Eraser | https://eraser.io/ | Full-time | San Mateo, CA | ONSITE | Software Engineer
At Eraser, we're building the copilot for technical design. We're the leader in AI-powered diagramming and have built a platform that includes proprietary diagram-as-code implementation, a free-form infinite canvas, and a markdown-compatible document editor used by hundreds of thousands of users every month.
Interested? We'd love to hear from you. Please send your resume or LinkedIn and a brief explanation of why you're excited about this role to hn@eraser.io.
Hey I am not sure if I am just someone who happened to see your role a little too early when looking to apply for the role, however when clicking the career section, it says there are no job posting as of currently. Perhaps it may just simply be due to some type of glitch and not bearing very much significance, however I would still like to reach out to you about the role and establish a connection as I see myself being highly congruent with the team. If you would like, take a look at my portfolio website. Hope you find it useful in being in gaining at least some type of idea on my expertise and how I would fit in the role.
You can also take a look at my github repo through one of the shortcuts in my website, as I have also spent a great deal of my time pursuing many open software projects and offering contributions.
I'm the founder of a startup that makes a diagramming software for engineering team called Eraser.
If you want a codified set of rules that you can mechanically apply, I would look at UML and C4. However, I'd argue that the frameworks are overkill for the vast majority of engineering diagram use cases.
For the general scenario where you're just trying to communicate a technical concept clearly without spinning your wheels a lot, here are a few tactical things I'd recommend:
1. Pick the right diagram type for the job. Sequence diagrams are great for API documentation, ERDs are great for database schemas, flow charts are great for user flows, data flows and logical flows.
2. Use icons where possible. A database icon, a S3 bucket icon, a cylinder shape are all a lot more expressive and easier to grok than a rectangle with text inside that says "database".
3. Focus on the nodes, groupings, and connections. That's really all there is to a diagram if you break it down. If you just make a list of nodes, groups, and connections that you want to represent, the diagram will almost just draw itself.
4. If you're looking for a quick way to start jump start a diagram or looking for inspiration, try AI tools to see how far they can get you.
Eraser, https://eraser.io/ looks awesome. I signed up but had to try a few times with the Passwords (mine was a 42-character with all the jazz generated by 1Password).
2. Strong disagree. IMHO icons in diagramming are obsolete for most purposes (smacking of UML and over-wrought database diagrams) and are likely to lead to confusion for the majority of viewers who - at best - aren't quite sure what you exactly mean in this particular case.
3. Which is what graphviz is for. It literally draws itself. Subgraphs are the groupings.
4. I would instead suggest modifying an existing graphviz .dot file, or man dot.
Re: 2 I would like a large icon and small text that confirms my intuition about what the icon means. The icon thereby eventually becomes part of my lexicon.
I don’t even see the text, I just see database, load balancer, Redis cache…
> Generate DDL directly generate SQL statements to create your database tables.
Looks like it's capable of turning a diagram to SQL too? That's neat!
For those that are interested in an GPT-powered tool, we have a project that can generate diagrams from code of any language or natural language: https://eraser.io/diagramgpt
Hi HN - Excited to share DiagramGPT. Diagrams are helpful to have but painful to draw. What if you could generate diagrams from what you already have? Like code or project descriptions?
• Code → Diagrams
• Natural language → Diagrams
Would love to get feedback and happy to answer any questions.
Additionally, California is one of the only states that doesn't recognize non-competes [1], that is key for innovation and competitors coming up including small/medium competitors. This part is always overlooked.
> A few states, such as California, Montana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, totally ban non-compete agreements for employees, or prohibit all non-compete agreements except in limited circumstances. [1]
There is also a massive augmented wave coming that is heavily underestimated and will change everything. The future is heavily content creation in new phases of technology which are huge. Overall, it is better to have a virtual economy that uses less resources than a physical one.
The new markets are definitely remote and that is how you communicate with most people now even in the same building, so being physically in California isn't as needed. Though the policies of not recognizing non-competes needs to go nationwide. Non-competes are anti-innovation, anti-worker, anti-business, anti-competition and only help the bigs.
Tons of companies that aren't in California don't have non-competes or have very limited ones. I've never had a meaningful non-compete in the course of my career. (Had a very narrow one when one company was acquired.)
I'm certainly not a fan of non-competes but note that, even in California, a company can drag you into an expensive court battle over non-solicitation clauses, NDAs, etc. It's also a matter of non-competes not being enforceable in general. A small company may still choose not to hire you if they think there's a possibility they may need to go to court.
Yet with the high rents and the lack of universal healthcare it takes a crazy person to take such a risk. I personally will start my startup from abroad when the time is right.
Yes, it’s still risky. But at least you’re still understood because of the pervasive startup culture in SV. Everyone in SV can relate to startups. I think what’s tough outside of SV is that people don’t relate to startups. People might think you’re just weird.
Investors want to meet a slightly smarter but younger version of themselves. This makes them feel comfortable with the risk of their investment, they imagine all kinds of congruencies between you and them, even if they don't exist. They want to convey some nugget of wisdom that you, the entrepreneur, reverence as they key to their success. But most of all, they want you to be a money tree that buds and flowers and bears fruit continually, to the degree the generated revenues are a problem. Anything less, and they go silent for a while before applying pressures with rarely helpful advice from non-technology or old-technology backgrounds.
Some VCs want to see you have a good team that works together, and some combination of good ideas and work history that makes it seem like your startup will take off even if you have to pivot and give up your current prototype.
Others are having a midlife crisis and want to be your new rich dad, or they want a cult leader who makes them feel smart and throws cool insider parties. In this case it helps to be a white guy or at least Elizabeth Holmes.
One would hope YC is the first since we’re on their website, but having read pg’s essays and noticed his advice for startups is half post hoc fallacies (“use Lisp because I did”) and half is unethical (“don’t hire women or people with accents to get culture fit”) I dunno.
There's a strong distance effect, where investors will invest more easily companies located near them. It could be that this will change after a year of experience with doing everything online, but it's been true historically.
Yeah? On paper, 401k, or elsewhere? Where have they worked and for how long?
Because in my experience, the “everyone who works at a FAANG is a multi-millionaire” meme is 100% bullshit. Especially when I read things like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26336029
I never said everybody is, but I do think most people who have been at FAANG or companies that pay in the same ballpark like trendy late stage pre-ipo companies for 10+ years are or are close (especially if we define multimillionaire as >2m networth including 401k and house equity, and include household wealth for married couples).
My other comment you linked I still stand by. But you don't need to be IC6/L6/E6, refreshers and equity appreciation are very powerful if you are lucky enough to get both.
I don't think that's the primary reason, nor as common as you imply. The old saw about how SV is a place where failure isn't disrespected is closer to the truth.
If this sets them on a self-sustaining path without having to rely on running highly conspicuous donation campaigns on Wikipedia, I think that's a wonderful thing.
Imagine Wikimedia Enterprise becomes the #1 source of revenue for Wikimedia. Shortly after, people will see that Wikimedia is doing OK and become reluctant to open their wallets and donate.
Then, the top Wikimedia Enterprise customers will acquire leverage over Wikimedia and try to get Wikipedia curated to their convenience. Wikipedia articles will start being indistinguishable from advertisement.
Governments will intervene and want their share of influence too.
Top volunteers will start asking to be paid, many others will leave, some others will become critics of the project.
People will start being skeptical of Wikipedia because of their biased editorial line and then the project will be declared a failure, once everyone is angry and a beautiful project is torn apart by greed.
Yep, understandable. Right now it kicks out pdfs that don't fit the rules, but I think there are a few sensitivity variables / configs I can incorporate to make that seamless.
At Eraser, we're building the copilot for technical design. We're the leader in AI-powered diagramming and have built a platform that includes proprietary diagram-as-code implementation, a free-form infinite canvas, and a markdown-compatible document editor used by hundreds of thousands of users every month.
Interested? We'd love to hear from you. Please send your resume or LinkedIn and a brief explanation of why you're excited about this role to hn@eraser.io.