Founding Design Engineer
$200k - $250kThomas Talent Network
Job Description
Job Description
Client-backed startup building the next generation of productivity tools — what Claude Code did for engineers, we're doing for every knowledge worker. We have paying users and are looking for a world-class Design Engineer to own our product experience from day one.
THE ROLE
As our Founding Design Engineer, you will:
• Own product design and frontend development end-to-end
• Ship production-level React code alongside design work in Figma
• Shape the UX of human-agent collaboration in AI
• Work directly with the founding team
• Drive decisions on product direction and company culture
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
Experience:
• 2–6 years of relevant experience (no recent grads)
• Designer who can code OR frontend engineer with strong design sense
• Proven ability to ship production-level React + Figma work
• Background in design school or computer science preferred
Mindset:
• Product-minded and pragmatic
• Strong bias to shipping over perfection
• Experience building 0-to-1 products
• Hands-on builder mentality
Ideal Background:
• Former design or frontend leads at high-quality product or productivity startups
• Bonus: Experience with AI/LLM products
NOT A FIT
• Designers or engineers without production-level coding experience alongside design
• Pure enterprise/B2B backgrounds (sales-led, non-product driven)
• Senior leadership or IC roles without hands-on building
• Recent graduates
• Candidates without 0-to-1 product experience
WHY THIS ROLE
• You'll be the sole design function — full ownership from day one
• Huge UX challenge: designing human + agent collaboration in AI
• Founding team with deep expertise
• Real product with real users and proven traction
COMPENSATION & DETAILS
Salary: $200,000–$250,000
Equity: 1–2%
Location: San Francisco, CA (4 days in-office)
Visa Sponsorship: Not available
Vacancy posted 27 days ago
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