RustWeek Interview: Nia Deckers, Compiler Engineer Hexcat

At RustWeek 2026, the Rust Project Content Team talks with Nia Deckers, Compiler Engineer at Hexcat and RustNL-sponsored Rust maintainer. Nia shares how she got into Rust, starting with Python, then running Linux on phones, then maintaining unsafe Rust bindings for an embedded graphics library, and now working on the Rust compiler full-time. Topics include: - The proposed Move trait: support for immovable types in the language, which could help with Pin, self-referential futures, in-place initialization, and C++ FFI - Effect systems and higher-kinded types: what they could add to Rust, and why any proposal would need to remain backwards compatible and opt-in - How experimental features are prototyped inside the compiler and standard library before stabilization - Her RustWeek talk, "FFI in Miri at 8000 segfaults per second": an experimental approach that catches and handles segfaults so Miri can record native accesses to Miri-managed memory during FFI calls - Working on Rust full-time at Hexcat with RustNL sponsorship - How to get involved: fixing compiler bugs, reviewing, and submitting standard library change proposals Nia's RustWeek 2026 talk, "FFI in Miri at 8000 segfaults per second": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X-ngiKo_Y0 Links and resources: - Nia on GitHub: https://github.com/nia-e - Hexcat: https://hexcat.nl/ - RustNL and the Rust Maintainers Team: https://rustnl.org/maintainers/ - RustWeek 2026: https://2026.rustweek.org/ - Miri, a tool to detect undefined behavior in Rust: https://github.com/rust-lang/miri - "What's new in Miri", Ralf Jung's update covering Nia's FFI memory tracing work: https://www.ralfj.de/blog/2025/12/22/miri.html - std::pin: https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/pin/ - Diesel, an ORM that has been testing Miri's FFI support: https://diesel.rs/ - Rust Foundation Rust-C++ Interoperability Initiative: https://rustfoundation.org/interop-initiative/ - LVGL Rust bindings, the embedded graphics library Nia maintained: https://github.com/lvgl/lv_binding_rust Learning and contributing resources: - The Rust Book: https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ - The Rust Reference: https://doc.rust-lang.org/reference/ - The Unstable Book, a list of all current unstable feature gates: https://doc.rust-lang.org/unstable-book/ - rustc dev guide, for getting started with compiler contribution: https://rustc-dev-guide.rust-lang.org/ - Standard library change proposals (ACPs): https://github.com/rust-lang/libs-team Interested in contributing to Rust? New contributors are always welcome. Find a small bug, try to fix it, and the community will help you learn along the way. Interview conducted by Pete LeVasseur on behalf of the Rust Project Content Team. Find Pete at: - https://github.com/PLeVasseur/ - https://bsky.app/profile/petelevasseur.com