How to Apply to Obsidian

9 min read Last updated March 8, 2026 7 current roles tracked
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Obsidian rarely hires — the team is roughly 10 people and openings may appear only once or twice a year, if that. Patience and preparation are essential.
  • There is no ATS, no careers page, and no formal application portal. Roles are announced on the blog, Discord, and forum. Monitor these channels.
  • Building an Obsidian community plugin is the single most powerful thing you can do to demonstrate your fit — it shows technical skill, product understanding, and community engagement simultaneously.
  • Your application goes directly to the team. Optimize for human readers: clarity, substance, and genuine enthusiasm for what Obsidian is building.
  • Philosophical alignment matters as much as technical skill. Obsidian is built on principles of user data ownership, local-first architecture, and privacy. These are not marketing claims — they are the foundation of every technical decision.
  • The company is self-funded and profitable. There is no VC pressure, no pivot risk, and no equity lottery. This is a sustainable, long-term endeavor.

Source basis: This guide combines the company's public careers materials, detected ATS-provider data, and ResumeGeni analysis. Employer-specific details should be read alongside the Sources section below; interview-culture guidance may synthesize public candidate reports when official documentation is limited.

About Obsidian

Obsidian is a knowledge management application built on the radical premise that your notes should belong to you. Created by Shida Li and Erica Xu — both former Dynalist engineers who previously built one of the most respected outliner apps on the web — Obsidian launched in 2020 and has since grown into one of the most beloved productivity tools in the world, with millions of users and a passionate community that borders on devotion. What makes Obsidian architecturally distinctive is its local-first approach. All notes are stored as plain Markdown files on your own device — no proprietary database, no vendor lock-in, no cloud dependency. This is a deliberate philosophical stance, not a technical shortcut. Shida and Erica believe that personal knowledge is too important to entrust to a company's servers or survival. If Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, every user would still have all their notes in a universally readable format. This ethos of user sovereignty permeates everything the company builds. Obsidian operates as Dynalist Inc., incorporated in Canada with roots in Toronto, though the team works remotely. The company is entirely self-funded through its commercial offerings: Obsidian Sync (end-to-end encrypted cloud sync), Obsidian Publish (turning vaults into websites), and commercial use licenses for teams. There is no venture capital, no outside investors, and no pressure to grow at all costs. Revenue funds development, and the team stays small by design — roughly 10 people as of 2026. The product's plugin ecosystem is one of its defining features. With over 1,800 community plugins and a robust API, Obsidian has become a platform that users extend to fit virtually any workflow — from academic research and Zettelkasten note-taking to project management and creative writing. This extensibility is deliberate: rather than building every feature in-house, Obsidian empowers its community to build what they need. The result is an application that is simultaneously minimal at its core and infinitely customizable through plugins and themes. For job seekers, Obsidian represents one of the most challenging companies to join in the entire technology industry — not because the interview process is grueling, but because openings are extraordinarily rare. The team hires only when there is a genuine, unfillable gap, and when they do hire, they look for people who deeply understand the product, share the company's values, and can operate with the autonomy that a tiny team demands.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Monitor for Rare Openings

    Obsidian does not maintain a traditional careers page with a running list of positions. When openings occur — which may happen only once or twice a year, or less — they are typically announced on the official Obsidian blog (obsidian.md/blog), the Obsidian Discord server, and occasionally on the Obsidian forum (forum.obsidian.md). Follow these channels closely. You can also check the Obsidian Twitter/X account (@obaboron) and Shida Li's personal accounts for hints. Set up alerts or check periodically, because when a role appears, it may fill quickly given the intense interest from Obsidian's dedicated user community. There is no ATS, no careers portal, and no way to submit a speculative application through a formal system.

  2. 2
    Prepare a Direct, Personal Application

    When a role does open, Obsidian typically provides an email address or a simple form for applications. There is no applicant tracking system filtering your resume — a real person on the team will read your submission. Prepare a concise, thoughtful email or application that includes: a brief introduction explaining who you are and why Obsidian specifically, your resume as a clean PDF, links to relevant work (GitHub, plugins you have built, technical writing, shipped products), and a clear indication of which role you are applying for. Your application itself is a demonstration of your communication skills — Obsidian values clarity, thoughtfulness, and substance over length.

  3. 3
    Demonstrate Deep Product Understanding

    Generic applications will not work here. Obsidian's team wants people who genuinely use and understand the product. In your application, reference specific aspects of Obsidian that matter to you — your vault structure, plugins you rely on, how you use backlinks or graph view, pain points you have noticed, or features you wish existed. This is not about flattery; it is about showing that you have real context on what the product does, how users think about it, and where it could go. If you have published notes about your Obsidian workflow, shared templates, or written about personal knowledge management, link to that work.

  4. 4
    Build Credibility Through the Obsidian Ecosystem

    The most powerful preparation you can do — long before a role opens — is to become a visible, respected member of the Obsidian community. Develop a community plugin or theme that solves a real problem. Contribute to the Obsidian documentation. Help other users on the forum or Discord with thoughtful, technically accurate answers. Write blog posts about your Obsidian workflow or the plugin development process. File well-structured bug reports or feature requests. The Obsidian team is deeply embedded in their community and notices contributors who consistently add value. Building a plugin that gets thousands of downloads is one of the strongest possible signals that you understand the platform, can write quality code, and care about the user experience.

  5. 5
    Expect a Thorough but Human Evaluation Process

    Obsidian's interview process, when it occurs, reflects the company's values: direct, substantive, and respectful of your time. Expect conversations with the founders and team members rather than panel interviews with recruiters. Technical roles will likely involve demonstrating your skills through real work — whether that is a code review, a small project, or discussing your existing open-source contributions in depth. The team is evaluating not just your technical ability, but your alignment with Obsidian's philosophy: user privacy, local-first architecture, simplicity, and long-term thinking. Be prepared to discuss your views on data ownership, software sustainability, and how you approach building tools that empower users.

Resume Tips for Obsidian

critical

Emphasize Shipped Products Over Corporate Credentials

Obsidian was built by two people who left a larger company to build something they believed in. The team values builders — people who have actually created and shipped software that real users depend on. Lead your resume with concrete products, tools, or features you have built and launched. Open-source projects, indie apps, browser extensions, and side projects that gained real traction carry as much weight as big-company experience, if not more. Show what you built, how many people use it, and what impact it had.

critical

Highlight Plugin or Extension Development Experience

If you have built Obsidian community plugins, VS Code extensions, browser extensions, or any kind of plugin for an extensible platform, feature this prominently. Plugin development demonstrates several things Obsidian cares about simultaneously: you understand platform architecture, you can build within constraints, you ship complete user-facing features, and you empathize with end users. If you have an Obsidian plugin with an active user base, this is arguably the single strongest credential you can present.

critical

Show Experience with Local-First or Privacy-Preserving Architecture

Obsidian's core philosophy is local-first software — data lives on the user's device, sync is optional and encrypted, and the app works fully offline. If you have experience building local-first applications, offline-capable software, end-to-end encrypted systems, or privacy-preserving architectures, highlight this explicitly. Technologies like CRDTs, local databases (SQLite, IndexedDB), file-system-based storage, and peer-to-peer sync are directly relevant to Obsidian's technical challenges.

recommended

Demonstrate Cross-Platform Desktop and Mobile Development

Obsidian runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android — built with Electron for desktop and a custom mobile implementation. Experience with Electron, Capacitor, cross-platform frameworks, or native mobile development is highly relevant. If you have dealt with the specific challenges of shipping software across five platforms simultaneously — platform-specific bugs, performance optimization, app store requirements — make sure your resume reflects this.

recommended

Keep It Concise and Let Your Work Speak

At a company of roughly 10 people, nobody has time to read a five-page resume. Keep yours to one or two pages maximum. Cut corporate jargon, remove filler phrases, and focus on outcomes. Include links to your GitHub, portfolio, published writing, or any publicly accessible work. Obsidian values clear, direct communication — your resume format should reflect that. A clean PDF with readable typography and logical structure signals that you care about user experience even in your own documents.

recommended

Include Your Obsidian Usage and Workflow Context

This is unusual resume advice, but for Obsidian it matters: if you are a serious Obsidian user, mention it. A brief line about how you use Obsidian — your vault size, key plugins you depend on, whether you use Sync or Publish — signals that you have firsthand understanding of the product. If you have written about your workflow publicly or shared your vault structure, link to it. Product intuition born from daily use is genuinely valued at a company this user-focused.

ATS System: Direct Application

Obsidian does not use a traditional applicant tracking system (ATS). The company is small enough — roughly 10 people — that applications are handled directly by the team, typically through email or simple forms posted alongside job listings. This means your resume will not be parsed by automated keyword-matching software. A real person will read your application, which is both an advantage and a responsibility. There is no keyword optimization game to play, no formatting tricks to survive automated parsing, and no applicant portal to check for status updates. What matters is the substance and clarity of what you submit. This direct approach reflects Obsidian's broader philosophy: simple, human-scale processes over enterprise tooling.

  • Your resume goes directly to a human — optimize for readability and impact, not keyword density
  • Submit your resume as a clean, well-formatted PDF — not a Word document or Google Drive link
  • There is no applicant portal to track your status — follow up once via email after two to three weeks if needed
  • Include direct links to your work (GitHub, plugins, portfolio) since there is no upload system for supplementary materials
  • Your cover email IS your cover letter — write it with the same care you would give a published piece of writing

Interview Culture

Obsidian's interview culture mirrors the company itself: intimate, substantive, and devoid of corporate theater.

With a team of roughly 10 people, every hire is a significant decision that changes the composition of the entire organization. There are no recruiting coordinators scheduling five-round loops, no behavioral interview rubrics, and no panel interviews with people who will never work with you. Instead, expect direct conversations with the people you would actually work alongside — likely including founders Shida Li and Erica Xu. The evaluation process is built around genuine understanding rather than performance. For engineering roles, this typically means discussing your existing work in depth — open-source contributions, plugins you have built, technical decisions you have made and why. Obsidian may ask you to walk through code you have written rather than solve contrived whiteboard problems. They want to understand how you think about software architecture, user experience, and the tradeoffs inherent in building cross-platform applications. If you have built an Obsidian plugin, expect detailed questions about your design decisions, how you handled edge cases, and what you learned from user feedback. Cultural fit at Obsidian is not about personality or 'culture add' buzzwords — it is about philosophical alignment. The team cares deeply about user data ownership, software longevity, and building tools that respect their users. If you believe that notes should be stored in proprietary cloud databases, that growth metrics matter more than product quality, or that user data is a business asset to be monetized, Obsidian is not the right fit. Conversely, if you get excited about plain-text file formats, local-first architecture, and building software that could outlive the company that made it, you will find kindred spirits. The pace of the interview process is typically fast once it begins — the team is small enough to make decisions quickly without committee deliberation. Compensation details are not widely publicized, but Obsidian's self-funded, profitable business model means they can offer competitive packages without the equity lottery that characterizes venture-backed startups. The company operates remotely, and the team values async communication, deep work, and the kind of focus that comes from not having meetings fill your calendar.

What Obsidian Looks For

  • Deep product intuition — you should be an Obsidian user who understands the product from the inside, not just someone who read the marketing page
  • Builder mentality — a track record of shipping complete, polished software that real people use, whether professionally or through side projects and open source
  • Philosophical alignment with local-first principles, user data ownership, plain-text file formats, and software that respects privacy
  • Ability to operate with extreme autonomy — at 10 people, there are no managers, no detailed specs, and no one telling you what to do each day
  • Strong communication skills with a bias toward clarity and conciseness — the team is remote and async-first, so written communication is critical
  • Cross-platform development experience or willingness to learn — Obsidian ships on five platforms and every engineer deals with platform-specific challenges
  • Community orientation — people who naturally help others, contribute to ecosystems, and think about the end user in everything they build
  • Long-term thinking — Obsidian is building software meant to last decades, not a startup optimizing for the next funding round

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does Obsidian hire new team members?
Very rarely. Obsidian operates with a team of roughly 10 people and hires only when there is a genuine gap that cannot be filled by the existing team. Openings may appear once or twice a year, or even less frequently. The company is self-funded and profitable, so there is no pressure to scale headcount. When a role does open, it typically fills quickly because of the intense interest from Obsidian's large and passionate user community.
Where are Obsidian job openings posted?
Obsidian does not maintain a standing careers page. When roles open, they are announced on the official Obsidian blog at obsidian.md/blog, in the Obsidian Discord server (which has hundreds of thousands of members), on the Obsidian forum at forum.obsidian.md, and sometimes on the founders' social media accounts. Your best strategy is to follow these channels and set up notifications so you do not miss an announcement.
Does Obsidian use an applicant tracking system?
No. Obsidian does not use a traditional ATS like Greenhouse, Lever, or Workday. Applications are typically submitted via email or a simple form linked from the job posting. This means your resume will be read by a real person on the team — there is no automated keyword parsing or scoring. Focus on making your application clear, compelling, and substantive rather than trying to game an algorithm.
Can I submit a speculative application even when no roles are listed?
Obsidian does not have a formal process for speculative applications. However, the most effective form of speculative application is contributing to the Obsidian ecosystem — building a community plugin, contributing to documentation, being helpful on Discord or the forum, or writing publicly about the product. These contributions make you visible to the team and build a track record that speaks louder than any cold email. If you do reach out speculatively, keep it brief and lead with what you have built, not what you want.
Is Obsidian a remote company?
Yes. Obsidian operates as a remote team under Dynalist Inc., which is incorporated in Canada with roots in Toronto. The team is distributed and communicates asynchronously. Remote work is not a pandemic accommodation at Obsidian — it is a core part of how the company operates. If hired, you would be expected to manage your own time, communicate clearly in writing, and work effectively without the structure of a physical office.
What programming languages and technologies does Obsidian use?
Obsidian is built primarily with TypeScript and JavaScript. The desktop application uses Electron, and the mobile apps use a custom implementation. The plugin API is TypeScript-based, which is why building an Obsidian plugin is such a strong credential — it demonstrates proficiency in the exact technology stack the product uses. Familiarity with HTML, CSS, CodeMirror (the text editor framework Obsidian uses), and cross-platform development considerations is also valuable.
Will building an Obsidian plugin help my application?
Significantly. Building a community plugin is one of the strongest signals you can send to the Obsidian team. It demonstrates that you understand the product architecture, can work within the plugin API constraints, know how to ship a complete feature that real users depend on, and care enough about the ecosystem to invest your time in it. Plugins with substantial download counts and positive user feedback carry particular weight. Even a smaller plugin that solves a genuine problem elegantly shows the kind of craftsmanship and product thinking Obsidian values.
What is the compensation like at Obsidian?
Obsidian does not publicly disclose compensation ranges. As a self-funded, profitable company with very few employees and strong revenue from Sync, Publish, and commercial licenses, Obsidian has the financial capacity to offer competitive compensation without the equity uncertainty of venture-backed startups. The company's philosophy of sustainability over hypergrowth suggests stable, fair compensation rather than the high-base, high-equity gamble common at VC-funded companies.

Current Role Context

ResumeGeni currently tracks 7 roles for Obsidian. Use the company profile for current role context before tailoring your resume.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → Review Obsidian role context

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Sources

  1. Obsidian — A Second Brain, for You, Forever — Obsidian
  2. Obsidian Blog — Company Updates and Announcements — Obsidian
  3. Obsidian Community Forum — Obsidian
  4. Obsidian Developer Documentation — Plugin API — Obsidian
  5. Obsidian Community Plugins Directory — Obsidian
  6. Obsidian Discord Server — Obsidian / Discord