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

East Coast timezone overlap required