Lucas Manuel is a software engineer specializing in smart contract development and decentralized finance (DeFi) systems. He is recognized as a co-founder of Spark and has played a role in the architecture and security of various blockchain protocols.

Education

Manuel graduated from Queen’s University in 2018, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a focus on Civil Engineering ^[1].

Career

Lucas Manuel began his professional career in Toronto, working as a swim instructor and lifeguard from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, he gained experience in the construction sector as a summer assistant on a high-rise residential project, where his responsibilities included managing technical documentation, material logistics, and conducting inspections. The following year, he interned at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. During this internship, he developed a web application for visualizing strategy performance and backtested an automated trading algorithm that incorporated machine learning techniques ^[2].

In 2017, Manuel participated in RBC’s Amplify program, serving as a developer. In this role, he contributed to the creation of a QR-enabled e-transfer prototype integrated into the bank’s mobile application. Concurrently, he co-founded the Queen's Blockchain Innovation Community, an initiative through which he organized events and lectures focused on blockchain technology. During the same year, he managed the design and construction of a large wooden structure for a university event, overseeing budgeting, logistics, and on-site assembly ^[2].

By 2018, Manuel served as a data science advisor for Imusify, where he proposed a music recommendation system based on blockchain technology. He then spent two years at EY, focusing on the development of blockchain applications. His work at EY involved building smart contracts, APIs, and microservices for clients, deploying private Ethereum blockchains, and implementing full-stack solutions ^[2].

In 2020, Manuel joined MakerDAO as a smart contracts engineer. His contributions included the development and governance mechanisms for the Multi-Collateral DAI system, specifically working on collateral onboarding, liquidation mechanisms, and autonomous payment contracts. Later that year, he transitioned to Maple, where he became the technical lead for smart contracts. In this role, he oversaw multiple mainnet deployments of DeFi lending infrastructure, including protocol upgrades, token implementations, and contract migrations. His work at Maple facilitated billions in originations without any reported smart contract vulnerabilities ^[2].

Since May 2023, Lucas Manuel has been a co-founder at Phoenix Labs, a company based in Toronto. He also contributes to the design and security architecture of Spark ^[2].

Presentations

MakerDAO Endgame

On June 13, 2023, Lucas Manuel delivered a presentation titled "MakerDAO Endgame overview" at the Toronto Ethereum Developers Meetup. In his talk, Manuel discussed MakerDAO's "Endgame" strategy, which aimed to restructure the protocol to improve its efficiency, resilience, and governance participation. He identified several challenges facing MakerDAO, including governance complexities, voter apathy, and slow growth, particularly concerning the onboarding of real-world assets. To address these issues, Manuel introduced the concept of "subDAOs," which would operate under MakerDAO with their own governance structures and communities, fostering greater specialization and competition within the ecosystem. He also highlighted the potential integration of artificial intelligence to enhance governance accessibility and detailed a new allocation system designed to manage the distribution of the DAI stablecoin, aiming to streamline operations. Manuel emphasized the importance of simplifying governance and strengthening system resilience through new mechanisms to protect against insolvency. His presentation outlined a forward-looking vision for enhancing MakerDAO's structure and functionality within the decentralized finance landscape ^[10].

Interviews

Spark: Building the Onchain Capital Allocation Engine

Lucas Manuel was interviewed on the Stable Pod podcast by hosts Juan Isl and Gustav Arinoft. During the interview, Manuel discussed his professional journey and the evolution of Spark, detailing its transformation from an initial lending platform into a comprehensive liquidity layer within decentralized finance (DeFi). He shared insights from his previous roles at MakerDAO and Maple Finance, which preceded his co-founding of Phoenix Labs. The conversation covered Spark's development trajectory, its governance model, liquidity strategies, and its position within the competitive DeFi landscape. Manuel emphasized the strategic shift towards subDAO structures as a means to enhance capital allocation and improve governance efficiency. He also highlighted the importance of aligning incentives across various subDAOs, ongoing risk management strategies, and the innovative approaches Spark is implementing to optimize capital deployment across different protocols. The hosts expressed optimism regarding Spark's potential for growth and future developments within the DeFi ecosystem ^[11].