About Maincode
Maincode is an applied AI lab. We turn research into practical tools: interfaces that support decision-making, surface insights, and communicate complex ideas with clarity. We believe AI’s next step forward isn’t scale, it’s design. Our work connects research and interface, helping people understand, navigate, and collaborate with intelligent systems.
You’ll join the Design Engineering Group (DEG), a small, embedded team that works across brand, product, and early prototypes. We care about craft, clarity, and steady momentum.
The Role
We’re hiring a Frontend Engineer focused on design systems to help build demo-ready interfaces, support early AI prototypes, and evolve our internal UI libraries and tools. The role blends engineering with design sensibilities.
You’ll partner with our Design Engineering Lead and collaborate closely with research and product teams. Some days you’ll refine a branded microsite, other days you’ll prototype a new interaction for an Ollama-powered tool. The work requires balancing polish with pragmatism: knowing when to increase fidelity and when to keep things simple.
What You’ll Work On
Core Work
Build and maintain high-quality layouts and components across Maincode and partner surfaces
Extend our design system with new UI primitives, motions, and reusable patterns
Implement polished, demo-ready interfaces including states, flows, and interaction details
Manage staging, QA, and feedback cycles for production-adjacent projects
Exploratory Work
Prototype interfaces for emerging AI interaction models, such as Ollama or Docker-based tools
Use AI-assisted coding environments (Cursor, Claude Code, V0) to accelerate prototyping
Balance speed and quality, testing ideas quickly while keeping code clean and maintainable
Translate experimental prototypes into practical microsite features or internal tools
What We’re Looking For
1–3 years experience (or equivalent internships or projects) in design engineering or hybrid frontend roles
Strong visual instincts supported by systems thinking
Evidence of delivering polished, demo-quality UI/UX with attention to states, flow, typography, and usability
Comfort with Figma and modern frontend frameworks like React, Tailwind, and shadcn/ui
Familiarity with containerised environments (Docker) and API integrations
Interest in interaction design for AI systems and willingness to work with inference backends like Ollama
Clear communicator able to explain decisions, document trade-offs, and iterate with others
Tools & Practices
You’ll work across:
AI-assisted coding tools (Cursor, Claude Code, V0)
Figma for design and system exploration
Frontend libraries like shadcn/ui and Tailwind
Motion.dev /equiv. for animation and system motion
GitHub, Docker, Notion, and lightweight documentation for collaboration
What Growth Looks Like
Within 6–12 months, you will:
Expand our design system with new components and patterns
Deliver demo-ready AI prototypes with the research team
Contribute to design direction through interface craft and engineering choices
Build increasing independence in balancing speed, polish, and technical decisions
What to Include
We’re interested in your thinking, not only your outcomes:
1–3 projects that illustrate your design-engineering process, including exploration and execution
A short Loom (optional, up to 5 minutes) walking through a project
Any examples of demo-quality UI/UX you’ve shipped
Why This Role Matters
Interface is how Maincode’s ideas are experienced. Your work ensures our research is expressed with clarity and precision, whether through a microsite, a system component, or an AI-powered prototype.
Hiring Process
We move intentionally and communicate clearly at every step:
Portfolio Review – We evaluate taste, process, and clarity
Intro Chat – Casual conversation about fit and interest
Take-Home Task – A focused, open-ended design–dev challenge (dockerised Ollama prototype + polished UI/UX)
Final Chat – With our Design Engineering Lead and Maincode Founder
