Staff Design Engineer in London

Staff Design Engineer in London

London Full-Time 70000 - 90000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Miro

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design and build interactive experiences on Miro's canvas, focusing on AI and multiplayer features.
  • Company: Join Miro, a leading collaborative platform that empowers teams worldwide.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive equity, free snacks, wellbeing benefits, and a learning allowance.
  • Other info: Work in a diverse team that values inclusion and fosters a sense of belonging.
  • Why this job: Be at the forefront of innovation, shaping how teams collaborate with AI and design.
  • Qualifications: Fluency in React, TypeScript, and experience with real-time multiplayer systems.

The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.

About The Team

The Canvas, Multiplayer & AI team sits at the heart of what Miro is: an infinite, multiplayer surface where millions of people think together, run workshops, map systems, and build things. This team owns the core interaction layer that makes the canvas feel fast, fluid, and alive — from rendering and input handling to the real-time collaboration moments that define how people work alongside each other in Miro. The team is also at the frontier of how AI shows up on the canvas — not as a bolted‑on feature, but as a genuine collaborator embedded in the way teams think and create together. These two missions are deeply connected: AI changes what's possible on the canvas, and the canvas changes what AI can mean for a team. The work this team does compounds across the whole product and across the entire design and engineering organisation.

About The Role

As a Staff Design Engineer, you will work across canvas feel, multiplayer interaction, and AI experiences, owning the craft layer that determines whether Miro feels like a place rather than a page. This is a build‑first role: you prototype in code because it's the most honest medium, and you ship because you care about what lands in front of real people.

You will embed with product teams across the canvas and AI portfolio while holding a broader charter around quality and craft standards. You'll work closely with product designers, engineers, PMs, and researchers, and you'll be a key voice in how design engineering as a practice grows at Miro. At this level, the expectation isn't just excellent individual work; it's that your presence raises the quality of everything around you.

What You'll Do

  • Own the core interaction layer of the canvas, responsiveness, rendering, input handling, and spatial transitions, working on the things users feel before they name.
  • Design and build the multiplayer moments that make working alongside someone in Miro feel genuinely different from working alone: presence, cursors, conflict, and co‑creation.
  • Define what it means to have an AI collaborator in a visual, multiplayer space — shaping how AI outputs land on the canvas, how suggestions feel without being intrusive, and how generative results become part of a team's work.
  • Craft the moments of delight and magic that make Miro memorable, animations, micro‑interactions, and transitions where the tool disappears and the thinking takes over.
  • Build the patterns, prototypes, and shared tooling that make the broader design and engineering organisation faster and more confident.
  • Write things down, teach by doing, and set a quality standard that propagates, contributing to coherence across the canvas, not just within your own area.
  • Collaborate closely with product designers, engineers, PMs, and researchers across Miro's canvas and AI portfolio.

What You'll Need

  • Fluency in React, TypeScript, and CSS, you have strong architectural opinions that come from shipping, not reading.
  • Hands‑on experience with canvas and graphics technologies: WebGL, Canvas API, SVG, and complex layout systems.
  • Deep craft in motion and timing, easing curves, transition timing, hover states, and frame budgets are as deliberate for you as layout decisions.
  • Experience designing real‑time multiplayer systems: you've thought about presence, conflict, and co‑authorship as UX problems, not just engineering ones.
  • Experience designing AI experiences, you understand the difference between putting a text input on a page and designing around probabilistic, latent AI outputs.
  • The instinct to prototype in code first: you reach for the browser before Figma when exploring a new interaction, and you're fast enough that prototyping doesn't feel like a cost.
  • Systems thinking across a large product surface, you connect patterns, design with awareness of implications elsewhere, and contribute to coherence.
  • Experience with streaming APIs, structured outputs, and the UX patterns that make probabilistic systems feel reliable and worth trusting.
  • The ability to influence the quality of work around you, through written communication, mentorship, and setting standards that others build on.

What's In It For You

  • Competitive equity package
  • Lunch, snacks and drinks provided in the office
  • Wellbeing benefit and WFH equipment allowance
  • Annual learning and development allowance to grow your skills and career
  • Opportunity to work for a globally diverse team

At Miro, we strive to create and foster an environment of belonging and collaboration across cultural differences. Miro’s mission — Empower teams to create the next big thing — is how we think about our product, people, and culture. We believe that creating big things requires diverse and inclusive teams. Diversity invites all talent with different demography, identities and styles to step in, and inclusion invites them to step closer together. Every day, we are working to build a more diverse Miro, cultivate a sense of belonging for future and current Mironeers around the world, and foster an environment where everyone can collaborate and embrace differences.

Staff Design Engineer in London employer: Miro

Miro is an exceptional employer that champions innovation and collaboration, making it a fantastic place for a Staff Design Engineer to thrive. With a competitive equity package, a focus on employee wellbeing, and a commitment to professional growth through annual learning allowances, Miro fosters a vibrant work culture where diverse teams come together to create groundbreaking solutions. Located in a dynamic environment, employees benefit from a supportive atmosphere that encourages creativity and inclusivity, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued.

Miro

Contact Details:

Miro Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Staff Design Engineer in London

Join Local Tech Meetups

Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Miro or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!

Contribute to Open Source Projects

Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Miro.

Tap into Online Developer Communities

Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Miro.

Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles

Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Miro that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!

We think you need these skills to ace Staff Design Engineer in London

Fluency in React
Fluency in TypeScript
Fluency in CSS
Hands-on experience with WebGL
Hands-on experience with Canvas API
Hands-on experience with SVG
Experience with complex layout systems

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Miro.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Miro and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Miro

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Miro uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.