Founding Design Engineer
Listed on 2026-07-08
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Software Development
Front End Developer, React.js, Full Stack Developer, AI Engineer (Applied/Software)
Founding Design Engineer
Location: San Francisco, CA (On-site, 5 days/week)
Compensation: $150,000–$250,000 Base + Equity (0.4–0.8%)
About the OpportunityAn early-stage, venture-backed AI startup is seeking a Founding Design Engineer to become its first design-focused engineering hire. This is a unique opportunity to own the end-to-end user experience for a highly technical AI platform, defining the product's design language while building production-ready frontend applications.
Working directly with the founding team, you'll help shape the future of an AI-native enterprise platform by combining exceptional product design with hands‑on frontend engineering.
What You'll Do- Own product design and frontend implementation from concept to production.
- Design and build production‑ready interfaces using React and Type Script .
- Establish the company's design language, design system, and UX patterns.
- Collaborate closely with founders to build intuitive experiences for complex technical workflows.
- Design for enterprise B2B software, platform products, and AI‑powered user experiences.
- 1 - 5 years of experience in design, recent experience shipping frontend code in React/Type Script
- Experience at a venture‑backed early‑stage startup or fast‑paced high‑growth company
- Has a self‑driven project with real users (portfolio, side project, or startup)
- Experience at an early‑stage startup or other fast‑paced environment.
- Experience designing technical products such as developer tools, enterprise SaaS, infrastructure, platform software, or AI products.
- Self‑starter who thrives in an ownership‑driven environment with minimal direction.
- Design/Arts/CS degree
Tech stack
React, Type Script, Figma, Tailwind CSS
PLUS
- Next.js
- Figma
- Experience with design systems and component libraries.
- Familiarity with AI, agentic workflows, or Human‑Computer Interaction (HCI) principles.
The company can support:
- H-1B transfers
- O-1 visas
- TN visas
- J-1 visas
Please note that new H-1B sponsorship is not available.
Why Join?- Be the first Design Engineer and help define the product from the ground up.
- Own both design and implementation without traditional design handoffs.
- Work directly with an experienced founding team in a collaborative, high‑impact environment.
- Receive competitive compensation and meaningful equity while helping build a category‑defining AI product.
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