Rust Developer Job Descriptions, Average Salary, Interview Questions

What Does a Rust Developer Do?

Rust developers develop software applications using the Rust programming language. Rust is relatively new and has gained popularity for its speed, memory safety, and low-level control. Web applications, system utilities, and network programming are among the projects for which these developers can work.

Individuals in this role should be proficient in both the Rust programming language and computer science principles in order to succeed as a Rust developer. Rust’s borrow checker and ownership model, as well as its ecosystem of libraries and frameworks, should be familiar to them. Moreover, these developers should be comfortable working in an Agile environment and collaboratively with other developers.

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National Average Salary

Rust developer salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. To explore salary ranges by local market, please visit our sister site zengig.com.

The average U.S. salary for a Rust Developer is:

$102,180

Rust Developer Job Descriptions

Example 1

My Cybersecurity client is seeking a Senior Software Engineer with Rust Experience to join their engineering team. This team is responsible for building innovative solutions that protect the world’s most critical infrastructure.

Responsibilities

  • Work closely within a small team to build features that support their solutions/products
  • Develop production code to support new features and bug fixes
  • Design and write automated tests that ensures integrity of their software

Requirements

  • 4+ years of software development experience
  • Experience with Rust Programming Language
  • Experience working in Linux systems programming and networking protocols (deep understanding is a plus)
  • Experience with network security is a plus, but not necessary
  • Experience with RabbitMQ, Kafka, Apache, or similar

Example 2

We are seeking a Director of Product Marketing to help usher in the next wave of products and solutions. This is an essential role, not only for marketing, but for business insights, growth as well as developer advocacy. This position is highly visible across ABC Company and the ABC ecosystem and requires candidates with deep interpersonal and communication skills, verbal and written, with experience marketing emerging technology to businesses and developers around the world.

Responsibilities

  • Build scalable backend systems, services, and APIs
  • Design high reliable services that can withstand large fluctuations in traffic
  • Benchmark performance, identify performance bottlenecks, and find ways to resolve them
  • Write backend code that is fast, reliable, but also highly secure
  • Maintain and evolve our quickly-growing test suite
  • Collaborate effectively with other staff to solve complex problems

Requirements

  • Minimum of 4 years work experience in a professional software environment
  • Work experience with Rust and a solid foundation with C++ or Java
  • B.S. in Computer Science, Math, or equivalent professional experience is acceptable
  • DevOps knowledge
  • Excellent communication skills in conversational and written English
  • Passion for joining a fast-paced, early-stage startup
  • Ability to write robust, highly efficient, reliable code
  • Experience writing multi-threaded applications
  • Have deployed software to a production environment
  • Familiarity with Linux development and runtime environment

Example 3

We are in desperate need of hiring more Rust Developers and will speak with anyone who has a year or more of experience with Rust.

What you will be doing

Working within Polkadot Substrate’s latest architecture you will be helping us implement a new consensus engine in Rust. We have an existing consensus engine (Substrate 1.0.5) written in Python to use as a reference. Additionally you will be building tools for our live open source blockchain users such as RESTful API, mining pool, or command-line client. Debugging/fixing issues within our codebase.

What you need for this position

Need To Have

  • 4+ years as a developer/engineer (any language)
  • Rust
  • Python (2+ years)

Nice To Have

  • Polkadot Substrate
  • C#
  • .NET
  • Ability to pick-out SDKs from code base
  • REST API
  • Experience with Docker images or Mining pools.

How to Hire a Rust Developer

There are a number of important initial considerations when hiring a Rust developer:

  • Recruiting: Do you have the knowledge, tools, and resources to attract and screen candidates?
  • Complexity: Do you need a senior professional, or will mid or junior-level skills and experience suffice?
  • Duration: Are you hiring for a project or an ongoing need?
  • Urgency: How soon does the opening need to be filled? What happens while it remains open?
  • Headcount: Do you have the budget and approval for an internal employee, or should you consider alternate options?

Answering these questions will help determine the best course of action for your current hiring need. Fortunately, great options exist for every scenario. These are our recommendations:

1. Use 4 Corner Resources (or another professional recruiting firm)

The heavy lifting is done for you when working with a top-tier staffing company like 4 Corner Resources. We source, screen, recruit, and deliver only the most qualified candidate(s), saving you significant time and effort throughout the hiring process while you remain focused on your core business. Understanding your needs and ensuring the right candidate for the position is the key to our success.

This is the best route to take when:

  • You need to fill the position quickly
  • You want access to a vast talent pool of high-quality, prescreened candidates
  • Your position is suited for temporary hiring services, contract staffing, or contract-to-hire recruiting, and you intend to direct the work activity.
  • You are hiring an employee as a direct placement but aren’t able to recruit effectively or efficiently with your internal staff. 
  • You aren’t familiar with current salary rates, market trends, and available skill sets
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2. Hire an experienced freelancer

The freelance, or gig economy, continues to grow, with more talent available daily. Freelancers provide high-quality work without a long-term commitment. They can offer you a fresh perspective, more flexibility, and increase efficiency. While the freelance market isn’t ideal for every position, Rust developers are often a great fit. 

We recommend this option when:

  • Your need is project-based
  • The work can be performed remotely
  • You do not intend to direct the daily work activity
  • You are hiring for expertise your internal team does not possess
  • You do not require an employee to work onsite or follow a specific schedule

We recommend using either Toptal, Upwork, or both.

Toptal

Toptal is an exclusive network of the top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, product managers, and project managers in the world. Toptal vets its freelancers before making them accessible, ensuring their legitimacy. Top companies hire Toptal freelancers for their most important projects. Hiring a Rust developer on Toptal can help you quickly get the results you need.

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Upwork

Upwork is a freelance talent network that helps individuals connect with experts in a variety of fields to accomplish project-based needs. When you have a specific, well-defined goal in mind, this can be a great path to hiring an experienced Rust developer. If you are satisfied with the outcome you can continue to book the same freelancer through Upwork’s easy-to-use project interface.

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3. Post the opening on a top job board

Your best option may be to advertise your opening on a proven job board. There are many widely used job sites out there that draw visits from qualified candidates. If you have someone internally who can dedicate the time and energy to sort through applications and screen individuals effectively, this can be a great choice. 

We recommend using a job board when:

  • Your internal recruiting team has the knowledge and experience to assess candidate qualifications
  • You are hiring a direct employee and have time to manage the entire recruiting effort 
  • You have a process for receiving, screening, and tracking all resumes and applications
  • You are prepared to respond to all applicants

There are many career sites out there. Here are the two we recommend for a Rust developer opening:

CareerBuilder

CareerBuilder has been a trusted source for hiring since 1995. Reach 80+ million unique, diverse U.S. job seekers annually by posting your jobs through their talent acquisition channels. Through CareerBuilder, you can engage candidates and drive them into your sourcing pipeline. We recommend using CareerBuilder for hiring when you have the internal resources and processes to review, screen, and reply to all applicants.

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social network for job seekers, professionals, and businesses. With this popular job site, you can enhance your brand and advertise your open position to a wide audience of motivated, qualified candidates. Job postings on LinkedIn are also extremely streamlined and user-friendly, making it even easier for candidates to apply. Additionally, applicants can use their LinkedIn profile instead of a resume to expedite the process. 

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4. Leverage your internal resources

You can utilize your own website, social media, and employees to assist in your search for top candidates. 

A company website posting should be the first step in notifying prospective candidates that you are hiring. Social media can also be a powerful tool for spreading the word about your new opening. As far as exposure is concerned, this option can be as good as some job boards when you have a large enough following across various platforms, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.

Current employees are every organization’s greatest asset. Encourage your internal team to promote job openings to their network by offering cash and other incentives.

We recommend these options when:

  • Your brand has great name recognition
  • You can consistently monitor and respond to candidate activity through your website and social media accounts
  • You have a process in place to quickly and broadly communicate job openings and requirements
  • You have an effective employee referral program in place

If you aren’t sure which path is best, schedule a discovery call today with our seasoned recruiting professionals. The 4 Corner team is on standby to help you find the best option for your unique hiring need.

Sample Interview Questions

  • Have you developed software applications using Rust before, and what projects have you done?
  • What techniques do you use to optimize the performance of your Rust code?
  • Are there any tools you use for version control and project management when working on a Rust project?
  • How did you familiarize yourself with a new Rust library or framework that you had to learn?
  • What techniques do you use to organize and document your Rust code so that it remains extensible over time?
  • To ensure that your Rust code is robust and error-free, how do you approach testing and quality assurance?
  • How does the Rust borrow checker affect Rust’s development?
  • In what ways does Rust’s ownership model differ from other programming languages you have used?
  • What are your methods for keeping up with the latest Rust developments?
  • When did you have to troubleshoot an issue in a Rust application, and how did you solve it?

Need help hiring a Rust Developer?

We match top professionals with great employers across the country. From filling urgent job openings to developing long-term hiring strategies, our team is here to help. Review our staffing solutions, browse our award-winning Staffing Corner blog, or call today. We look forward to connecting with you soon.

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