Every protocol you've used secretly depended on a human to keep running. We fixed it.
If you want to build infrastructure that gives protocols the ability to observe, decide, and act — without a human in the loop — you might be a fit for Fermah.
Fermah is backed by a16z CSX, Lemniscap, and other Tier-1 VCs.
Our core infrastructure is Fermah Kernel — a composable, type-safe workflow engine built in Rust that lets protocols initiate actions, not just react to them. Workflows run in sandboxed containers, execute conditional logic, and deliver cryptographically verified results back onchain. No centralized servers. No keeper bots. No humans with private keys.
Fermah Kernel is live in production and powers everything we ship:
• Fermah Froben — our ZK proof generation marketplace autonomously orchestrates proofs for ZKsync and Abstract chain. 1.5M+ proofs delivered, zero human interventions.
• Flashcast — a prediction market where a tweeted question becomes a live market in 3 seconds, resolved onchain the moment an event occurs. No moderators, no committees. Currently in private beta.
We're not making existing things slightly faster. We're building categories of application that were never possible — because they required protocols to act, not just wait.
If you want to be part of a team shipping infrastructure for the machine economy, we'd like to talk.
Fermah was founded by Dr. Vanishree Rao. She has been designing and building ZK for over 15 years and has a PhD in cryptography from UCLA.
We're looking for a senior Rust backend generalist to build the infrastructure behind Fermah Kernel and Fermah Froben — proving orchestration, node software, networking, and the distributed systems that keep protocol agency running in production.
You'll co-lead implementation alongside the team, contribute to protocol design, and help onboard new engineers as we grow. Early team, high autonomy, complex problems, no hierarchy.
To apply, please fill out this form.