Design Engineer (UI design, React, AI-first role, NOT DEV ROLE) - Fulltime - Overlap EST -

Design Engineer (Contract)

Overview

Our client is a privacy-first identity company building consumer products that protect personal information across mobile, browser extension, and web experiences.

They are looking for a Design Engineer — a hybrid profile who can both design and build highly polished, pixel-perfect frontend experiences.

This is not a traditional software engineering role and not a pure design role. We are specifically looking for someone who owns the full interface experience end to end: design, frontend implementation, motion, micro-interactions, copy, and overall product polish.

Your work will be judged by what you ship, not by coding tests.

Important: This is not a standard developer role. Candidates with purely software engineering backgrounds without strong design ownership are unlikely to be a fit.

Responsibilities

End-to-End Interface Ownership

• Own screens from design through shipped production code
• Design layouts, hierarchy, spacing, and visual structure
• Build polished, premium, consumer-facing product experiences

Frontend Implementation

Implement production-ready frontend experiences
Ship pixel-perfect user-facing interfaces
Connect frontend experiences to real product behavior and data

Motion & Interaction Design

Build animations and micro-interactions
Design smooth transitions, hover states, loading states, error states, and interaction feedback

Product Craft

Maintain a very high bar for aesthetic quality and interface polish
Obsess over typography, spacing, consistency, alignment, and small details
Refine interface copy so the product feels cohesive and intentional

AI-Native Execution

Use AI coding tools fluently to ship quickly
Work independently while managing multiple parallel workstreams

Required Skills

React
Next.js
TypeScript
Tailwind CSS
Framer Motion
JavaScript
Modern CSS architecture
Production frontend development

What We’re Looking For

Strong portfolio of products you personally designed and implemented end to end
Strong design taste and exceptional attention to UI quality and detail
Experience building polished consumer-facing products
Strong understanding of animations, micro-interactions, and frontend polish
Experience shipping live production applications
Ability to work autonomously with minimal onboarding
Daily fluency using AI-assisted development tools
Excellent written and verbal English communication

Ideal Background

Experience in:

Consumer SaaS
Fintech
Privacy / Security products
Productivity software
Mobile-first applications

Preferred titles:

Design Engineer
UX Engineer
Design Technologist
Creative Developer
Frontend Design Engineer

We may consider adjacent profiles if their work demonstrates strong design + engineering overlap.

Not a Fit

Generally not a fit if background is primarily:

Traditional Frontend Engineering without design ownership
Pure Product Design without coding implementation
Agency or marketing website development
Brand / print design
Game UI
B2B enterprise dashboards

Portfolios that feel visually busy, template-driven, marketing-oriented, or overly flashy will likely not be a fit.

Role Details

Contract engagement
Begins with a two-week trial
High autonomy and accountability
Fast-moving AI-native team
Multiple concurrent workstreams