Scale Engineer

Design Engineer

Senior · Full Time

San FranciscoUSD 150k – 220k9mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Cursor is seeking a Design Engineer to bridge the gap between design and engineering, creating pixel-perfect UI components and innovative interactions for their AI-powered code editor. The ideal candidate will be a versatile professional who can rapidly prototype, implement, and refine user experiences at the intersection of design and technical innovation.

Responsibilities

  • UI Component Development: Build production-quality UI components with exceptional user experience and interaction design
  • Prototyping: Rapidly develop and validate new product concepts and features through quick, iterative prototyping
  • Design-Engineering Integration: Translate design concepts into technical implementations and push innovative design through technical solutions
  • Product Quality Assurance: Ensure pixel-perfect UI implementation and smooth user interactions across the product
  • Collaborative Innovation: Work closely with designers and engineers to define product possibilities and expand technological boundaries
  • Design System Development: Contribute to and maintain design systems and component libraries to enhance team productivity

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Front-end Technologies

    Proficient in TypeScript, React, SolidJS, CSS, and advanced UI animations

  • Design Tools

    Advanced skills in Figma and code editing environments

  • UI/UX Engineering

    Ability to create reusable, maintainable UI components with a systematic approach

Education

  • Degree

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Design, or related field preferred

Experience

  • Professional Experience

    Proven track record of shipping polished, high-quality product interfaces

  • Design Engineering

    Demonstrated ability to work seamlessly between design and engineering disciplines

Skills

Required

  • Front-end Development

    Strong proficiency in TypeScript, React, and modern web technologies

  • Design Sensibility

    Exceptional attention to design details and user interaction quality

  • Rapid Prototyping

    Ability to quickly transform concepts into functional prototypes

Preferred

  • Developer Tools

    Nice to have

    Experience building developer-focused products or tools

  • Cross-Platform Development

    Nice to have

    Knowledge of Electron, native UI frameworks, or cross-platform application development

  • Design Background

    Nice to have

    Formal design training or professional design experience

Tech stack

Languages

TypeScriptJavaScript

Frameworks

ReactSolidJS

Tools

FigmaElectron

Other

CSS

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 150,000 – 220,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Innovative Work Environment

    Flat organizational structure with a focus on creativity and technical innovation

  • AI-Driven Technology

    Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI coding automation technologies

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Resume and portfolio review focusing on design and engineering skills

  2. 02

    Technical Interview

    In-depth discussion of front-end development skills and design approach

  3. 03

    Design Challenge

    Hands-on prototype or design implementation task to assess practical skills

  4. 04

    Final Interview

    Meeting with founding team to evaluate cultural fit and vision alignment

Full posting

Original listing.

Our mission is to automate coding. The first step in our journey is to build the best tool for professional programmers, using a combination of inventive research, design, and engineering. Our organization is very flat, and our team is small and talent dense. We particularly like people who are truth-seeking, passionate, and creative. We enjoy spirited debate, crazy ideas, and shipping code.

Cursor is building the future of coding. Our AI code editor and agents are just the beginning – we're solving the hardest engineering and design problems in AI automating coding, and making these capabilities accessible to everyone.

About the role

We're looking for a design engineer who lives at the intersection of design and code. You'll work directly with the founding team to prototype, build, and polish the experiences that make Cursor magical. This role is perfect for someone who thinks like a designer but builds like an engineer – or vice versa.

What you'll do

  • Build production-quality UI components and interactions that delight users

  • Rapidly prototype new concepts and features to validate ideas before full implementation

  • Bridge the gap between design and engineering – translating designs into code and pushing design through technical innovation

  • Own the quality of UI implementation across the product, ensuring pixel-perfect execution and smooth interactions

  • Collaborate with designers and engineers to define what's possible and push the boundaries of the product

  • Contribute to design systems and component libraries that enable the team to ship faster

You might be a fit if

  • You're equally comfortable in Figma and your code editor

  • You have strong front-end engineering skills (TypeScript, React, SolidJS, CSS, animations)

  • You have an eye for design details and care deeply about craft

  • You've shipped polished products and know what it takes to get from 90% to 100%

  • You can move fast – prototyping ideas in hours, not days

  • You think in systems and can build reusable, maintainable UI components

  • You're excited about AI and want to help define new interaction paradigms

Nice to have

  • Experience building developer tools or technical products

  • Background in design or formal design training

  • Experience with Electron, native UI frameworks, or building cross-platform apps

  • Understanding of code editors, IDEs, or programming environments

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