Mainland's research focuses on high-level programming language and runtime support for non-general purpose computation. His work seeks to make it easier to exploit the power of special-purpose devices, like GPUs, that require specialized programming models for optimal efficiency. After obtaining an bachelor of arts degree in physics from Harvard, Mainland spent three years working in Silicon Valley. He then returned to Harvard, where he completed his doctorate in computer science in 2011. He was also a postdoctoral researcher with the Programming Principles and Tools group at Microsoft Research Cambridge (UK). Mainland's research interests span both the systems and programming languages communities. He has published papers at conferences such as Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI) and the International Conference on Functional programming (ICFP).