Element is the startup that employs the core team behind matrix.org the leading project for secure, open decentralised communication.
Matrix’s mission is to make messaging as open as email allowing everyone to choose where their data is hosted, enjoy private conversations thanks to advanced encryption, and ultimately be in control of their own communication.
Matrix powers our flagship messaging apps for the web, iOS amp; Android, along with Element Matrix Services, our SaaS platform for personal amp; professional use.
We build things for everyone, and we know we can’t succeed without a diverse team. Our hiring process is designed to give candidates the best chance to show us what you can do. If we ever fall down on this, please let us know.
You'll spend most of your time working on Synapse, the reference server-side implementation of the Matrix specification. Synapse is used by millions of people globally, from large governmental organisations such as the French Civil Service and the German Military through to community groups and open source projects like Mozilla, FOSDEM, and Gitter.
Since (almost) everything we do is open source you can get a great feel for what it would be like to work here by looking at our code on GitHub or joining the Synapse developers’ chat room at #synapse-dev:matrix.org. Come and say hi!
This role focuses on improving the performance, reliability, and efficiency of Synapse, but will also have a hand implementing new features in response to customer needs or changes to the Matrix protocol itself.
Our work runs the gamut from the mathematical to the mundane. For example, we’ve recently:
But more than that: Synapse is currently the only production-grade Matrix homeserver. We consider it our responsibility to make it as easy as possible for anyone to access secure, decentralised communication software. It’s work we feel good about, and we hope you will, too.
Requirements
About youThe most important thing is that you believe passionately in the mission of a decentralised Internet, and that individuals should control their own data and choose who they share it with.
Additionally, we are looking for someone who is:
We don’t have hard requirements and welcome candidates with varied experience or nontraditional backgrounds. However, it would be great if some of the following are true:
We’re able to adjust this role to match a wide range of seniority, but as a baseline, we expect you to be able to work and learn in a self-directed manner while still knowing when to speak up and ask questions.
If you would like to discuss this role before making an application, please reach out to Mischa Walmsley (@mischawalmsley:matrix.org) via https://app.element.io/
Benefits
Our general approach is to treat people like adults and acknowledge that by being flexible we create an environment for people to do their best work. For more details here is our manifesto. That said specific points that differentiate us.