P2P Node.js Engineer - Holepunch

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a P2P Node.js Engineer - Holepunch based in Netherlands.

This is a fully remote engineering opportunity focused on advancing high-performance peer-to-peer networking and distributed systems. You’ll work on core P2P networking and storage primitives built around Node.js and modern decentralized technologies. The role offers the chance to solve challenging problems involving unreliable networks, low-latency communication, and scalable distributed architectures. You’ll contribute to technologies spanning protocols, networking, cryptography, serialization, and system performance. The environment is highly technical, autonomous, and globally distributed, with a strong emphasis on engineering excellence. Your work will directly influence the reliability, efficiency, and capabilities of next-generation P2P applications. This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced engineer passionate about networking, open-source technologies, and deep systems-level challenges. Accountabilities

• Design, develop, and strengthen core peer-to-peer networking and storage primitives using Node.js and JavaScript.
• Implement and optimize P2P protocols and networking mechanisms, including technologies such as Kademlia, BitTorrent, libp2p, and hypercore.
• Develop high-performance networking code and optimize protocols for throughput, latency, reliability, and resource efficiency.
• Work with TCP/IP and UDP networking, including NAT traversal and communication across challenging network environments.
• Design and implement custom binary protocols, serialization formats, and secure communication mechanisms.
• Apply cryptographic primitives to support secure and reliable peer-to-peer communications.
• Profile, diagnose, and optimize networked systems to identify performance bottlenecks and improve overall efficiency.
• Contribute to the evolution of distributed systems designed to operate reliably across unreliable networks.
• Collaborate with engineering teams on technically complex problems and contribute to robust, production-ready solutions.

• Extensive knowledge of peer-to-peer protocols and distributed networking, particularly Kademlia, BitTorrent, libp2p, or hypercore.
• Advanced JavaScript and Node.js development skills, with experience building high-performance networking applications.
• Strong understanding of UDP, TCP/IP, networking fundamentals, and NAT traversal techniques.
• Proven experience optimizing network protocols and distributed systems for performance and low latency.
• Experience implementing custom binary protocols and serialization formats.
• Familiarity with cryptographic primitives and their application in secure P2P communication.
• Strong experience with performance profiling, debugging, and optimization of networked systems.
• 5+ years of experience building production-grade P2P or distributed systems is preferred.
• Knowledge of V8 internals, JavaScript performance characteristics, libuv, or asynchronous I/O in C is highly valued.
• Experience with Node.js native addons and bridging JavaScript with C is an advantage.
• Contributions to open-source P2P projects or networking libraries are a plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills, technical curiosity, and the ability to work independently in a fully remote environment.

• Excellent English communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with distributed engineering teams.

• 100% remote position with the flexibility to work from anywhere.
• Opportunity to work on challenging P2P networking, distributed systems, and Node.js technologies.
• International, remote-first environment with a globally distributed engineering team.

• Exposure to advanced networking, cryptography, performance optimization, and decentralized technologies.
• High degree of autonomy and ownership over technically challenging engineering work.
• Opportunity to contribute to open-source technologies and projects.
• Collaborative environment focused on technical excellence and continuous innovation.