Compiler Engineer

Harmonic Laboratories is a pioneering technology company at the forefront of blockchain and decentralized application (dApp) development. We specialize in building innovative solutions on the Cardano blockchain and beyond.

We are seeking a skilled Compiler Engineer to join our team and contribute to the design and development of an advanced compiler targeting a superset of lambda calculus.

The ideal candidate is passionate about programming languages and compiler development. They are highly self-motivated, capable of working independently, and eager to take ownership of a project from design to implementation.

A strong background in both imperative and functional programming paradigms is essential, along with experience optimizing compilers for performance and correctness.

We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced Compiler Engineer with expertise in compiler optimizations, language design, and functional programming.

You will have primary decision-making power over the project and work mostly independently. While cooperation with other teams is expected, those teams will not be directly involved in compiler development.

• Develop and optimize compilers.
• Contribute to open-source projects.
• Enhance the developer experience with cutting-edge compiler tooling.
• Be responsible for transforming high-level imperative constructs into a superset of lambda calculus, ensuring efficiency and correctness.

• Design, develop, and optimize a compiler frontend for an imperative programming language.
• Implement type checking and intermediate representations for efficient program transformation.
• Develop compilation techniques to lower imperative constructs into a superset of lambda calculus.
• Independently make key architectural and implementation decisions regarding the compiler.
• Collaborate with researchers and engineers to design and refine the language specification.
• Optimize code generation for performance, scalability, and correctness.
• Contribute to the development of tools and frameworks that improve compiler usability and debugging.
• Participate in code reviews, ensuring high-quality software engineering standards.
• Stay up to date with advancements in programming languages, compiler optimizations, and functional programming techniques.
• Troubleshoot and debug compilation issues, ensuring reliability and stability.
• Work with stakeholders to gather requirements and translate them into robust compiler features.

The following qualifications are required for this role:

• The compiler will be written in TypeScript, so a good understanding of JavaScript runtimes (V8, Bun, etc.) is strongly encouraged.
• Strong understanding of Computer Science and Software Engineering principles, especially in compiler design.
• Experience developing compilers, interpreters, or other language-processing tools.
• Proficiency in parsing, type systems, and intermediate representations.
• Expertise in imperative programming languages (e.g., C, Rust, or similar).
• Strong understanding of functional programming, lambda calculus, and program transformation techniques.
• Knowledge of program optimization techniques and static analysis.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.

The following qualifications are preferred but not required:

• Experience contributing to open-source compiler projects.
• Familiarity with formal methods, proof assistants, or type theory.
• Knowledge of high-performance runtime systems and just-in-time (JIT) compilation.
• Hands-on experience with garbage collection strategies and memory management in compiled languages.
• Understanding of blockchain smart contract execution models and their computational constraints.
• Familiarity with category theory and abstract algebra in the context of programming languages.

• Opportunities to work on innovative compiler and programming language projects.
• Collaborative and inclusive work environment with a strong focus on professional growth.
• Flexible work hours – work whenever you feel like, as long as you complete the job.
• Access to the latest tools and technologies in compiler development.
• If you are passionate about programming languages, compilers, and innovative execution models, we would love to hear from you.