InternationalInternational Hackathon Winner
Impetus & Concepts 2026 · PICT Pune
Won the technical flagship event Impetus & Concepts 2026, organised by SCTR's Pune Institute of Computer Technology.
Feb 2026Read on LinkedIn
From first principles. Build for value. Keep it simple.
Rohit Mane
Backend Engineer & DevOps Enthusiast
I build backend systems and delivery pipelines that are simple to reason about, reliable under load, and secure by default — starting from fundamentals, not trends.
// about
Engineer, first and foremost.
I'm a backend and DevOps engineer who likes to understand things deeply and then explain them simply.
I work across backend services and the delivery systems around them — APIs, data flow, build and deploy pipelines, and the operational glue that keeps software dependable. My approach is to reason about a system from its fundamentals before reaching for a framework or a trend.
I'm from Sangli, Maharashtra, and I care about product decisions as much as implementation: what to build, why it matters, and how to keep it lean. I'm drawn to secure DevOps practices, scalable backend architecture, and the parts of computer science — networks, data structures, distributed systems — that make the rest make sense.
Right now I'm investing in a solid CS foundation and exploring backend and DevOps in depth, automating the unglamorous parts of build and delivery so the interesting parts get more attention.
Based in
Sangli, Maharashtra, India
Curious about
- Computer Networks
- Machine Learning
- Physics
- Philosophy
- Human Behavior
- Data Structures & Algorithms
// by the numbers
- Open-source PRs merged
- 6+
- Hackathons won
- 2
- Startup internship
- 1
- Public projects
- 5+
- DSA problems solved
- 450+
- Building ever since
- 2024 →
Open-source PRs merged
Hackathons won
Startup internship
Public projects
DSA problems solved
Building ever since
// principles
How I think about building.
A small set of beliefs that shape what I build and how I build it.
- 01
Start from first principles
Understand the fundamentals before chasing trends. A clear mental model outlasts any framework.
- 02
Less is more
The best system is the one with fewer moving parts. Remove before you add.
- 03
Simplicity scales
Simple systems are easier to reason about, operate, and trust. Complexity is a cost paid forever.
- 04
Build for value
Technology is a tool for solving real problems. If it doesn't create value, it's decoration.
- 05
Reliability is a feature
Security and predictability aren't extras bolted on at the end — they're part of the design.
// now
What I'm working on, currently.
A live snapshot of where my attention is. Last updated June 2026.
Building now
A cloud-based video encoding and streaming platform — an end-to-end pipeline from raw upload to adaptive playback.
Learning now
AWS core services, computer networks from the ground up, and backend architecture patterns for scale.
Next goal
Kubernetes and system design — moving from single services toward orchestrated, distributed systems.
// engineering journey
From first website to production systems.
Not a list of skills — a path. Web dev to fundamentals, open source to cloud, hackathons to a startup floor. Here's where it's gone so far.
- Apr 2026
Startup Internship
Joined a startup internship and got my first exposure to production-grade infrastructure — working on authentication systems, backend development, and DevOps workflows.
- Auth & OPA
- Backend
- FluxCD
- Kubernetes
- Mar 2026National Win
National-Level Recognition
Won a national-level hackathon at Tech-Symposium 2K26. A sprint that sharpened my confidence in product thinking, teamwork, and rapid problem-solving.
- Feb 2026International Win
First AWS Production Deployment
Spent a month on AWS fundamentals, deployed ML workloads on EC2, and hosted a full-stack app on AWS for the first time — then capped the month by winning an international hackathon at PICT Pune.
- EC2
- ML deployment
- Full-stack on AWS
- Nov 2025
Entering the AI Space
Started exploring Generative AI and building AI-first applications around LLMs and retrieval-augmented generation — and decided to specialize in backend engineering.
- LLMs
- RAG
- AI-assisted workflows
// wins
Proof, not just claims.
Two hackathon wins and an open-source milestone — the moments that turned learning into something real.
- International
NationalNational-Level Hackathon Winner
Tech-Symposium 2K26
Won a national-level hackathon at Tech-Symposium 2K26 — a sprint in product thinking, teamwork, and rapid problem-solving.
Mar 2026Read on LinkedIn
6+ PRsHacktoberfest Super Contributor
Hacktoberfest 2025
Merged 6+ pull requests into open-source repositories and earned the Super Contributor badge — my first meaningful open-source collaboration.
Oct 2025Read on LinkedIn
// featured project
My flagship build.
A real, multi-service system — taken from messy source material all the way to an interactive, AI-driven learning experience.
Live
ETA OTT — AI-Powered Learning Platform
Problem
Students struggle to connect concepts scattered across videos, PDFs, and notes. The material is there, but the relationships between ideas — and a trustworthy way to interrogate them — are not.
Solution
A microservice backend that ingests academic content and turns it into an interactive learning experience: an end-to-end Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipeline (ingestion, chunking, embeddings, vector indexing, and response synthesis), a Neo4j knowledge graph linking curriculum entities for better semantic reasoning, and a confidence-scoring layer that flags low-confidence answers and escalates them to a mentor.
Highlights
- End-to-end RAG pipeline over 2,000+ academic documents
- Confidence scoring flags weak answers and triggers mentor escalation
- Neo4j knowledge graph links curriculum entities for richer retrieval
- Containerized services deployed on AWS EC2 with GitHub Actions CI/CD
Stack
- React
- Node.js
- Express
- Python
- Qdrant
- Neo4j
- Docker
- AWS EC2
// more work
Other things I've built.
A mix of shipped systems and focused experiments — from a benchmarked notification platform to smaller learning projects.
Distributed Notification Platform
ShippedA production-grade, event-driven notification microservice with asynchronous multi-channel delivery (in-app, email, Slack-ready), built on the Transactional Outbox pattern, AWS SQS fan-out, and idempotent processing.
Outcome — Engineered for correctness under failure: 851 req/s at 111 ms p99, zero message loss and full recovery in 16.3 s after a hard worker crash, and 100% duplicate prevention — all benchmarked.
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- Fastify
- PostgreSQL
- AWS SQS
- Redis
- Docker
- Kubernetes
RAG-Based Search Engine
BuildingA custom search engine that crawls, indexes, and ranks web pages, combining classic ranking with vector retrieval for relevant results.
Outcome — Working through information retrieval end to end — crawling, indexing, ranking, and scale.
- Python
- FastAPI
- PostgreSQL
- BM25 / TF-IDF
- Vector Search
News Explorer
LiveA full-stack news app where a Node proxy hides the GNews key as a Kubernetes Secret; frontend and backend are containerized separately and shipped via Helm.
Outcome — A hands-on study in secure micro-services, container deployment, and Kubernetes packaging.
- React
- Node.js
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- Helm
- Nginx
Focus Extension
LiveA lightweight productivity browser extension that blocks distracting sites and runs 25-minute focus sessions — efficient, with zero data tracking.
Outcome — Learned the extension model by building one I actually use.
- JavaScript
- HTML
- CSS
- Chrome APIs
Operating System Lab
LiveAn open-source set of clean, beginner-friendly C implementations of core operating-system concepts — made by students, for students.
Outcome — Open-source learning resource built to be read, run, and contributed to.
- C
- Linux
- Operating Systems
// areas of interest
Where I go deep.
Not a checklist of technologies — the domains I'm building real depth in.
Backend Engineering
Designing APIs, services, and architectures that stay simple as they scale.
DevOps
Automating deployment and infrastructure workflows so delivery is fast and repeatable.
Cloud Computing
Building reliable, cloud-native systems on AWS — from EC2 to managed services.
Computer Networks
Understanding the foundations that modern distributed systems are built on.
// currently learning
Depth over breadth.
A focused list of what I'm actively studying — fundamentals first, with a clear direction forward.
- 01AWS
Core compute, storage, networking, and the building blocks of cloud infrastructure.
- 02Computer Networks
From the socket layer up — protocols, routing, and how data actually moves.
- 03Backend Architecture
Patterns for designing services that stay simple as they scale.
- 04DevOps Tooling
Containers, pipelines, and the automation around build and delivery.
- 05Human Behavior
How people reason and decide — context for building things people actually use.
- 06Kubernetes & System Designnext
Next on the path: orchestration and designing distributed systems.
// tools
What I reach for.
A small, sharp toolset I know well — chosen for reliability over novelty.
- VS CodeEditor
- Linux TerminalHome base
- GitVersion control
- GitHubCode & CI
- DockerContainers
- AWS ConsoleCloud
- KubernetesOrchestration
// building in public
Where the work shows up.
I share progress as I go. These link out to live profiles — embeds are kept light on purpose.
Contribution activity@rohitmane-dev
// writing
Thinking out loud.
Articles on backend, DevOps, AI, networking, and system design. Writing to understand, not just to publish.
- programming5 min read
Why Databases Exist: Evolution of Data Storage
A beginner-friendly story explaining how problems in data storage led from primitive data types to data structures, databases, JDBC, and modern ORM frameworks.Evolution of stora…
- hackathons5 min read
Building a Context-Aware AI Doubt Solver with RAG, Knowledge Graphs, and Confidence Scoring
What if ChatGPT existed inside your college trained only on your syllabus, your faculty notes, your PDFs, and your lectures and knew when to say “I’m not confident, let me escal…
- rags3 min read
Building a Trustworthy LLM Chatbot for Educational Institutes: A Practical System Design Approach
Large Language Models are impressive — but in education, impressive is not enough.Answers must be accurate, explainable, and grounded in official material.This blog documents my…
// education
The foundation.
A mix of formal study and deliberate self-direction toward computer science depth.
Aug 2023 – May 2027
B.Tech, Computer Science & Business Systems
Kolhapur Institute of Technology · CGPA 9.0 / 10
Undergraduate study blending core computer science — data structures, systems, databases, and networks — with the product and business context that shapes what's worth building.
Ongoing
Computer Science Foundation
Self-directed study
Building depth in data structures and algorithms, computer networks, operating systems, and system design through structured practice and projects.
// contact
Let's build something.
Open to backend and DevOps roles, collaboration, and good conversations about systems. The fastest way to reach me is email.