Product Design Engineer, AI Tools
About the Role
Our client is building a suite of AI-powered tools that make work better for employees and managers. They are looking for a Product Design Engineer who builds what they design, someone who thinks in interaction patterns and user flows, can prototype in high fidelity, and is just as particular about the craft of a micro-interaction as they are about the quality of the component underneath it. This is not a graphic design or traditional UX role. The work sits at the intersection of internal employee tools and AI-native product design, and you will be working directly in the codebase alongside AI engineers as a peer. That means thinking beyond screens and static flows, into the emerging vocabulary of AI interaction: how do you design for uncertainty, latency, and outputs that are not fully predictable? If that is the kind of challenge that excites you, this role was written for you. A portfolio is required. We want to see a mix of design work and the code or prototypes behind it.
What You Will Do
Help define the design language for a suite of AI-native employee tools, building on the existing Design Language System where it fits and establishing new patterns, components, and principles where the demands of the product require something distinctly its own. Design, prototype, and productize AI-powered experiences across four signature service areas (Gathering, Onboarding, Performance Management, and Workforce Planning), using Figma, Claude Code, and the broader toolset. Design for agentic and AI-native interfaces, including multi-step task flows, proactive systems, and experiences where the user is collaborating with AI across input types (text, voice, and ambient) as products evolve beyond traditional screen-based flows. Apply familiarity with how LLM-based systems actually behave, including orchestration patterns, model handoff, and how to design meaningful user control when the system is acting on someone's behalf. Partner with AI engineers and product managers on the internal production platform, bridging design intent and technical execution through the full build cycle. Conduct lightweight usability testing with internal users to validate and iterate on design decisions. Contribute to the AI knowledge base by ensuring tool documentation and user-facing content is clear, well-organized, and visually consistent. Must Haves: Your Expertise: 5+ years of UX/UI, product design, design engineering, or a hybrid design/frontend role, with a portfolio that includes web application work. Expertise with Figma, specifically experience designing, modifying, and maintaining component specs and systems. Strong React proficiency and working knowledge of HTML and CSS. You should be comfortable working directly in a codebase, contributing to pull requests, and collaborating with engineers as a technical peer. Experience designing AI-native or conversational interfaces, with a solid understanding of the design challenges unique to LLM-powered products: streaming responses, ambiguous outputs, multi-turn flows, and building trust with users when the system is inherently dynamic. Strong instincts around information architecture and emerging AI interaction patterns, informed by hands-on experience with tools like the Google AI Suite, Claude Enterprise, Glean, or similar. Experience designing for non-technical end users in an enterprise or internal tools context, with the craft of consumer-grade products. Comfort moving fast with incomplete information. Tools and user needs are evolving, and your designs will too. Preferred Qualifications: Experience with the Claude API or similar LLM APIs. Prior experience designing a formal design system, not just consuming or contributing to one. Experience with HR tech, people operations tools, or workplace experience products. Experience working in or alongside a platform engineering team. Key Details Location: Remote Start Date: June 2026 Duration: Through Dec 31, 2026, with strong possibility of extension or conversion Work Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week (8 hours/day, 5 days/week). PST strongly preferred Pay Rate Range: $110-$130 per hour (W2)