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Alec DiFederico

pdf version | [email protected] | github.com/Alec1017 | Brooklyn, NY

Backend engineer specializing in blockchain protocols across the EVM and SVM, data pipelines, and high-performance systems at early-stage startups

experience

Kiosk Senior Backend and Smart Contract Engineer
June 2024 - June 2025
Farcaster NFT social media platform
  • Designed and implemented real-time blockchain data indexing pipelines using Kafka and Debezium
  • Developed Typescript and GraphQL APIs and optimized Postgres queries for a novel NFT Farcaster client
  • Architected and deployed EVM smart contracts using Foundry for today.fun, implementing token distribution mechanisms for onchain actions
  • Built production AI-agent pipelines using Pydantic AI for content ingestion and recommendations
ReNFT Labs Senior Smart Contract Engineer
June 2023 - June 2024
Non-Custodial NFT Rental Platform
  • Designed and implemented Endgame, a collateral-free NFT rental protocol on the EVM
  • Forked and modified the optimized OpenSea Seaport protocol contract to integrate with Endgame
  • Led the Endgame smart contracts through a 3-week auditing process with Code4rena
  • Designed and implemented SVM contracts for coin.fun, a pump.fun-inspired bonding curve protocol on Solana
Greenwood Labs Solidity Smart Contract/Backend Engineer
June 2021 - April 2023
DeFi Protocol Specializing in Borrow Routing
  • Built the first Ethereum borrowing aggregator that served over 3MM in crypto loans for 2000+ borrowers
  • Designed a novel fractional ownership protocol for DeFi trades that attracted over 50k USD in deposits
  • Built wealth management multi-sig wallet using Gnosis Safe contracts and vault-style structured products
  • Used Monte Carlo simulations to research financial product viability with Jupyter, Pandas, and Python
  • Led the architecture of Node.js REST APIs using Express, Typescript, Postgres, and Docker

projects

Solana High Frequency Trading Engine
October 2024 - Present
Metrics: $500k volume traded · 150µs p99 tick-to-trade · 10% zero-slot misses
  • Architected a sub-150µs tick-to-trade, high frequency trading engine in Rust
  • Built a low-latency shred ingestion pipeline with custom reconstruction that received shreds up to 7-10ms faster than the standard Jito Shred Receiver
  • Implemented durable nonce, multi-path transaction routing through independent providers and direct-to-leader submission
  • Set up comprehensive observability using Honeycomb telemetry to optimize critical paths
  • Created a Typescript indexing service using Subsquid for Solana data extraction and backtesting
  • Solana validator majority stake co-location to reduce propagation and leader-path latency
  • Open-position management driven by a hazard statistical model for exit decisions
  • Consistently landed transactions ahead of 99% of other snipers
Mainnet Validator Node
August 2023 - Present
Go-ethereum, Lighthouse, EVM
  • Set up and configured an Ethereum mainnet node on personal hardware using Rocketpool
  • Monitored and maintained the node to ensure 99% uptime
  • Developed a deeper understanding of the Ethereum network and consensus mechanisms
Fable DAO Smart Contracts
May 2023 - September 2023
CosmWasm, Cosmos, Sei Chain
  • Created DAO contracts for NFT projects to compete in on-chain mini games to win tokens
  • Used Rust to implement and deploy contracts in the CosmWasm VM
  • Contributed open source pull requests to Sei's Go SDK