Design Engineer

S:23 Recruitment

New York

JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Artificial Intelligence (AI), CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), Cargo/Freight, Code Reviews, JavaScript, Performance Tuning/Optimization, Product Design, Product Engineering, Public Safety, React.js, Sales, Startup, Technical/Engineering Design, Typography, User Interface Design, User Interface/Experience (UI/UX)
LOCATION
New York
POSTED
2 days ago

S23 – AI

Founding Design Engineer

Location: New York, NY (On-site)

Salary: $160,000 – $200,000 + Equity


About the Role

A fast-growing AI-powered marketplace is transforming how America's most essential assets are bought and sold. Starting with fire departments and public safety agencies, the platform handles the entire transaction lifecycle - discovery, payments, freight, paperwork, warranty, and financing - turning what used to take months of manual work into minutes. Already operating across all 50 states, the business has grown revenue more than 10x in under a year.


Well-funded and backed by leading investors, the company is 35 people and scaling fast. This is a founding design engineering role working directly with the Co-founder and CTO, who has personally owned design-in-code since day one. If you care deeply about frontend craft and want your work to matter, this is the role.


Key Responsibilities

  • Build and ship polished, production-quality UI across web and mobile using React, Next.js, and TypeScript
  • Craft pixel-perfect UI details including layouts, typography, responsiveness, motion, and micro-interactions using Tailwind CSS
  • Contribute to shared UI foundations including components, patterns, and design tokens
  • Work directly with the Co-founder and CTO on product design and direction
  • Optimise for performance, accessibility, and maintainability without compromising on design quality
  • Raise the bar for frontend craft across the engineering team through code reviews and shared standards


What We're Looking For

  • 4+ years in frontend or design engineering with a strong React background
  • Exceptional CSS skills and a genuine eye for design and interaction
  • A portfolio of shipped, production-quality UI work that demonstrates clean, modern craft
  • Comfortable working across design, product, and engineering in a fast-moving startup
  • Experience at a seed or Series A/B/C startup is a strong plus
  • Technical co-founder or early engineer background is a bonus
  • Based in New York or open to relocating


Why Join?

  • Founding-level impact - one of the first 35 employees at a company growing 10x year on year
  • Work directly with the Co-founder and CTO with no layers of management
  • Design is taken seriously here - they want someone who obsesses over pixels, motion, and micro-interactions
  • Real-world mission with tangible societal impact
  • Well-funded with $18M raised and strong investor backing
  • Competitive salary, meaningful equity, full benefits, daily meals, wellness stipend, and relocation assistance


About the Company

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S:23 Recruitment