Backend services with Axum / Actix
Tokio-based async services, OpenTelemetry tracing, sqlx for type-safe Postgres, Sea ORM where ORM ergonomics help.
Senior engineering · Rust
Senior Rust engineering for production systems.
Rust for systems where memory safety, predictable performance, and zero-cost abstractions are the value: services, embedded targets, WASM runtimes, and the rewrite of hot paths the old language couldn't defend.
- In production
- 2021+
- Senior bench
- 10+ G6/G9 engineers
- Floor
- G6+ on client work
- Engagement
- Outcome-led, not hourly
Why senior, not contractor
Rust in production is a different problem than Rust on a laptop.
Rust is for the engagements where C-level performance is needed without a C-level memory-safety risk. Prosigns ships Rust for backend services where latency or throughput dominates the budget, for WASM payloads on the edge, for embedded targets, and for blockchain / smart-contract tooling where the type system is the audit. We don't recommend Rust as a default. We recommend it where its specific strengths pay for the higher engineering cost.
Senior floor
G6+ minimum
Bench depth
10+ G6/G9 engineers
In production
2021+
Engagement
Outcome-led SOW
Where Rust ships
6 sub-areas, grounded in shipped engagements.
Specific applications of Rust we’ve built and operate. Every example below maps to a real engagement, not a bullet on a stack-card.
01 02 WASM + edge runtimes
Cloudflare Workers (Workers Rust), browser WASM with wasm-bindgen, embedded interpreters (wasmtime, wasmer).
03 CLI + ops tooling
Clap-driven CLIs, single-binary distribution, ripgrep / fd / bat-style throughput when the operating context demands it.
04 Blockchain + smart contracts
Solana programs (Anchor), Substrate-based chains, ink! contracts, NEAR contracts. Type-system-as-audit discipline.
05 Embedded + no_std targets
Cortex-M MCUs, RTIC, Embassy for async on bare metal. RTOS adapters and HAL crates for hardware engagements.
06 Hot-path rewrites
Selective rewrites of CPU-bound or memory-bound services from Python / Node / Java where the perf gap is genuinely there.
Stack depth
The Rust ecosystem, owned.
Frameworks, libraries, and runtime tools the bench has shipped in production. Not a CV-skim, a working depth.
Web + API
- Axum
- Actix Web
- Rocket
- Tower
- Tokio
Data + persistence
- sqlx
- SeaORM
- Diesel
- Redis
- RocksDB
WASM + embedded
- wasm-bindgen
- wasmtime
- Embassy
- RTIC
- Cortex-M
Blockchain
- Anchor (Solana)
- Substrate
- ink!
- NEAR SDK
Quality + ops
- cargo test
- Criterion
- Tracing
- OpenTelemetry-Rust
- Miri
Engagement models
Three ways to engage Rust engineers.
We don’t bill hourly contractors. Engagements run against outcomes, choose the shape that matches the work.
See engagement models- 01
Fixed-scope
Defined deliverable, fixed price
When the deliverable is clear and the scope is bounded: an MVP, a migration, a discrete platform build. Senior engineering against a written outcome, not against a body count.
- 02
Embedded squad
Senior product team, ongoing
When the work is product-shaped and the cadence is continuous. A senior pod (engineering + design + PM as needed) embedded into your team, with the practice lead co-piloting from HELM.
- 03
Managed services
Steady-state operations
When the system is running and needs ongoing engineering ownership: operations, SLO defense, release management, security and compliance evidence. Monthly retainer against a published SLA.
Selected work
Rust engineering that shipped.
Financial services
Hot-path scoring service rewrite from Python to Rust.
12xthroughput improvementReplaced a Python + Cython scoring service with a Rust + Axum implementation. Went from 60ms p99 to 5ms p99 at 4x the throughput per pod. Sqlx for type-safe Postgres access; Tokio for I/O.
Duration · 4 months
Brief us
Reply < 4 business hoursHave a Rust workload? Send a brief.
Five fields. Goes straight to the practice lead, not an SDR. We’ll reply with a senior engineer’s read on fit, scope, and the engagement model that suits the work.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask.
Everything below also appears in the proposal and the SOW: no surprises after signing.
When is Rust the right pick?
When latency or throughput is the dominant constraint and the workload won't let you scale out instead. For embedded / WASM / blockchain where Rust's strengths are uniquely valuable. For team contexts where the engineering tax of Rust is paid back by the operational simplicity. It's the wrong default for content-heavy or rapidly-changing business logic.
Compile times, really?
Yes, they're still slow on large workspaces. We mitigate with sccache, cargo-chef in Docker builds, modular workspace design, and `cargo check` / `cargo clippy` in tight inner loops. It's a real tax, but for the workloads where Rust fits, the tax pays off.
Is this staff-aug, or is it engineering-led delivery?
Engineering-led delivery. We don't bill hourly contractors against your JIRA board. Every engagement runs against a defined outcome with a senior engineer accountable from kickoff to operating cutover. If you genuinely need staff-aug, discrete bodies, your management, hourly rates, we'll be honest and route you to a partner that fits.
What seniority floor are we talking about?
G6 minimum (six-plus years in their craft) on every billable hour. Department leads are G9 or G10. We don't flex juniors onto the bench mid-sprint, we don't subcontract to delivery centers, and we don't dilute senior rates with mixed staffing. The bench in the proposal is the bench in production.
How does pricing work?
Three engagement models published at /engagement-models/. Fixed-scope for defined deliverables, embedded squads for ongoing product work, managed services for steady-state operations. Rates depend on seniority, engagement length, and region. Discovery + scoping conversation is free; SOWs are written against deliverables, not bodies.
Where are your engineers based?
Senior-only across Dallas, Doha, Lahore, and Islamabad. We staff against the engagement's needs (timezone, language, regulatory frame), not against arbitrary regional preferences. Most engagements run with a US/EU-aligned core and a follow-the-sun extended bench when the workload warrants it.
Will the engineers I see in the proposal be the engineers shipping the work?
Yes. We name the engineers in the SOW, attach their profiles, and they're on the kickoff. We don't bait-and-switch with senior reviewers and junior execution. If a named engineer needs to roll off the engagement (rare), we surface a replacement from the same seniority tier with explicit handoff.
Talk to a Rust lead
Senior Rust engineering, accountable from kickoff.
Bring the workload: we’ll bring a senior engineer plus the practice lead most relevant to the work. 30 minutes, no obligation, no junior reps.