, distributed systems, or infrastructure teams with a strong focus on reliability and performance
Understand the importance of good developer experience and clear documentation
Are excited to work in a small, mission-driven team building foundational infrastructure
What we offer
We invite our new hires to to actively contribute to the evolution of cutting-edge technologies within the blockchain space. This presents a unique opportunity to innovate and devise creative solutions for complex engineering challenges. To support your journey, we commit to providing all the resources necessary for your learning, growth, and productivity.
Moreover, our compensation package is designed to mirror the passion, dedication, and hard work you invest in your role. We recognize and appreciate your contributions by aligning your exceptional commitment with generous compensation.