What are the responsibilities and job description for the Founding Product Engineer / Designer position at Architect?
What You’ll Do
As a Founding Product Designer at Architect, you’ll define how the world’s first AI-powered developer platform for hardware design. You’ll design interfaces where AI and human engineers co-create silicon, from RTL generation to system-level optimization, in a fluid, intelligent environment. You’ll own the full product experience: from high-level interaction design and visual systems to polished, production-ready UI. You’ll work closely with the ML and product teams to translate complex AI workflows into intuitive, powerful tools for hardware engineers. This is a 0→1 role — you’ll set the foundation for Architect’s product identity and design language, and shape how hardware design feels in the AI era.
Background
What We’d Like to See
As a Founding Product Designer at Architect, you’ll define how the world’s first AI-powered developer platform for hardware design. You’ll design interfaces where AI and human engineers co-create silicon, from RTL generation to system-level optimization, in a fluid, intelligent environment. You’ll own the full product experience: from high-level interaction design and visual systems to polished, production-ready UI. You’ll work closely with the ML and product teams to translate complex AI workflows into intuitive, powerful tools for hardware engineers. This is a 0→1 role — you’ll set the foundation for Architect’s product identity and design language, and shape how hardware design feels in the AI era.
Background
What We’d Like to See
- 4 years designing end-to-end experiences for highly technical or developer-facing products — IDEs, design tools, data/ML platforms, or productivity software.
- Previous experience at a design-driven company (e.g. Notion, Linear, Figma, Replit, Anthropic, etc.) or a startup where design was central to product strategy.
- A portfolio demonstrating systems thinking, exceptional visual craft, and strong product intuition.
- Mastery of Figma (or equivalent) for designing and prototyping complex workflows.
- Deep understanding of UI and UX principles for data-dense, tool-heavy products.
- Ability to think from first principles: how should AI behave in an IDE context?
- Comfort translating abstract AI capabilities into concrete interaction models and flows.
- Strong visual and typographic sensibility — ability to make highly technical tools feel beautiful.
- Huge Bonus: ability to implement your designs directly using React, TypeScript, or JavaScript — we love “design engineers” who bridge design and code.
- Experience designing for AI-powered tools, agent interfaces, or developer workflows.
- Experience with rapid prototyping frameworks (Framer, React, or custom tooling).
- Interest in chip design, hardware visualization, or technical creative tools.
- Worked at early-stage deeptech or design-centric startups as the first or founding designer.
- A product thinker who obsesses over clarity, speed, and precision.
- You understand how to turn complexity into simplicity without dumbing things down.
- You thrive in ambiguity and like working shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers.
- You’re comfortable being the first designer, setting standards, and leading by example.
- You care deeply about aesthetics and the invisible details that make tools joyful to use.
- Competitive salary
- Fast-paced startup with autonomy and visible impact
- Cutting-edge AI-driven chip design challenges
