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Application Engineer

About Jan
Jan is an open-source AI platform, built in public and downloaded over six million times. We put intelligence directly in people's hands: run open models locally or plug in the providers you choose, with your data staying yours. We move fast, open-source what we can, and grow through the people who build and use it. If you want your work to reach millions and stay open, this is the place.

The Role
We are looking for an Application Engineer to build and ship the Jan desktop app across platforms. You will own the application end to end, from architecture through packaging and distribution, working full stack across the web and native layers.
This is a build-and-ship role, not a UI design one. You will care about how the app is put together, how it performs, and how cleanly it gets into users' hands on every platform. This is a lean, agent-native setup, so you will orchestrate coding and execution agents to move fast while keeping the judgment to get the hard parts right.

What You'll Do

  • Build and maintain the Jan desktop app across macOS, Windows, and Linux using Tauri.

  • Work full stack across the app: React and Node.js on the application layer, Rust on the native side.

  • Own packaging, builds, and distribution: installers, auto-update, release pipelines, and code signing.

  • Give Linux first-class support: packaging and distribution across common distros.

  • Integrate local model runtimes and app features end to end.

  • Work agent-natively as your default, running agents in parallel with your own review and guardrail discipline.


What We Look For

  • Full-stack engineer, strong in React and Node.js.

  • Hands-on experience building and shipping Tauri apps.

  • Working knowledge of Rust.

  • Desktop app development and cross-platform distribution experience.

  • Solid Linux skills: packaging, distribution, and environment quirks.

  • Proven ownership of app packaging, builds, and release pipelines.

  • An agent-native default workflow and the judgment to hand-write critical code when it matters.

  • Comfortable with full ownership, ambiguity, and shipping fast.


Nice to Have

  • Familiarity with the ecosystem or other OSS desktop and LLM tooling.

  • Experience with auto-update, code signing, and app store or package-manager distribution.

  • Local model or inference runtime integration experience.


Why Join Menlo
Jan is open-source, built in public, and already in the hands of millions. You will own a real product end to end, drive agents hard to ship at a pace a traditional team cannot match, and set the bar for how a lean, agent-native app gets built. If you want to be in the arena shipping something that matters, this is the place.

A Note on AI

You don't need deep AI expertise for every role, but we do expect everyone at Menlo to be intellectually curious, drawn to tinkering and discovery, and excited to use AI as a real collaborator in their work. For some roles, AI fluency is a core requirement. When that's the case, we'll say so explicitly in the qualifications. People who thrive here don't treat AI as a novelty. They use it to think better, and make their work easier for others to build on.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations

We hire talented people from a wide range of backgrounds. If you're excited about a role but don't meet every bullet, we still encourage you to apply. Menlo Research is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected characteristic. Menlo provides reasonable accommodations during the application process. If you need one, please let your recruiter know.

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What this application asks

ashby

Legal Name, Email, Current Location, Resume

  • Phone
  • LinkedIn Profile optional
  • When can you start?
  • Are you authorized to work in the country where this role is based? yes / no
  • Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship? yes / no
  • Are you able to work onsite at our locations? yes / no · optional
  • How did you hear about us? choose one · optional
  • What problems keep you up at night? 
  • What have you built? 
  • How will you plug into Menlo (or blow open a new lane)? 
  • Anything else you want us to know? written answer
  • Could you share your last drawn salary and expected salary in either USD or SGD. Do indicate the currency as well.
  • I hereby certify that I have not knowingly withheld any information that might adversely affect my chances for employment and that the answers given by me are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I further certify that I, the undersigned applicant, have personally completed this application. I understand that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any omission or misstatement of material fact on this application or on any document used to secure employment shall be grounds for rejection of this application or for immediate discharge if I am employed, regardless of the time elapsed before discovery. Menlo Research is not seeking, nor should you disclose, any information that may be subject to confidentiality obligations to third parties, including but not limited to your current employer. yes / no · optional
  • I confirm I have read the above.  yes / no · optional

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