Design Engineer London, UK

Invent and build polished, useful AI interfaces. We are looking for a Design Engineer to bridge the gap between design and engineering, helping us craft polished, delightful, and technically excellent user experiences. You will be a hybrid thinker and maker, comfortable working in both Figma and code, and you will play a critical role in evolving how Granola feels in the hands of our users.

Why This Role is Special

• Own the craft: You won’t just hand off designs to engineers or code up specs you didn’t influence. You’ll be both designing and building the Granola interface.
• Push the boundaries: We’re inventing new AI-powered workflows. This means prototyping, testing, and refining interactions that don’t yet have established patterns.
• Join a design-obsessed founding team: You’ll work closely with Sam (co-founder & designer), our founding designer, and our talented engineering team, all of whom care deeply about product quality. You’ll have space and support to push for exceptional user experiences.

In this role, you will:

• Build and maintain a robust, scalable design system in both Figma and code (React, Tailwind etc.)
• Prototype and ship high-quality, production-ready UI that nails the details — from typography and color to motion and microinteractions.
• Collaborate closely with product, design, and engineering to bring new features to life, from early concept to polished implementation.
• Maintain consistency as we grow across multiple platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS).
• Identify and fix gaps between design and engineering, raising the quality bar across the product.
• Help invent new interaction patterns for AI-driven tools.

You might be a good fit if:

• You have 5+ years of experience working as a design engineer, frontend engineer with strong design skills, or designer with strong engineering skills.
• You’re highly proficient with React, TypeScript, Tailwind and have a solid grasp of modern frontend architecture.
• You have strong visual and interaction design skills — you care deeply about details, polish, and making things feel "just right".
• You’re a natural prototyper who’s comfortable exploring in Figma, code, or AI tools, depending on what’s fastest.
• You’ve worked on (or are drawn to) design systems and component libraries, and know how to balance consistency with flexibility.
• You thrive in a fast-paced, iterative startup environment where experimentation is encouraged.

About the Opportunity

We are living in the most exciting time for tool builders since Engelbart's demo in 1968, and we want to assemble the best crew to build this future together, here in London. Our compensation philosophy is to pay slightly above market on salary and above market on equity. We do our best work in person, so our team spends time together five days per week in our bright, spacious office at Old Street. We’re happy to offer relocation assistance to candidates moving to London to join us. Lastly, we believe amazing talent comes from all kinds of life journeys and experiences. If what’s written above speaks to you — even if you don’t look like a perfect match on paper — please reach out. We’ll review your application and get back to you within a week.

Flexible, parent-friendly culture:

• We default to in-person, but feel free to WFH when you need to.
• A beautiful, light-filled office full of plants and good vibes in Shoreditch.
• Casa Granola: use our team house in sunny Majorca (yes, you read that right). It’s a space for offsites, going deep on a project with a small group, or just inviting friends/family for a holiday.
• Private health insurance: Free for you, subsidised for your family.
• Above-market compensation: Competitive salary, a generous option grant on employee-friendly terms, employer pension matching, and 25 days (plus bank holidays) of paid time off.