USD per year
Software Product Design Engineer
Build polished, thoughtful product experiences at YC Y Combinator builds the software that runs YC — internal tools used by partners and founders, public products used by the broader startup ecosystem, and AI-powered systems that automate complex workflows. Our team is small, the impact is large, and we ship real product to real users frequently. We’re looking for a Software Product Design Engineer — someone who lives at the intersection of design and engineering. You’ll design beautiful user experiences, translate high-fidelity mocks into production code, and proactively elevate existing interfaces with thoughtful detail and interactions.
What you’ll do
- Design compelling, clear UI/UX and produce high-quality mocks that demonstrate strong product taste.
- Turn design mocks (yours or others’) into pixel-perfect, production-ready frontends using modern web tech.
- Iterate on existing interfaces by improving layout, interaction quality, motion, and design consistency.
- Work closely with engineers, partners, and stakeholders — you’ll own the design and implementation of features end-to-end.
- Rapidly prototype and “vibe code” to explore ideas, gather feedback, and iterate quickly.
- Contribute to design systems, component libraries, and patterns that raise the bar for frontend quality across YC.
- Stay close to users: talk to them, watch how they use the product, and improve the experience based on real signals.
What we’re looking for
- Strong UX and visual design skills with proven taste and craftsmanship.
- Frontend engineering experience — comfort building real UI in React, TypeScript, and modern CSS.
- Ability to move fluidly between design tools (Figma, etc.) and frontend code.
- A “get things done” mindset: you ship quickly, iterate based on feedback, and take ownership.
- Someone who cares deeply about polish — from typography and spacing to micro-interactions and transitions.
- Comfort with ambiguity: you’ll often define your own scope and drive things forward with little direction.
Nice to have
- Experience building or maintaining design systems.
- Contributions to open source UI libraries or design resources.
- Background in internal tools, admin dashboards, or developer-facing products.
Why this role at YC
At YC, engineers own projects end-to-end — from the early sketches and prototypes to deployed code used by partners, investors, and founders. We work on a small, tight-knit team where your decisions matter, and you’ll ship real product quickly...
Location:
This is an in-person role at YC's campus in Dogpatch... You must live in the SF Bay Area or be willing to relocate. We offer generous relocation support for those who want to move to SF to work here.
Compensation:
$250K to $500K base salary... YC has a profit-sharing program...
Benefits:
Our full benefits package includes medical... 401(k) + 4% matching... generous parental leave... Work Authorization: Y Combinator is willing to sponsor certain employment visas... Legal note: Y Combinator considers qualified applicants with criminal histories...
In 2005, Y Combinator developed a new model of startup funding. Four times a year we invest $500k in a select group of startups. They move to San Francisco for three months, where we work intensively with them to get the company into the best possible shape, before they present to a large audience of investors on Demo Day. But YC doesn’t end on Demo Day. We and the YC alumni network continue to help founders for the life of their company, and beyond.
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