# Founding Design Engineer at Clera

Founding Design Engineer at Clera in San Francisco. On-site, full-time, paying $180k–$220k. Posted August 1, 2026.

- Company: Clera
- Location: San Francisco
- Workplace: On-site
- Job type: Full-time
- Pay: $180k–$220k
- Experience: 5+ years
- Posted: 2026-08-01
- Apply: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/clera/2e5c0f56-070f-4343-b98d-0a00e2114f72/application
- Source: https://jobmagic.ai/jobs/founding-design-engineer-clera-hdmhx2

## Requirements

- 5+ years building product interfaces, with a portfolio of shipped features demonstrating high polish.
- Primary ownership of a production design system or component library (public repo, portfolio, or detailed walkthrough required).
- Deep expertise in React, strict TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and component primitives (shadcn/ui, Radix UI).
- Authorized to work in the US — visa sponsorship is not available.

## Description

### About the Role

This is a founding-level, high-ownership position sitting at the intersection of design and engineering. You'll be the sole bar-raiser for frontend UX across a fast-moving, early-stage B2B SaaS company building an AI-powered pricing optimization platform. Your work will ensure that human-authored and agent-written UIs feel like one coherent, polished product — covering everything from the design system and component library to conversational surfaces on platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with the founders and a small, tight-knit engineering team, with enormous scope and direct influence over the product's quality and direction from day one.

### What You'll Do

- **Own the design system end-to-end:** design tokens, a shadcn/ui-based component library, and Tailwind CSS conventions applied consistently across the product suite.

- **Define and enforce frontend patterns** using React Query, React Hook Form, and Zod — ensuring agent-written PRs land consistent and polished by default.

- **Shape conversational agent interfaces** for constrained platforms (Slack Block Kit, Microsoft Teams Adaptive Cards), bringing the same visual and interaction quality as the core product.

- **Codify accessibility standards** — implement WCAG contrast rules and guardrails directly into brand guidelines and the codebase.

- **Maintain and improve frontend tooling and quality**: Biome configuration, Playwright E2E test coverage, and frontend performance optimization.

- **Translate design intent into code**: reusable component abstractions, motion (e.g., Framer Motion, Radix transitions), and tactile micro-interactions.

- **Partner cross-functionally** with founders and engineers to keep the frontend a thin, polished layer over the API.

- **Integrate AI coding tools** (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor) and custom lint/agent rules into the frontend workflow.

### What We're Looking For

**Must-haves (dealbreakers):**

- 5+ years building product interfaces, with a portfolio of shipped features demonstrating high polish.

- Primary ownership of a production design system or component library (public repo, portfolio, or detailed walkthrough required).

- Deep expertise in React, strict TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and component primitives (shadcn/ui, Radix UI).

- Authorized to work in the US — **visa sponsorship is not available.Required skills & experience:**

- Strong systems thinking: ability to translate visual decisions into tokens, component abstractions, and lint rules.

- Experience enforcing WCAG accessibility standards and integrating them into a living codebase.

- Hands-on experience with AI coding tools in production workflows (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor).

- Comfort acting as the sole frontend UX standard-setter across a company — you raise the bar, you own it.

**Nice to have:**

- Experience building non-standard AI interfaces: streaming responses, generative canvases, human-in-the-loop views.

- Experience designing and shipping conversational interfaces or chatbots for B2B end-users.

- Familiarity with Slack Block Kit, Microsoft Teams Adaptive Cards, or CLI design patterns for constrained UI spaces.

- Experience with animation and UI state transition tooling (Framer Motion, Radix) to enhance perceived speed and polish.

### Compensation & Benefits

- **Salary:** $180,000 – $220,000 USD annually

- Founding team equity commensurate with early-stage, high-ownership role

- Direct impact on product direction and technical culture from day one

### Location

This role is **on-site in San Francisco, CA**. The team works together in person; remote-only candidates are not a fit for this position.