Principal Rust & AI engineer · London / remote UK

Rust and AI engineering for ambitious London teams.

15+ years shipping production software and 1M+ lines of Rust across fintech, identity, SaaS, and Web3. I join hard delivery problems as a hands-on principal engineer, technical lead, or founding engineer.

  • London + remote UK
  • Outside-IR35 contracts via Wolven Tech
  • Select founding engineer roles
Download CV

Outside-IR35 status remains subject to client determination and actual working practices.

Decebal Dobrica
Decebal Dobrica · Founder, Wolven Tech · Open-source maintainer

Operating context

Engineer, founder, and maintainer

I lead Wolven Tech and build Rust systems, event-sourced products, and agentic AI workflows. Claims below are scoped to the work described in linked case studies; they are not generic promises for every project.

15+
years shipping production software
1M+
lines of production Rust shipped
75%
infrastructure cost reduction in a named case study
25+
engineers led across delivery teams

Current work spans AllSource, an AI-native Rust event store; AllFrame, a Rust application framework; and product engineering across the Wolven Tech portfolio. I work directly in code, architecture, delivery systems, and product evidence.

Earlier roles covered fintech, identity, SaaS, and Web3 systems. That range is useful when a team must connect low-level performance or reliability decisions to product and operating constraints.

Decebal Dobrica speaking at a technology event

Work with me

Ways to work together

Two focused paths for London and remote UK teams. Both combine hands-on engineering, technical leadership, and an evidence-led delivery system.

01 / Contract delivery

Outside-IR35 Rust & AI contract

For delivery-critical systems that need senior ownership without a long hiring cycle. I work through Wolven Tech as a hands-on principal engineer across architecture, implementation, and handover.

  • Production Rust, event sourcing, platform and performance work
  • Agentic AI systems with durable memory, evals, and operational controls
  • Fast context acquisition inside an existing team and repository
Discuss a contract

02 / Founding team

Founding engineer

For pre-seed and seed founders who need a technical partner able to move between product decisions, first architecture, production code, delivery practice, and early engineering hires.

  • Zero-to-one product and platform delivery with explicit trade-offs
  • Technical narrative for investors, diligence, and hiring
  • Founding-level ownership without disappearing into strategy decks
Discuss a founding role
A five-stage 3D workflow moving from repository inspection through planning, building, verification, and measured experiments
Inspect → plan → build → gate → improve

Delivery standard

Evidence before confidence

AI accelerates implementation; responsibility stays human. Scope, decisions, checks, and learning remain visible from first inspection through handover.

  1. 01DiscoverRead repository state, constraints, and failure history before proposing change.
  2. 02SpecifyTurn desired outcomes into acceptance criteria and dependency-aware work.
  3. 03BuildKeep scope narrow and make code, decisions, and progress inspectable.
  4. 04VerifyTest behavior, then run only gates able to prove this change.
  5. 05LearnFreeze evaluators, keep measured improvements, and record failed experiments.

Outside-IR35 engagements remain subject to client determination, contract terms, and actual working practices. Every project selects gates matching its real risks and delivery contract.

Full services detail

What Others Say About Me

Real feedback from leaders, colleagues, and managers I've worked with.

Brad Stephens

Co-founder and Head of Product, Breakout Clips

September 08, 2024, Brad managed Decebal directly

Working with Decebal has been a truly rewarding experience. He is one of the most dependable and reliable people I've had the pleasure of collaborating with, always delivering exceptional work, no matter how complex the challenge. His technical expertise is impressive, and his ability to navigate and solve problems quickly is a testament to his skill. What really sets Decebal apart, though, is how he consistently goes above and beyond for the team. He's not just focused on getting the job done - he deeply cares about the success of the company and the people he works with, always offering support and guidance to ensure we're all growing together. I feel fortunate to have worked with such a dedicated and thoughtful leader.

Jon Heaton

SVP Engineering, Ebury

September 29, 2025, Jon managed Decebal directly

Dez works hard and strives to ensure engineers have the right tools, systems and processes in place to do their jobs well. He's a dedicated and hard working leader who cares a lot about the work and the team.

Kevin Wallace

Data Deepdiver, Company Builder, Multi-Exit Founder

September 26, 2025, Kevin managed Decebal directly

I had the privilege of working with Decebal in a part-time capacity and his impact was immediate. He combined strong technical skill with clear communication and thoughtful problem-solving that led to better developer partnership relations. His methodical approach was very appealing to my operational background and he consistently met deadlines assigned without complaint.

What impressed me most was how he delivered consistent, high-quality work despite a limited schedule. He managed time well, set clear expectations, and contributed at the level of a full-time teammate. Beyond the code, Decebal brought humility and professionalism (something very rare in tech/blockchain) listening first, giving thoughtful feedback, and raising the standard of collaboration across the team.

Simply put? He made difficult tasks manageable and elevated the people around them. I would gladly work with Decebal again and highly recommend them for any team.

Ian Watt

Co-founder and Head of Product, Tellimer

December 16, 2022, Ian managed Decebal directly

Dez excels at mapping out a birds-eye view of a technical solution and then working with individual team members to flesh out that solution. With his simultaneous interests in best practices and cutting-edge technology, Dez always encouraged us to look for the best tool for each job. Accordingly, I'm confident Decebal will excel at any firm looking to bring experience, technical confidence, and stability to its engineering team.

Daniel Vliegenthart

Senior Data Engineer, Tellimer

April 3, 2023, Daniel worked with Decebal on the same team

Decebal excels at architecting software solutions with state-of-the-art technology and frameworks. I have benefitted greatly from working with him on projects, and have learnt a lot from his extensive technical knowledge.

Selçuk Cihan

Software Development Engineer, Tellimer

December 13, 2022, Selcuk reported directly to Decebal

As a full-stack software engineer, Decebal brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in modern web development. He is a versatile and adaptable developer who is able to quickly learn and apply new technologies to solve complex problems. In addition, he is always eager to share his knowledge and help his colleagues grow in their roles. As a manager, Decebal is dedicated to fostering a positive and collaborative work environment

Florin Georgescu

QA Test Engineer, eMag

February 22, 2019, Florin worked with Decebal on the same team

I have known Decebal Dobrica for almost 2 years in my capacity as a QA Tester at eMAG. He worked with me on various projects as a Full Stack Programmer and based on his work, I would rank him as one of the best developers we have ever had.