Backend Team Lead

About CoW DAO

CoW DAO is on a mission to protect Ethereum users from the dangers of DeFi. It does this by supporting the development of CoW Protocol, CoW Swap, MEV Blocker, and CoW AMM, and by funding values-aligned projects through the CoW Grants Program. 

CoW Protocol is the second-largest DEX aggregator by monthly volume and the first-largest intents-based exchange. MEV Blocker is currently involved in ~4% of all Ethereum transactions, making it the category leader. CoW AMM is the only live AMM that protects LPs from LVR (loss-versus rebalancing). 

As a member of CoW DAO’s core team, you will have the opportunity to shape these essential products, and contribute to the Ethereum ecosystem more broadly.

About the Role

Location: We are a fully remote team, and although we hire almost globally, there is a preference for this role to be based in Europe or remote +/- 4 hours CEST time

Please note we’re not hiring from the US, Australia, or New Zealand

Position: Full-time contractor

We’re looking for an experienced Backend Team Lead who will manage and guide our engineering team while also being highly technical. This person will help resolve problems, offer mentorship, and ensure the team delivers clean, maintainable code while avoiding over-complication. You’ll work closely with our Tech Lead, collaborating on both high-level technical decisions and hands-on execution to drive the team’s success.

This position is a mix of technical expertise and people management—ensuring that the team has everything they need to succeed, both technically and personally.

What you will do

• Lead, support, and mentor the backend team: Guide team members in developing their technical skills, improving performance, and overcoming challenges while providing mentorship, feedback, and opportunities for career growth

• Encourage clean and simple solutions: Foster a development culture that prioritizes simplicity, efficiency, and streamlined workflows to enhance productivity and maintainability

• Code reviews and technical guidance: Perform code reviews, provide constructive feedback, and ensure that the team’s code adheres to best practices and high-quality standards

• Work closely with the Tech Lead: Collaborate closely with the Tech Lead to support the team in implementing solutions, overcoming obstacles, and ensuring smooth development processes

• Problem-solving: Identify roadblocks or inefficiencies in the team’s processes and help resolve them in a way that aligns with CoW’s long-term goals

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams: Work closely with product, research, and other engineering teams to ensure smooth delivery of features and high-quality results

Our Tech Stack

• Backend Code: Rust, Tokio, Cargo, Git (https://github.com/cowprotocol/services)

• Infrastructure: Pulumi, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Grafana, Prometheus, Elasticsearch, Flux

• Other codebases: Typescript, Python, Solidity

Who you are

• Technical expertise: You have experience in backend development (languages such as Rust, Go, Python, etc.) and building distributed systems. While Web3 experience is a plus, it’s not a requirement.

• People-oriented leader: You have experience leading teams, providing mentorship, and fostering a growth-oriented environment. You know how to motivate people, resolve conflicts, and build trust within a team

• Tech-Savvy Leader: You can step in and help with complex technical challenges, but your main focus is on the people and processes

• Simplifying Solutions: You care about and understand the importance of keeping things simple and ensuring that the team follows best development practices

• You work well with others: You have a collaborative mindset and can work with both technical and non-technical team members and ensure everyone is aligned with the team’s goals

• Code quality: You are experienced in code reviews and are passionate about helping team members improve through constructive feedback

• Remote team leadership experience: As a remote-first company, we need a Team Lead with a strong track record of managing fully remote teams, fostering collaboration, and mai