Principal Engineer

About the CompanyMtransform is dedicated to redefining the landscape of decentralized finance through innovative engineering solutions and a commitment to excellence.Only Onsite - Abu DhabiAbout the RoleThe role involves leading engineering efforts to align with Mtransform's product and business strategy, establishing best practices, and driving architectural decisions across various layers.ResponsibilitiesDefine and own the engineering roadmap aligned with Mtransform's product and business strategy.Active coder in Solidity, Rust, Go, or Node with Front end like React, Vue, Angular — no pure managersEstablish engineering best practices, coding standards, CI/CD pipelines, and quality frameworks.Drive architectural decisions across blockchain, backend, and frontend layers.Collaborate closely with product leadership to translate vision into executable engineering plans.Champion a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.Mentor and retain world-class engineers across blockchain, full-stack, DevOps, Security concepts, and QA disciplines.Foster a high-trust, inclusive, and collaborative engineering culture.Build and scale the engineering organization from current state to future headcount targets.Remove blockers, resolve technical conflict, and ensure team alignment across squads.Own end-to-end delivery of DEX and CEX platform features, smart contract releases, and token infrastructure.Implement and oversee Agile / Scrum processes, sprint planning, and release management.Partner with QA and security teams to ensure robust testing, audit readiness, and zero-downtime deployments.Drive incident response, post-mortems, and continuous reliability improvement.Lead the engineering of decentralized exchange (DEX) protocols, liquidity pools, and AMM mechanisms.Oversee development and integration of centralized exchange (CEX) backend systems, order books, and matching engines.Guide smart contract design, auditing, and deployment across EVM-compatible and non-EVM chains.Drive token engineering: ERC-20 / ERC-721 / ERC-1155 standards, tokenomics implementation, and vesting contracts.Stay at the forefront of DeFi, Layer 2 scaling solutions, cross-chain bridges, and emerging Web3 protocols.Provide clear and concise engineering updates to C-suite and board stakeholders.Manage relationships with third-party vendors, blockchain infrastructure providers, and technology partners.Represent the engineering team in cross-functional leadership meetings and strategic planning sessions.Qualifications12+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a senior engineering leadership role.Proven experience leading and growing engineering teams of 10+ developers in a product-driven environment.Deep hands-on experience with Decentralised Exchanges (DEX): AMMs, order book DEXs, liquidity protocols (Uniswap, dYdX, Curve, etc.).Strong experience with Centralised Exchange (CEX) architecture: trading engines, market making, custody, and compliance integration.Expert-level understanding of blockchain development: Ethereum, Solidity, EVM, smart contract auditing, and gas optimisation.Experience with crypto tokens and tokenomics: ERC standards, staking, governance tokens, and token distribution mechanisms.Proficient in at least two of: Solidity, Rust (Solana/Substrate), Go, Python, Node.js, TypeScript.Strong knowledge of Web3 tooling: Hardhat / Foundry, The Graph, ethers.js / web3.js, IPFS, Chainlink.Track record of delivering secure, scalable, high-availability financial or crypto platforms in production.Experience with Layer 2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync, Polygon) and cross-chain bridges is highly desirable.Solid understanding of cryptographic principles, wallet infrastructure, and key management (MPC, HSM, multi-sig).Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements in crypto (KYC/AML integration, travel rule, VASP frameworks).Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to present complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.Required SkillsExperience building or scaling a crypto exchange from 0-to-1 or through hyper-growth.Familiarity with institutional-grade infrastructure: FIX protocol, colocation, prime brokerage APIs.Background in quantitative finance, algorithmic trading, or market microstructure.Open-source contributions to blockchain or DeFi protocols.Preferred SkillsStrategic Thinking — Ability to align engineering execution with long-term product and business vision.Technical Credibility — Commands respect from engineers through depth of knowledge and hands-on capability.Talent Development — Passionate about growing engineers and building high-performing, diverse teams.Decisive Communication — Clearly articulates trade-offs, priorities, and decisions to all stakeholders.Execution Discipline — Delivers reliably in fast-paced, ambiguous, startup-like environments.Security-First Mindset — Treats security and smart contract integrity as non-negotiable engineering principles.Collaborative Leadership — Bridges engineering, product, business, and compliance functions seamlessly.Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.Equal Opportunity StatementMtransform is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.