Software Engineer

About Maple

At Maple, we are not just building another productivity tool; we are building Cognitive Infrastructure. We believe the modern professional is drowning in a sea of tabs, notifications, and fragmented context. The tools we use today were designed for a world of data storage, not for a world of active intelligence.

Our vision is to build a tool that lives where you work, understands your entire professional history with surgical precision, and steps in only when it can truly amplify your output. We are moving away from 'search' and towards 'flow'. We are a lean, independent, self-funded, and engineering-first team who believes that the future of work isn't about doing more—it's about thinking better.

About the Platform Team

The Platform team is the architectural backbone of Maple. We are solving problems that sit at the intersection of distributed systems, local-first performance, and extreme data privacy. We don't believe in the 'Cloud-First' default. Instead, we are building a Zero-Knowledge, Local-First sync engine that ensures user data is indexed on the edge, encrypted at rest, and synced with sub-100ms latency across devices.

We work heavily with Rust, TypeScript, and SQLite. Our team spends as much time thinking about SQLite query optimization and CRDT (Conflict-free Replicated Data Type) stability as we do about building beautiful product features. We value observability, performance-as-a-feature, and building systems that are robust enough to last a decade.

About the Role

As a Software Engineer at Maple, you will be a founding member of our engineering culture. This is a high-agency role where you will be expected to own entire product verticals from inception to deployment. You won't just be 'writing code' based on a JIRA ticket; you will be collaborating with the founders to define the product roadmap, making critical architectural decisions, and ensuring that every feature we ship meets our bar for technical excellence and 'Maple-level' polish.

You will be building an Electron-based desktop experience that feels faster than a native app, while simultaneously managing the complexity of a real-time, context-aware backend. You are a generalist with a specialist's eye for detail.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Ownership: Design, implement, and maintain core product features across the full stack (Frontend, Desktop, Backend).
• Performance Engineering: Optimize our local-first indexing engine to handle millions of documents with zero lag and minimal CPU/Memory overhead.
• Local-First Infrastructure: Scale our sync engine using CRDTs to ensure a seamless multi-device experience without a centralized 'truth'.
• Observability & Reliability: Build robust monitoring and automated testing suites to ensure 99.99% reliability for our users' most sensitive data.
• Culture Building: Mentor junior engineers, contribute to our internal RFC process, and help define the standard for engineering at Maple.
• Security: Implement and audit our end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge protocols.

You may be a good fit if you

• Have 4+ years of experience building and scaling complex applications, ideally in a startup or high-growth environment.
• Possess Technical Taste: You know when to use a library and when to build it yourself. You care about the 'elegance' of your code as much as its functionality.
• Have High Agency: When you see a problem, you don't wait for permission to fix it. You are comfortable navigating ambiguity and taking full responsibility for your output.
• Are Product-Minded: You don't just build what you're told; you think about the user. You frequently ask 'Why are we building this?' and 'Is there a simpler way to solve this user's pain?'.
• Master the Stack: You are an expert in TypeScript/Node.js and have a deep working knowledge of at least one systems language (like Rust or Go).

Strong candidates may also have

• Experience building **local-first** or offline-capable apps using SQLite, IndexedDB, or CRDTs (Automerge/Yjs).
• A background in **database internals**, search engines, or vector-based retrieval.
• Experience with **Electron** or other desktop application frameworks and their performance pitfalls.
• A history of open-source contributions or deep technical blogging.

Logistics & Compensation

• Annual Salary: ₹12L – ₹25L (based on experience).
• Equity: Significant founding-team equity package (0.1% – 0.5%).
• Location Policy: We have a beautiful hub in Indore, but we are a remote-first team. We believe in high-bandwidth collaboration, so we occasionally gather for 'off-sites' in inspiring locations.
• Benefits: Top-tier health insurance, equipment budget ($5k), and a dedicated learning/conference stipend.
• Interview Process:
  1. Initial Screen (30m): A high-level chat with a founder about your background and our vision.
  2. Technical Deep Dive (60m): We walk through a complex system you've built. No leetcode, just real engineering.
  3. Collaborative Session (90m): We build a small feature or solve an architectural problem together in real-time.
  4. Culture & Vision (45m): Final alignment on values, goals, and the future of Maple.

How we're different

We believe that **meetings are toxic to deep work**. We have almost no recurring meetings. We communicate primarily through high-quality, long-form writing (RFCs, Notion docs). We work in 6-week cycles with clear goals, giving you the autonomy to manage your time and your life.

We don't have a 'move fast and break things' culture. We have a 'think deeply and build to last' culture. We pay top-of-market and expect top-of-market output.

Come work with us!

Maple is more than a startup; it's a bet on the future of human intelligence. If you are tired of building yet another CRUD app and want to solve the hardest problems at the intersection of AI and human productivity, you've found your home. Let's build the future of context together.