Maria Mahncke
SENIOR BACKEND DEVELOPER · FREELANCE

I build the systems
behind the product.

I'm Maria Mahncke. I design and build robust architectures, reliable APIs and software systems made for the long term.

Start a conversation Explore my work
CLIENTAPISERVICESDATAINFRASTRUCTURESYSTEM STRUCTURE / EXPLODED VIEWNOT TO SCALE
BUILDING WHAT YOU DON'T SEE.STRUCTURE. CLARITY. LONGEVITY.
BENEATH THE SURFACE

The visible product
is only the surface.

Behind every reliable application is a system of services, APIs, data and infrastructure. I design and build those systems with a focus on clarity, resilience and long-term maintainability.

ArchitectureDataAPIsReliability
THE PRACTICE

What I build.

Considered engineering.
From the foundation to the finer details.

Backend Architecture

Clear, maintainable architectures that give complex systems a solid foundation.

APIs & Services

Reliable interfaces and focused services that connect products, people and systems.

Data & Persistence

Thoughtful data models, dependable flows and storage designed for the long term.

Scalability

Systems prepared to grow with increasing traffic, data and complexity.

Performance

Finding the bottlenecks. Making the important paths work efficiently.

Reliability

Resilience built into the system, not added when something breaks.

SEE THE SYSTEM

Good architecture gives
complexity somewhere to go.

A product is more than its interface.
Every layer has a purpose.

CLIENTAPISERVICESDATAINFRASTRUCTURESYSTEM STRUCTURE / EXPLODED VIEWNOT TO SCALE
API / SYSTEM LAYER

A clear contract.

Predictable interfaces connect the product to its underlying capabilities. Clear boundaries make systems easier to use, test and evolve.

ENGINEERING PHILOSOPHY

How I think about
backend systems.

Simple beats clever.

Systems should be understandable.

Performance is a feature.

Reliability is designed.

Technical debt has a cost.

Good architecture makes change easier.

SELECTED WORK

Selected systems.

The problem. The architecture.
The decisions that made the difference.

CLIENTAPISERVICESDATAINFRASTRUCTURESYSTEM STRUCTURE / EXPLODED VIEWNOT TO SCALEARCHITECTURE / SYSTEM STUDY

Behind the product

CASE STUDY FORTHCOMING
INPUTPROCESSDATA
DATA / FLOW STUDY

Foundations for growth

CASE STUDY FORTHCOMING

Detailed project stories will be added here. The drawings above are conceptual studies, not client projects.

A layered architectural paper model resting on a technical drawing
A STUDY IN STRUCTURE & FOUNDATIONSARCHITECTURAL MODEL
ABOUT MARIA

An engineer who
thinks in systems.

I'm Maria Mahncke, a freelance Senior Backend Developer. My work sits beneath the interface—where architecture, data and business logic come together.

I care about systems that make sense. Clear boundaries. Thoughtful trade-offs. Software that is understandable to the people who build it, maintain it and depend on it.

I bring a collaborative, considered approach to engineering: understanding the constraints, asking the right questions and building a foundation that makes future change easier.

Maria Mahncke
LET'S BUILD SOMETHING THAT LASTS

Have a system to build?

Let's talk about the architecture, the constraints
and what needs to work.

ich@maria-mahncke.com