Born in Boa Vista, Roraima, Thiago Maia began his career at lowly locals Extremo Norte.

[2] On 25 October 2014 Thiago Maia made his first-team debut, replacing fellow youth graduate Serginho in a 1–1 away draw against Chapecoense for the Série A championship.

[8] On 15 July 2017, French club Lille reached an agreement with Santos for the transfer of Thiago Maia, for a fee of €14 million, after being signed by the head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

[14] On 26 December 2014, after featuring regularly with the under-17s, Thiago Maia was called up to the Brazil under-20 side, alongside Santos teammates Gabriel and Caju, for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship.

[17] On 17 December 2024, Thiago Maia received the year's FIFA Fair Play Award after volunteering during the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods.