Senior Software Engineer, UX

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Software Engineer, UX

Company: AssemblyAI

Location: United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Engineering / Design (UX/UI)

Date Posted: 2026-08-12

Experience Level: Mid-Senior (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Remote OK (within the United States)

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive the end-to-end craft and user experience of AssemblyAI's developer-facing products, including the Playground and dashboard.

• Translate complex AI concepts into intuitive, high-fidelity user interfaces and seamless interaction designs.

• Act as a key contributor to the product development lifecycle, from initial ideation and rapid prototyping to production-ready implementation in React and TypeScript.

• Champion and evolve the company's design system and visual language to ensure scalability and consistency across all product surfaces.

• Leverage AI-assisted design and development tools to enhance efficiency and innovation in the creation of AI-native interfaces.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is uniquely positioned at the intersection of design and engineering, requiring a candidate who can lead with design vision and execute it through strong frontend development skills. The emphasis on "AI-native interfaces" and "developer-facing products" suggests a need for understanding complex technical products and the user experience for sophisticated users.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Own the visual and interaction design of core product surfaces, including the developer playground and customer dashboard.

• Implement and build these designs into production using modern React and TypeScript frameworks.

• Define and uphold the highest standards for UX quality, focusing on interaction states, motion, visual hierarchy, and overall product "feel."

• Rapidly prototype rough product ideas to test concepts and gather feedback before full-scale development.

• Shape, maintain, and steward the company's design system and visual language to ensure consistent and scalable product growth.

• Collaborate closely with engineering, marketing, and sales teams to drive product direction and ensure cohesive execution.

• Integrate and utilize AI tooling and agents as a core part of the design and development workflow to accelerate shipping cycles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a "full-stack" design and engineering approach, where the individual is expected to both conceptualize and build. The emphasis on "owning outcomes end to end" and "moving from a rough idea to a polished, shipped experience without waiting for a spec" indicates a high degree of autonomy and initiative required.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong foundation in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design, or a related field is implicitly expected, demonstrated through experience and portfolio.

Experience: 5-10 years of progressive experience in frontend engineering with a significant focus on UX/UI design, product design, or a related role. Proven track record of shipping impactful, user-centered products.

Required Skills:

• A robust portfolio showcasing shipped product work that demonstrates strong design taste, craft, and a deep understanding of user experience principles.

• Genuine proficiency in UX and visual design, capable of conceptualizing and executing high-fidelity designs.

• Deep expertise in Figma, including the ability to move from low-fidelity exploration to high-fidelity, developer-ready designs and manage shared component libraries.

• Solid frontend engineering skills, with demonstrable experience building production interfaces using modern React and TypeScript.

• Fluency with AI-assisted design and development tools, with a keen instinct for crafting effective AI-native interfaces.

• Demonstrated comfort operating in ambiguous environments and a strong ability to own outcomes end-to-end. Preferred Skills:

• Experience designing for developer-facing products or complex technical platforms.

• Familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application in user interfaces.

• Experience with motion design and animation principles to enhance user experience.

• Contributions to open-source design systems or frontend libraries.

• Understanding of information architecture and its impact on complex applications.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "What You'll Need" section strongly emphasizes a dual skillset. The requirement for a "strong portfolio of shipped product work" implies a need for tangible examples of design execution, not just conceptual work. The combination of "genuine UX and visual design ability" with "solid frontend engineering skills" points to a rare but highly valued hybrid role.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase at least 2-3 significant projects that demonstrate end-to-end ownership of both design and development for user-facing features.

• For each project, clearly articulate the problem statement, your design process, technical challenges encountered, and the solutions implemented.

• Highlight your contributions to the design system or UI component library used in the projects.

• Provide examples of how you've used Figma for wireframing, prototyping, and creating high-fidelity mockups, including component management.

• Demonstrate your proficiency in React and TypeScript through code examples or links to live applications.

• Include a section detailing your experience with AI-assisted design or development tools and how they were leveraged. Process Documentation:

• Evidence of experience in defining and iterating on design processes, especially in agile or fast-paced environments.

• Examples of how you've translated rough ideas into polished, high-fidelity experiences, detailing the prototyping and testing phases.

• Documentation or case studies illustrating your approach to building and maintaining design systems and visual languages.

• Examples of cross-functional collaboration, showcasing how you partnered with engineering, marketing, and sales to bring products to life.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the role's emphasis on owning the "craft and feel" and bridging design with engineering, the portfolio is critical. It needs to prove not just design talent, but also the technical capability to execute that vision. Demonstrating understanding of the full product lifecycle, from concept to shipped code, will be paramount.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $180,000 - $240,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.

• Stock options/equity in a rapidly growing AI company.

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) policy.

• Opportunities for professional development, including conferences and training.

• Potential for significant impact and ownership in a lean, fast-moving organization.

• Access to cutting-edge AI tools and technologies.

• Competitive 401(k) plan (details may vary).

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, likely around 40 hours per week. The remote nature and emphasis on ownership suggest flexibility, but a commitment to delivering results and collaborating effectively within the team's schedule is expected.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range provided is for candidates in the U.S. The company notes that this range is a general expectation and may be adjusted based on candidate experience, qualifications, and internal equity. The emphasis on "capital-efficient" and "revenue-dense" teams suggests that equity may be a significant component of the overall compensation package, reflecting the company's growth stage and focus on impact.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Voice AI and Speech Understanding. AssemblyAI is at the forefront of developing advanced AI models that power voice applications.

Company Size: Small (under 100 employees). This indicates a lean, agile, and highly impactful work environment where individual contributions are very visible and significant.

Founded: The company was founded with a mission to build best-in-class Voice AI models. This focus on a specific, high-growth niche within AI is a key driver of its culture and product development.

Team Structure:

• The team is small and operates with a high degree of autonomy, minimizing bureaucracy and planning processes.

• This Senior Software Engineer role is cross-functional, requiring close partnership with engineering, marketing, and sales.

• Expect a collaborative environment where individuals are empowered to make decisions and drive initiatives without extensive gatekeeping.

• The "meritocracy" approach means contributions and impact are highly valued. Methodology:

• Data-Driven Decision Making: Implicit in an AI company, with a focus on metrics and performance.

• Agile Development: The emphasis on moving fast, shipping quickly, and iterating suggests an agile or lean development methodology.

• User-Centric Design: The core of this role is understanding and improving the user experience, especially for developers.

• AI Integration: A fundamental aspect of their product and internal tooling, expecting engineers to embrace and leverage AI in their workflows.

Company Website: https://www.assemblyai.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: AssemblyAI positions itself as a different kind of tech company – lean, fast, and focused on impact. The culture is designed to empower individuals with ownership and minimize red tape, appealing to seasoned professionals who want to make a direct contribution. The "AI-native" aspect extends to their internal operations and how they expect employees to work.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is classified as "Senior Software Engineer, UX," indicating a mid-to-senior level position. It requires substantial experience and the ability to operate independently, lead initiatives, and mentor others implicitly through example and collaboration. The "ownership" aspect suggests a path towards principal or lead roles if desired.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, a Senior Engineer in a small company often reports to an Engineering Manager or Head of Engineering/Product. Given the cross-functional nature, they will also work closely with product managers, designers (if any separate), and marketing.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct and significant impact on the core product experience for AssemblyAI's developer customers. By owning the UI/UX and frontend implementation, this individual will shape how users interact with the company's cutting-edge AI models, influencing adoption, satisfaction, and ultimately, revenue. The ability to translate complex AI into user-friendly interfaces is critical for market success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in React, TypeScript, frontend architecture, and AI-native interface design.

• Design Leadership: Grow into a lead design/engineering role, shaping the future of AssemblyAI's product design philosophy and system.

• Cross-Functional Influence: Expand influence across engineering, product, and marketing by driving key product initiatives.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to guide and mentor more junior engineers and designers as the team grows.

• Impactful Projects: Work on challenging problems at a significant scale, contributing to the evolution of the Voice AI industry.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title combined with "ownership" and "cross-functional" nature suggests this is not just an individual contributor role, but one with leadership potential and significant influence. The growth path is likely tied to the company's rapid expansion.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The company appears to be primarily remote-first within the United States, with the possibility of occasional in-person meetups or team gatherings, though this is not explicitly stated. The focus is on enabling employees to work effectively from anywhere.

Office Location(s): While the job is posted for "United States," indicating remote work is permitted across the country, AssemblyAI's headquarters are in San Francisco, California. This may suggest a preference for candidates in time zones that align with PST or EST for better collaboration.

Workspace Context:

• Remote-First Culture: Expect a dynamic remote work environment that prioritizes asynchronous communication and digital collaboration tools.

• Collaborative Tools: Heavy reliance on tools like Figma, Slack, Zoom, and potentially project management software to facilitate seamless interaction.

• Access to Technology: As an AI company, expect access to advanced development tools and potentially internal AI agents to aid in productivity.

• Team Interaction: Despite being remote, the small team size and emphasis on cross-functional work foster a close-knit environment, likely with regular virtual stand-ups, design reviews, and team syncs.

Work Schedule: Full-time, with a degree of flexibility often associated with remote roles. The emphasis on "owning outcomes end to end" implies that while hours may be flexible, meeting deadlines and ensuring product quality are paramount. Collaboration across time zones will be a key aspect of the schedule.

📝 Enhancement Note: The remote-first nature within the US is a significant factor. Candidates should be comfortable with asynchronous communication and proactive in seeking clarification and collaboration. The small team size means that remote collaboration needs to be highly effective.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will review your application, focusing on your resume and portfolio.

• Portfolio Review & Technical Deep Dive: Expect a session focused on your portfolio. You'll likely walk through 1-2 key projects, discussing your design process, technical implementation (React/TypeScript), and problem-solving approach. Be prepared to discuss design decisions, trade-offs, and the impact of your work.

• Design/Engineering Challenge: This might involve a take-home assignment or a live coding/design exercise. It will likely focus on your ability to translate a product requirement into a functional UI component or a polished design concept, incorporating AI elements.

• Cross-Functional Interviews: Sessions with engineering, marketing, and potentially sales team members to assess collaboration style, communication skills, and alignment with the company's product vision.

• Hiring Manager/Leadership Interview: A final conversation to discuss overall fit, career aspirations, and alignment with the company's mission and culture.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select projects that best showcase your dual expertise in UX/UI design and frontend development, ideally for developer tools or complex applications.

• Tell a Story: For each project, clearly articulate the problem, your role, the process (design and development), the tools used (Figma, React, TypeScript), the challenges, and the measurable outcomes.

• Highlight AI Integration: If you have experience with AI-assisted design or building AI-native interfaces, make this a focal point.

• Show, Don't Just Tell: Include high-fidelity mockups, interactive prototypes, and links to live applications or code repositories (if permissible).

• Focus on Impact: Quantify your achievements whenever possible (e.g., improved conversion rates, reduced user error, faster development cycles).

• Be Ready to Defend Decisions: Understand the "why" behind your design and technical choices.

Challenge Preparation:

• Practice Design Thinking: Be ready to approach a given problem with a structured design process.

• Code Fluency: Brush up on modern React patterns, TypeScript best practices, and common frontend challenges.

• Figma Proficiency: Be comfortable creating components, prototypes, and exporting assets efficiently.

• AI Concepts: Understand basic AI concepts and how they can be applied to user interfaces for developers.

• Communication: Practice articulating your thought process clearly and concisely, especially when explaining technical or design decisions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is heavily weighted towards demonstrating practical skills through a portfolio and potentially a challenge. Candidates should prepare to discuss both the "what" (the final product) and the "how" (the process, tools, and decisions) with equal depth.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Design & Prototyping: Figma (deep proficiency required), potentially others like Sketch or Adobe XD for comparison.

• Frontend Frameworks: React (expert level required).

• Programming Languages: TypeScript (expert level required).

• Version Control: Git, GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket.

• AI-Assisted Tools: Explicitly mentioned as a core part of the workflow. This could include tools like GitHub Copilot, AI design assistants, or internal proprietary AI tools.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Tools for tracking user behavior on the platform (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics) to inform design decisions.

• Internal dashboards for monitoring product performance and API usage. CRM & Automation:

• While not directly customer-facing for this role, understanding how the product integrates with CRM or marketing automation platforms might be beneficial.

• Internal tools for workflow automation and process optimization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The core technical stack revolves around Figma for design and React/TypeScript for frontend development. The explicit mention of "AI tooling and agents" suggests a forward-thinking approach to development and design, where candidates are expected to be early adopters and skilled users of AI-powered productivity tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact & Ownership: A strong emphasis on individual contribution, taking initiative, and driving results in a lean environment.

• Meritocracy: Decisions and recognition are based on performance and contribution, not tenure or hierarchy.

• Speed & Agility: Moving fast, shipping quickly, and iterating based on feedback. Minimizing bureaucracy and lengthy planning cycles.

• Craftsmanship: A deep appreciation for quality, detail, and the "feel" of the product, especially in design and engineering.

• Innovation: Actively pursuing cutting-edge AI technology and integrating it into products and workflows.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Close collaboration with engineering, marketing, and sales is essential.

• Direct Communication: Open and transparent communication, often asynchronous, given the remote setup.

• Proactive Engagement: Team members are expected to actively participate, share ideas, and seek feedback without needing to be prompted.

• Design System Stewardship: A collective responsibility for maintaining and evolving the design system to ensure consistency and scalability.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture at AssemblyAI is built around empowering individuals to make a significant impact. The values of speed, ownership, and craftsmanship are paramount for success in this environment, especially for a role that bridges design and engineering.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Bridging Design and Engineering: The primary challenge is effectively merging high-level design vision with robust, production-ready frontend code, especially within the context of complex AI products.

• Rapid Iteration: Keeping pace with the fast-moving AI industry and AssemblyAI's own rapid development cycles can be demanding.

• Ambiguity: Operating in a less structured, more autonomous environment requires comfort with ambiguity and the ability to define solutions proactively.

• AI-Native Interface Design: Creating intuitive user experiences for sophisticated AI tools that are still evolving presents a unique design challenge.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deepen AI Expertise: Gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge Voice AI models and their application in user interfaces.

• Advanced Frontend Architecture: Contribute to the evolution of AssemblyAI's frontend architecture and design system.

• Product Strategy Influence: Play a key role in shaping the product roadmap and user experience strategy for critical developer tools.

• Mentorship & Leadership: Opportunity to grow into a leadership role within a rapidly scaling company.

• Industry Exposure: Work with a team at the forefront of the rapidly expanding Voice AI market.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role offers a unique opportunity to tackle complex challenges at the intersection of AI, design, and engineering, with significant potential for professional growth and impact. The challenges are directly tied to the innovative nature of the company and the burgeoning field of Voice AI.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you led the design and development of a significant product feature from concept to launch. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?" (Focus on your end-to-end ownership, design process, and technical execution.)

• "How do you approach designing for developer-facing products, especially those involving complex AI capabilities like speech-to-text or NLU?" (Highlight your understanding of the target user, the need for clarity, and the integration of AI features.)

• "Walk me through your process for building or contributing to a design system. How do you ensure consistency and scalability across a growing product?" (Demonstrate your understanding of component-based design, documentation, and collaboration.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What excites you about AssemblyAI's mission in the Voice AI space, and why this specific role?" (Show genuine interest in AI and the company's market position.)

• "How do you adapt to working in a fast-paced, less structured startup environment?" (Emphasize your comfort with ambiguity, initiative, and results-orientation.)

• "Describe your experience using AI tools in your design or development workflow. What benefits have you seen?" (Be ready to discuss specific tools and their impact on your productivity.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each project, clearly outline: Problem -> Your Role -> Process (Design & Dev) -> Tools Used -> Challenges -> Solution -> Impact/Outcome.

• Highlight Dual Skills: Explicitly point out where your design decisions informed your development choices, and vice versa. Showcase your Figma work and your React/TypeScript code.

• Focus on Detail: Be prepared to discuss specific UI elements, interaction states, motion design, and why you made those choices.

• Quantify Impact: Use metrics to demonstrate the success of your work, if possible (e.g., user engagement, task completion rates, performance improvements).

• Engage and Discuss: Treat it as a collaborative review. Be open to questions and feedback, demonstrating your ability to receive and incorporate constructive criticism.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should heavily focus on showcasing the synergy between design and engineering skills. Candidates must be ready to articulate their process, justify their decisions, and demonstrate their ability to deliver polished, functional products in a fast-paced AI environment.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Software Engineer, UX position:

• Submit your application through the AssemblyAI careers portal (linked via Greenhouse).

• Portfolio Customization: Tailor your resume and portfolio to specifically highlight your experience with React, TypeScript, Figma, UX/UI design, and any work on developer-facing products or AI-native interfaces.

• Resume Optimization: Ensure your resume clearly outlines your years of experience, key technical skills, and quantifiable achievements relevant to product design and frontend engineering. Use keywords from the job description.

• Prepare Portfolio Walkthrough: Be ready to present 1-2 key projects from your portfolio during interviews, detailing your end-to-end process from design conception to production implementation.

• Research AssemblyAI: Familiarize yourself with AssemblyAI's products (Speech-to-Text, LLM Gateway, Playground), their mission, and their position in the Voice AI market. Understand their culture of speed and ownership.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.