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 Opportunity An 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 TypeScript. • 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. What We're Looking For • 1 -​ 5 years of experience in design,​ recent experience shipping frontend code in React/TypeScript • 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 Skills Tech stack React, TypeScript, 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. Visa Sponsorship 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.