How to Design Teams for Non-EVM Runtimes

The dominant Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) ecosystem has established a common skill set centered on Solidity, the EVM's execution model, and tools like Hardhat and Foundry. Teams for non-EVM runtimes—such as Solana (Sealevel VM), Cosmos (CosmWasm), Aptos (Move VM), or Fuel (FuelVM)—must be structured around fundamentally different programming paradigms, state models, and performance characteristics. A team built for EVM development will face a significant learning curve and architectural mismatch when tasked with building on these alternative platforms.

Core architectural differences dictate team composition. For instance, Solana's programming model uses Rust-based programs that are stateless, with data passed via accounts, requiring deep knowledge of Rust's ownership model and concurrent execution. A Cosmos chain using CosmWasm leverages WebAssembly (WASM) for deterministic smart contracts, often written in Rust or Go, but within the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol context. A successful team needs engineers proficient in the primary language (e.g., Rust, Move) and a lead architect who understands the runtime's unique data flow and consensus integration.

Beyond core development, team roles must adapt. Protocol researchers are critical for chains with novel consensus mechanisms (e.g., Solana's Proof of History) or virtual machines. Systems engineers with experience in low-latency, high-throughput systems are valuable for performance-focused chains. Since tooling is less mature than in the EVM space, dedicating a developer experience (DevEx) engineer to build internal CLI tools, testing frameworks, and localnet solutions can dramatically accelerate productivity and onboarding.

Operational knowledge is non-transferable. Deploying, monitoring, and securing applications on non-EVM networks involves different validators, RPC providers, and indexers. A devops/site reliability engineer (SRE) familiar with the specific chain's node software (e.g., a Solana validator, Cosmos gaiad, or Sui Full node) is essential for mainnet readiness. This role manages network upgrades, performance tuning, and integrates with chain-specific explorers and analytics platforms like Solana Explorer or Mintscan for Cosmos.

Finally, fostering a culture of learning and contribution to the core ecosystem is a strategic advantage. Non-EVM ecosystems are often more centralized in their early development. Encouraging team members to contribute to open-source SDKs, participate in governance, and engage with core protocol teams can provide early access to features, influence roadmaps, and build reputational capital. This proactive engagement is a key differentiator for teams aiming to build long-term, high-performance applications on emerging runtimes.

The first prerequisite is a foundational understanding of the target runtime's architecture. Unlike the EVM's single-threaded, gas-metered execution, non-EVM environments like Solana's Sealevel, Cosmos SDK's CometBFT, or Aptos' MoveVM have fundamentally different models. Teams must grasp concepts such as parallel execution, account models (e.g., Solana's global state vs. Cosmos' IBC-enabled zones), and native fee mechanisms. This architectural knowledge dictates system design patterns and is non-negotiable for effective development.

Assembling the right talent mix is critical. While experienced Solidity developers bring valuable blockchain intuition, you need engineers proficient in the chain's primary languages: Rust for Solana, Sui, and Near; Go for Cosmos and Polygon Edge; Move for Aptos and Sui; or C# for Neo. Complement this with specialists in the chain's unique domains, such as Solana's Proof of History (PoH) consensus or Cosmos' Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol. Prioritize learning agility over specific prior experience.

Tooling and local development environments for non-EVM chains are often less mature than the Hardhat/Foundry-dominated EVM landscape. Teams must be prepared to configure and sometimes contribute to chain-specific CLIs, indexers, testing frameworks, and deployment pipelines. For instance, developing on Solana requires familiarity with the solana CLI, anchor framework, and spl-token programs. Establishing robust internal tooling and documentation early accelerates development velocity.

Security paradigms shift significantly. The Move language's resource-oriented model with built-in verifiability (Aptos, Sui) requires a different audit mindset than EVM's reentrancy and overflow checks. On high-throughput chains like Solana, understanding compute unit budgets, cross-program invocations, and rent exemption is essential for security and efficiency. Incorporate chain-specific security practices and auditing partners familiar with the runtime from the project's inception.

Finally, design for the chain's economic and governance model. Factor in staking requirements for validators (Cosmos, Polkadot), resource pricing models (Solana's compute units, Flow's storage fees), and upgrade mechanisms. A team's operational design must align with these economic realities, influencing treasury management, gas optimization strategies, and community governance participation, which are as crucial as the technical implementation.

Non-EVM runtimes, such as Solana's Sealevel, Cosmos SDK, and Move-based chains (Aptos, Sui), introduce distinct programming paradigms, consensus mechanisms, and performance characteristics. A team structured for EVM/Solidity development often struggles with these differences, which can lead to inefficiency and technical debt. The core challenge is moving from a single, dominant virtual machine model to a landscape of specialized, high-throughput environments that may use languages like Rust, Go, or Move. This shift necessitates rethinking team composition, skill sets, and communication pathways from the ground up.

A successful structure typically revolves around three core technical pillars. First, a Runtime & Core Protocol Team focuses on the blockchain's base layer. This team needs deep expertise in the specific runtime's architecture, consensus (e.g., Tendermint BFT, Narwhal-Bullshark), and network protocols. They are responsible for node operations, client development, and implementing protocol upgrades. Second, a Smart Contract & VM Team specializes in the runtime's execution environment. For Solana, this means Rust and the BPF loader; for Cosmos, CosmWasm; for Aptos/Sui, the Move language and its security model. This team writes, audits, and optimizes the on-chain logic.

The third pillar is the Tooling & Infrastructure Team. Non-EVM ecosystems often have less mature developer tooling compared to Ethereum. This team builds and maintains the essential scaffolding: local development nets, testing frameworks, indexers, oracles, and SDKs for front-end integration. They ensure developers can build and deploy applications efficiently. Crucially, these teams must collaborate closely. For example, a protocol upgrade (Core Team) may require changes to the VM's instruction set (VM Team), which in turn necessitates updates to the compiler and local test suite (Tooling Team). Establishing clear inter-team APIs and integration points is vital.

Beyond the technical core, integrating Protocol Research and Developer Relations (DevRel) early is critical. A dedicated researcher or a team working closely with academics can analyze tokenomics, design novel mechanisms, and stay ahead of protocol changes. The DevRel team acts as a bidirectional conduit: they educate the external developer community through documentation, tutorials, and workshops, while also channeling feedback on pain points back to the internal tooling and core teams. This feedback loop is essential for improving the ecosystem's overall developer experience and adoption.

For smaller startups or projects, a pod-based or full-stack team model can be more effective than strict silos. In this model, small, cross-functional pods own a vertical slice of the product, such as "DeFi Protocol Pod" or "NFT Minting Pod". Each pod contains a mix of runtime, contract, and front-end expertise. This structure fosters ownership, accelerates iteration, and reduces communication overhead, but requires engineers with broader, T-shaped skill sets. It works well when building a specific application but may struggle with deep, horizontal infrastructure projects that require concentrated specialization.

Ultimately, the choice of structure depends on your project's phase and goals. Early-stage projects often benefit from the agility of pod-based teams. As the codebase and ecosystem mature, transitioning to specialized pillar teams (Core, VM, Tooling) with strong product and project management coordination helps manage complexity. Regardless of the model, prioritize hiring for runtime-specific expertise and foster a culture of deep technical learning. Investing in internal knowledge sharing about the nuances of your chosen non-EVM stack is a non-negotiable foundation for long-term success.

The first step is to define the technical competencies required for your target runtime. For a Solana team, you need developers proficient in Rust and the Anchor framework, with a deep understanding of the Sealevel parallel runtime. For a Cosmos-based chain, expertise in Go and the Cosmos SDK's ABCI is essential, along with knowledge of IBC for cross-chain communication. Teams building on Aptos or Sui require mastery of Move, a resource-oriented language with unique ownership semantics distinct from Solidity. Avoid the common pitfall of hiring generalist blockchain developers; prioritize candidates with proven, runtime-specific experience in production environments.

Structure your engineering team to mirror the runtime's architecture. A modular, domain-oriented structure is often most effective. For example, a Cosmos app-chain team might have dedicated squads for: the core chain logic (Go/Cosmos SDK), smart contracts (Rust/Go for CosmWasm), validator infrastructure, and IBC relayers. This contrasts with a monolithic EVM team structure. Embed a protocol researcher or cryptography expert early on, especially for chains using novel consensus mechanisms (e.g., Narwhal & Bullshark on Sui) or advanced cryptographic primitives like zk-proofs. Their role is to translate protocol upgrades and academic papers into practical implementation guidance for engineers.

Sourcing talent requires looking beyond traditional Web3 hubs. Leverage ecosystem-specific channels: engage with core developer communities on Discord (e.g., Solana Developers), attend runtime-focused hackathons, and contribute to or audit prominent projects within the ecosystem to build credibility. Evaluate candidates through runtime-specific technical assessments. Instead of generic coding tests, present challenges using the chain's native tools: ask a Solana candidate to debug a failing CPI (Cross-Program Invocation) or a Move developer to write a resource-safe function. Reviewing a candidate's public contributions to runtime core repositories (e.g., the Aptos or Cosmos SDK GitHub) is a strong indicator of deep expertise.

Invest in internal training and knowledge synthesis. Even experienced hires need time to master your specific chain's nuances. Create a centralized knowledge base documenting local development patterns, common pitfalls (e.g., Solana's compute unit limits), and internal tooling. Pair new hires with senior runtime experts for their first few protocol upgrades or major feature deployments. This accelerates onboarding and ensures architectural consistency. Remember, the goal is to build institutional knowledge that reduces dependency on any single individual and creates a team capable of innovating on the runtime's unique capabilities.

Non-EVM runtimes like Solana (Sealevel), Cosmos (CosmWasm), and Aptos (Move) have fundamentally different architectures than Ethereum. This impacts core development workflows, from smart contract design to node operations. A team structured for EVM development will face friction with Solana's parallel execution model, Cosmos's inter-blockchain communication (IBC), or Move's resource-oriented programming. The first step is to audit your current team's skills against the target runtime's stack: consensus mechanisms, virtual machine, key tooling (e.g., Anchor for Solana, CosmJS for Cosmos), and security paradigms.

Successful teams are often organized around runtime-specific pods or guilds. A Solana pod, for example, might include developers proficient in Rust, the Anchor framework, and the Solana CLI. They need deep understanding of program-derived addresses (PDAs), account models, and transaction size limits. For a Cosmos-based chain, a team requires expertise in Go (for the consensus layer) and/or Rust (for CosmWasm contracts), plus IBC protocol fundamentals. Embed a runtime expert within each product team to bridge domain knowledge and prevent architectural missteps that are costly to correct.

Invest in targeted upskilling. Generic "blockchain developer" training is insufficient. Create internal documentation and run workshops on runtime-specific concepts: Move's borrow_global and move_to operations, Solana's compute unit budgeting, or CosmWasm's query and reply patterns. Encourage contributions to the runtime's open-source ecosystem, which builds deep, practical knowledge. Pair new hires with your runtime specialists during onboarding to accelerate competence and establish best practices from day one.

Tooling and infrastructure decisions must align with the runtime. An EVM team's CI/CD pipeline for Hardhat tests won't work for Solana programs. Design your DevOps processes around native tools: solana-test-validator for local testing, cargo-build-sbf for builds, and solana-program crates. For Move chains, integrate the Move CLI and move-prover for formal verification into your workflow. Standardize these tools to reduce context switching and ensure consistent, reproducible builds and deployments across the team.

Finally, establish clear communication channels with the runtime's core development community. Non-EVM ecosystems evolve rapidly; a team isolated from upstream changes will quickly fall behind. Designate team members to monitor Discord channels, GitHub discussions, and improvement proposals (e.g., Solana's SPLs, Cosmos's governance proposals). This proactive engagement turns your team from passive consumers into informed participants, allowing you to anticipate upgrades, leverage new features, and contribute feedback that shapes the ecosystem.

Designing for non-EVM runtimes like Solana, Aptos, or Cosmos is fundamentally about embracing their unique paradigms. Success hinges on moving beyond EVM-centric assumptions and deeply understanding the host chain's execution model, state management, and fee mechanics. Your team's architecture—whether using a monolithic smart contract, a multi-module system, or off-chain indexers—must be purpose-built for the runtime's strengths, such as Solana's parallel execution or Cosmos' inter-blockchain communication (IBC).

The next step is to operationalize this knowledge. Begin by establishing a robust local development environment with the chain's native tools (e.g., solana-test-validator, aptos move test). Integrate specialized testing frameworks and exploit chain-specific features; for instance, use Solana's Program Derived Addresses (PDAs) for deterministic account generation or leverage Move's resource-oriented model for inherent safety on Aptos/Sui. Prioritize security audits from firms experienced with your target runtime, as vulnerabilities differ significantly from those in the EVM.

To continue your learning, engage directly with the ecosystem. Study canonical programs like the Solana Token Program or the Aptos Coin module. Participate in developer forums and governance discussions on Discord or Commonwealth. For hands-on practice, fork and experiment with open-source repositories from established projects, and consider contributing to public goods to deepen your understanding. The most effective non-EVM teams are those that are embedded in and continuously learning from their chosen chain's community and technological evolution.