Kanan Labs · Open roles

Join us in building
the world model
for global trade.

Every container that crosses a border is governed by a stack of rules no single person holds in their head — tariff lines, origin criteria, licensing conditions, each with a citation and an effective date. We are building the system that does hold them, reasons over them, and can always show its working.

It is a small team, early, and the problems are unreasonably interesting.

See open roles What we’re building
The three layers DRONA reasons across An isometric diagram of three stacked planes. Shipments move on the lowest plane, the rules that govern them sit in the middle, and the evidence produced sits above. Trade routes trace across the planes and vertical threads connect the same consignment through all three layers. Shipments Rules Evidence drona.classify_hs() drona.resolve_origin() drona.seal_packet()

How we work

Three things that are not up for negotiation.

  1. Every claim carries its citation.

    Nothing the system asserts is allowed to float free of the instrument it came from. If an answer cannot name its source, its version and its effective date, it is not an answer — it is a guess wearing a confident font.

  2. Deterministic first, judgement second.

    Where a rule decides the matter, a rule engine decides the matter. Language models are reserved for the places where a human expert would also have to exercise judgement — and where they are used, the boundary is visible.

  3. Direct challenge over quiet agreement.

    Disagreement is the cheapest thing we buy. We would rather have the argument in a design review than discover the flaw in a customs hall. Bring the objection early and bring it plainly.

Open roles

Where we need people right now.

5 open roles

Co-founder & CTO

Own DRONA — the compiler that turns regulation into signed, versioned, executable rule packs.

  • Full-time
  • On-site
  • Bengaluru
  • Rolling — reviewed weekly

Founding Product Engineer

Turn a compiler into a product. Intake, extraction, reconciliation, packets, and the screen a reviewer signs.

  • Full-time
  • On-site
  • Bengaluru
  • Rolling — reviewed weekly

Trade Practice Lead

The person who knows what actually happens at the customs hall, and makes the software agree with it.

  • Full-time
  • On-site
  • Bengaluru — with regular time in the Chennai–Hosur corridor
  • Rolling — reviewed weekly

What applying looks like

Short, specific, and no unanswered emails.

  1. 01

    You apply

    The form sits at the bottom of each role. Three written questions, your links, and a CV if you have one to hand. Half an hour, not an afternoon.

  2. 02

    We read it properly

    Every application is read by a person, and you get a reply either way within a week. The written answers carry more weight than the CV.

  3. 03

    Two conversations

    One about the work you have already done, one about the work here. Both are technical. Neither is a puzzle interview.

  4. 04

    A real problem

    Where the role calls for it, a paid exercise on something we are actually stuck on. You keep the work and we tell you what we thought of it.

Nothing above fits?

We would still like to hear from you, particularly if you have spent time inside customs, freight, or trade policy and have opinions about why the software is bad. Tell us what you would want to build here.

Write to us directly