M. Shaharyar

> Founding Engineer | Real-Time Systems, Applied AI & Product Architecture

  • Built Novus Atlas, a collaborative writing platform serving 1,000+ beta users
  • Engineered an OT-based editor supporting 500+ concurrent collaborators at <80 ms p95 sync latency
  • Designed Rust-powered semantic search infrastructure indexing 5M+ searchable chunks

I build technically demanding products end to end, from real-time collaboration and semantic search to AI-native SaaS workflows and developer infrastructure.

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Trusted by universities, startups & early-author platforms

Highlights

Engineering focus

Built and operated production platforms end to end as a sole engineer

Designed real-time collaborative infrastructure using Operational Transformation

Built semantic search and content-analysis pipelines with Rust, Qdrant, PostgreSQL, and embeddings

Shipped multi-tenant SaaS workflows with authentication, audit trails, secure file handling, billing, and automation

Created OpenOT, an open-source Operational Transformation framework for collaborative editors

Selected Work

Engineering & Product

Novus Atlas (NOVA)

Production Platform

Collaborative writing platform built from scratch

[Next.js][React][TypeScript][Rust][PostgreSQL][Redis][Qdrant][WebSockets][Socket.IO]

A collaborative writing ecosystem with real-time editing, branch-based story versioning, semantic content discovery, and AI-assisted analysis.

Problem

Long-form fiction writers need better tools for collaboration, versioning, search, and large-project navigation.

Solution

Built an end-to-end platform combining Operational Transformation, semantic search, Rust-powered analysis pipelines, and product-specific authoring workflows.

Impact & Stats

  • 1,000+ beta users
  • 500+ concurrent collaborators sustained at <80 ms p95 sync latency
  • 5M+ searchable content chunks indexed
  • Rust-powered semantic analysis and vector search infrastructure

Key Learnings

  • I scoped the platform into independently deployable modules to keep solo delivery fast without sacrificing reliability.
  • I designed collaboration flows to degrade gracefully under latency spikes and reconnect scenarios.
  • I balanced shipping velocity with maintainability by enforcing typed contracts and operational observability from day one.
  • I validated roadmap decisions with live author feedback loops to avoid over-building features no one needed.
case study

Kicklayer

Commercial SaaS

Client onboarding and asset collection platform for agencies

[TypeScript][Next.js][PostgreSQL][Workflow Automation][Secure File Processing][AES-256-GCM][Audit Logging][AI Workflows]

A structured client-onboarding platform for collecting assets, credentials, briefs, and approvals through secure magic-link portals.

Problem

Agencies lose delivery time chasing incomplete files, missing credentials, unclear requirements, and scattered client communication.

Solution

Built a schema-driven intake workflow with passwordless client access, autosave, adaptive reminders, validation checks, secure credential collection, and authenticated export packages.

Impact & Stats

  • Reduced onboarding follow-up workload by 61%
  • Shortened asset-collection timelines by 54%
  • Passwordless portal with autosave and drag-and-drop uploads
  • AI-assisted asset checks and auto-generated project briefs
  • Granular audit logs for views, uploads, rejections, replacements, and exports

Key Learnings

  • Reducing client friction at the point of submission drives more value than adding configuration complexity too early.
  • Structured intake schemas outperform free-form requests for downstream design and engineering quality.
  • Auditability and visible status tracking eliminate avoidable coordination loops between teams and clients.
website

OpenOT

Open Source Library

Operational Transformation engine for real-time collaboration

[TypeScript][WebSockets][SSE][Operational Transformation][React][Lexical]

Framework-agnostic OT engine for collaborative editors, built with state-machine transforms, pluggable transports, storage adapters, and React/Lexical integration paths.

githubcase study

The Architect Engine

AI-Native Product

Structured narrative engine with model routing and persistent state

[TypeScript][LLM Orchestration][Structured Generation][Model Routing][Prompt Architecture][Persistent State]

An AI-native interactive narrative platform featuring adaptive story interviews, typed structured generation, branching scenarios, persistent chronicles, retry pipelines, and model routing.

website

UI / UX

Interface craft & presence

Production-grade systems designed across NOVA, Kicklayer, and experimental tools. Each layout balances hierarchy, typography, and atmosphere to communicate product intent clearly.

Expertise

Technical proficiency & domain knowledge

Languages

  • TypeScript
  • JavaScript
  • Rust
  • Python
  • SQL

Frameworks

  • Next.js
  • React
  • Hono
  • Node.js
  • tRPC
  • oRPC

Databases

  • PostgreSQL
  • Qdrant
  • Redis
  • MySQL

Specializations

  • Real-time collaborative systems
  • Operational Transformation
  • Distributed synchronization
  • Semantic search and vector embeddings
  • AI-native workflows and LLM orchestration
  • Rust-powered NLP and content-analysis pipelines
  • Secure multi-tenant SaaS architecture
  • Product-focused full-stack engineering

Industries

  • AI Infrastructure
  • Collaborative Tools
  • Developer Tools
  • Workflow Automation
  • Content and Publishing Platforms
  • B2B SaaS

Writing

Thoughts on design and semantics

Let’s collaborate

Available for contract engineering, advisory, and fractional CTO engagements

Reach out via email, schedule a call, or review the latest resume to see how I approach software delivery, contract execution, and technical leadership support.

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