Design Engineer - SF

Apply on YC · Original job listing

• Role: Engineering / Frontend
• Experience: 3+ years
• Visa: US citizen/visa only
• Skills: Node.js, React, Next.js

OpenWork is building the open-source Claude Cowork alternative.

But the real goal is bigger than that.

I don’t think AI should be another chatbot tab. The best version is a workspace where people, agents, files, browsers, MCPs, skills, and company context all work together.

We’re looking for a design engineer in SF.

This role is for someone who can make complex agent workflows feel obvious.

You’ll work across:

- desktop app UX

- web app UX

- realtime agent state

- multi-agent / multi-session views

- browser + file previews

- artifacts

- onboarding

- team/workspace sharing

- small details that make the product feel trustworthy

Stack is mostly TypeScript, React, Node, Electron, Tailwind, and a bunch of weird agent/product surface area.

The kind of person who will do well here:

- ships daily

- has built beautiful product experiences before

- can design with intention

- can code the thing, not just mock it

- has taste and can explain why something feels good or bad

- cares about motion, spacing, state, latency, and empty states

- uses the latest models but does not outsource taste to them

In your first days, you’ll ship UI/UX improvements across the desktop app and web app.

In your first month, we expect you to be able to think clearly about how to design meaningfully better experiences for users — not just polish surfaces, but improve how people understand, trust, and use the product.