Design Engineer
About Maincode
Maincode is an applied AI lab. We translate research into real-world tools: interfaces that support decision-making, surface insights, and express complex ideas with clarity. We believe AI’s next leap isn’t scale - it’s design. Our work bridges research and interface, helping people understand, navigate, and collaborate with intelligent systems.
You’ll join the Design Engineering Group (DEG) - a small, embedded team working across brand, product, and early-stage prototypes. We care deeply about craft, clarity, and momentum.
The Role
We’re hiring a Design Engineer to help build demo-ready interfaces, support early AI prototypes, and expand our internal design systems and tools. This is a hybrid role: part engineering, part design.
You’ll work closely with our Design Engineering Lead and collaborate with research and product teams. Some days you’ll refine a branded microsite; other days you’ll prototype a new interaction pattern for an Ollama-powered tool. Your work will balance polish with pragmatism: knowing when to push fidelity, and when to simplify.
What You’ll Work On
Core Work
Build and maintain high-quality layouts and components across Maincode and partner surfaces
Extend our design system with new UI primitives, motions, and reusable patterns
Implement polished, demo-ready interfaces (states, flows, interaction details)
Manage staging, QA, and feedback cycles for production-facing projects
Exploratory Work
Prototype interfaces for new AI interaction models (e.g. Ollama- or Docker-based tools)
Use AI-augmented coding environments (Cursor, Claude Code, V0) to accelerate prototyping
Balance speed and quality: quickly test ideas while delivering clean, maintainable code
Translate experimental prototypes into usable microsite features or internal tools
What We’re Looking For
1–3 years experience (or equivalent projects/internships) in design engineering or hybrid roles
Strong visual instincts paired with systems thinking
Demonstrated ability to deliver polished, demo-quality UI/UX (attention to states, flow, typography, usability)
Comfortable with Figma and frontend frameworks (React, Tailwind, Shadcn/ui or similar)
Familiarity with containerised environments (Docker) and API integrations
Curiosity about interaction design for AI systems and willingness to work with inference backends like Ollama
Clear communicator: able to explain decisions, document trade-offs, and work iteratively
Tools & Practices
You’ll work across:
AI-assisted coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, V0)
Figma for design and system exploration
Frontend libraries like shadcn/ui and Tailwind
Motion.dev /equiv. for animation and system motion
GitHub, Docker, Notion, and lightweight documentation for collaboration
What Growth Looks Like
Within 6–12 months, you will:
Expand our design system with net-new components and patterns
Deliver demo-ready AI prototypes in collaboration with research
Contribute to design direction through both interface craft and engineering decisions
Show increasing independence in balancing speed, polish, and technical decisions
What to Include
We’re not just looking for final results. Show us how you think:
1–3 projects that demonstrate your design-engineering process (what you explored, how you executed, what you’d do differently)
A short Loom (optional, max 5 min) walking through a project
Any examples of demo-quality UI/UX you’ve shipped
Why This Role Matters
Interface is how Maincode’s ideas are experienced. Your work ensures our research shows up in the world with clarity and precision — whether through a microsite, a system component, or an AI-powered prototype.
Hiring Process
We move intentionally and communicate clearly at every step:
Portfolio Review – We evaluate taste, process, and clarity
Intro Chat – Casual conversation about fit and interest
Take-Home Task – A focused, open-ended design–dev challenge (dockerised Ollama prototype + polished UI/UX)
Final Chat – With our Design Engineering Lead and Maincode Founder