Some developers fall into Rust after years in C++. For others, it’s a deliberate step in a completely new direction. That was the case for Samuel Arrowsmith, a former Java developer who left his job, taught himself Rust, and now works at Arwen AI, a startup using Rust to fight toxicity online.
MAKING THE JUMP TO RUST
Sam’s background is in mathematics, but after trying Java and finding it didn’t quite click, he started casually exploring Rust in 2018. Eventually, casual learning turned into full commitment when he left his job and spent over a year focused on learning Rust full-time.
He credits the Rust learning community and the quality of its educational content for making the transition smoother.
“With Rust, you don’t just learn the language, you learn how computers work.”
After attending Rust Nation in 2024, he landed a job through a connection at the conference. A year later, he returned, this time as a full time employee.
RUST IN PRACTICE AT ARWEN AI
Sam now works at Arwen AI, a SaaS platform that helps clients, including athletes and broadcasters, manage and moderate toxic content on social media.
The backend is built in Rust, with some services still being migrated from TypeScript. As a startup, Arwen gives Sam the chance to explore more of Rust than might be possible in a more traditional corporate setting.
“It’s a dream job. We’re doing exciting work, and I get to use Rust every day.”
The moderation system uses large language models to automate context-aware comment filtering – a process traditionally done by human moderators at scale.
WHY RUST AND NOT JAVA
What drew Sam to Rust was its structure. Coming from a math background, Rust’s focus on strict typing, memory safety, and data modeling aligned with how he approached problem-solving.
“Object-oriented patterns never really worked for me. Rust’s design just made more sense.”
He also noted that Rust encourages developers to understand what’s happening under the hood, something he values in a language and community.
ADVICE FOR JAVA DEVELOPERS CONSIDERING RUST
For those coming from Java or similar ecosystems, Sam recommends leaning into your preferred learning style.
- If you learn by reading, check out Rust in Action by Tim McNamara
- For deeper dives, explore Rust for Rustaceans or Jon Gjengset’s streams
- Most importantly: don’t be afraid to ask for help
“The Rust community is incredibly helpful. People are happy to answer questions, you just need to reach out.”
RUST’S FUTURE IN SAAS AND BEYOND
According to Sam, one of Rust’s biggest untapped markets is the SaaS web app space, the kind of internal tools and workflows traditionally built with Java, Node, or Python.
He believes Rust has huge potential here, especially once there’s more clarity on frameworks and best practices.
“With Java, you have Spring Boot. In Rust, it’s less obvious what the standard stack is, and that’s a blocker for adoption.”
Still, he sees momentum building. As tooling improves and more companies start experimenting, the path for Rust in web development will become clearer.
ON THE COMMUNITY AND CULTURE
Sam also believes that newer, tech-forward companies are more open to adopting Rust and that this openness attracts engineers who are genuinely passionate about what they do.
“Rust draws in people who love the language, not just the paycheck. That changes the dynamic.”
He’s especially optimistic about the future of Rust in education, consulting, and developer advocacy, areas where the language’s complexity and safety can be positioned as strengths, not barriers.
