Senior UI Engineer

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior UI Engineer

Company: Atomic Machines

Location: Emeryville, CA, United States; Santa Clara, California, United States

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Software Engineering / Front-End Development

Date Posted: 2026-09-02T23:14:52

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (3-10 years)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Develop and maintain complex, stateful front-end applications essential for manufacturing and engineering workflows, leveraging React 18 and TypeScript.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including AI researchers, process engineers, chemists, device engineers, designers, and software engineers to translate intricate domain requirements into intuitive and reliable UI solutions.

• Own the end-to-end development lifecycle for small to medium features, encompassing UI implementation, state management, validation, testing, documentation, and release processes.

• Drive improvements in the maintainability, reliability, and performance of the front-end codebase as the product and user base evolve.

📝 Enhancement Note: While the title is "Senior UI Engineer," the description emphasizes a deep integration with manufacturing and engineering workflows, suggesting this role is less about traditional consumer-facing UI design and more about building robust, data-intensive applications for technical users. The focus on "usability, data integrity, deterministic behavior, and technical precision" highlights the critical nature of this role within a specialized industrial/micromanufacturing context, aligning it more closely with GTM operations enablement through internal tool development.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the front-end development for internal applications, with an initial focus on maintenance, stabilization, and gaining a deep understanding of the manufacturing and engineering domain.

• Build and maintain a complex, stateful React + TypeScript application, specifically for a visual graph editor used in defining manufacturing processes.

• Work from first principles to deeply understand underlying problems, user workflows, and data constraints before designing and implementing solutions.

• Partner with AI researchers, process engineers, chemists, device engineers, designers, and software engineers to translate complex domain requirements into practical and effective UI solutions.

• Own small-to-medium features from conception to deployment, including UI development, state management, data validation, comprehensive testing, thorough documentation, and release coordination.

• Triage issues reported by manufacturing and process engineers, rapidly reproduce problems, identify root causes, and implement safe and durable fixes to ensure operational continuity.

• Maintain strict data contracts and ensure deterministic behavior across validation, state management, and data export functionalities, critical for GTM and operational accuracy.

• Add and maintain comprehensive unit tests using Jest and TypeScript to ensure code quality and reliability.

• Clearly communicate technical decisions, tradeoffs, and rationale through thoughtful Pull Requests, robust commit hygiene, and precise documentation.

• Proactively improve the maintainability, reliability, and performance of the front-end as the product and its user base evolve.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities clearly indicate a need for strong operational understanding within a manufacturing context. The focus on "deterministic behavior," "data contracts," and "validation" points to the critical role this UI engineer will play in ensuring the integrity and reliability of data used for manufacturing, AI/ML, and potentially GTM analytics, making this role indirectly supportive of Go-To-Market operations by providing essential internal tools.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Computer Science degree preferred; other technical degrees will be considered. Experience:

• 3-10 years of experience building software for industrial, robotics, manufacturing, scientific, or similarly complex technical environments.

• Proven experience building complex, stateful UI systems using React and TypeScript.

• Experience with graph or diagram editors, visual workflow builders, or similarly interaction-heavy applications.

• Experience solving complex, ambiguous technical problems across cross-functional teams with multiple stakeholders.

• Strong understanding of front-end state management, application architecture, and performance optimization techniques.

• Experience working with validation systems, schemas, data contracts, and deterministic outputs.

• Strong debugging skills and the ability to identify root causes across complex systems.

• Ability to reason from first principles rather than defaulting to established patterns or previous solutions.

• Ability to translate the needs of highly technical users from different disciplines into clear product and engineering decisions.

• A rigorous and precise communication style, particularly when describing implementation details, constraints, and technical tradeoffs.

• Comfort taking ownership of an existing codebase, including maintenance and stabilization work, rather than focusing exclusively on greenfield development. Required Skills:

• React 18: Deep expertise in building modern, component-based user interfaces.

• TypeScript: Strong proficiency in statically typed JavaScript for enhanced code quality and maintainability.

• State Management: Advanced understanding of state management patterns and libraries (e.g., Context API, Redux, Zustand) for complex applications.

• Data Integrity & Validation: Experience with schema validation (e.g., AJV, JSON Schema) and enforcing data contracts.

• Debugging & Root Cause Analysis: Proven ability to systematically identify and resolve complex technical issues.

• Technical Communication: Ability to articulate technical concepts, decisions, and tradeoffs clearly and precisely.

Preferred Skills:

• Direct experience with manufacturing systems, including MES, process planning, or manufacturing concepts such as recipes, methods, and catalogs.

• Experience with UX/UI design principles and a strong product/design sense.

• Vite: Familiarity with modern build tools for efficient front-end development.

• Tailwind CSS: Proficiency in utility-first CSS for rapid UI development.

• ReactFlow: Experience with libraries for building node-based editors and graph visualizations.

• Jest: Experience with unit testing frameworks for JavaScript/TypeScript.

• ESLint: Familiarity with code linting for maintaining code standards.

• GitLab API: Experience integrating with version control and CI/CD platforms.

• OpenAPI: Understanding of API specification standards for seamless integration.

• Okta: Familiarity with identity and access management solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "3-10 years" experience range suggests this role could accommodate candidates from mid-level engineers ready for more responsibility to seasoned engineers seeking to leverage their expertise in a specialized, high-impact domain. The emphasis on "reasoning from first principles" and "complex, ambiguous technical problems" indicates a need for strong analytical and problem-solving skills beyond typical front-end development.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Showcase projects demonstrating the development of complex, stateful UI systems, ideally involving graph editors, workflow builders, or similar interaction-heavy applications.

• Include examples of maintaining and stabilizing existing codebases, highlighting your ability to triage issues and implement robust fixes.

• Provide evidence of working with strict data contracts, validation, and ensuring deterministic outputs in your projects.

• Demonstrate applications where technical precision and data integrity were paramount, such as those involving scientific, industrial, or manufacturing data. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to understanding user workflows and data constraints before implementation, showcasing how you translate complex requirements into functional UI.

• Illustrate your process for end-to-end feature ownership, from UI design and implementation to testing, documentation, and release management.

• Highlight your methods for debugging and root cause analysis, providing examples of how you've resolved issues in intricate systems.

• Showcase your communication style through well-structured commit messages, thoughtful Pull Request descriptions, and clear technical documentation.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role like this, the portfolio should emphasize systems thinking and the ability to handle complex data flows and user interactions, rather than purely aesthetic design. Demonstrating experience with data validation and deterministic outputs will be crucial, as these are core requirements for manufacturing and scientific applications.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $165,000 - $220,000 USD per year.

Benefits:

• Equity: Stock options or other equity grants, offering potential for significant long-term financial gain.

• Comprehensive Benefits Package: Likely includes health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans (e.g., 401k), paid time off, and potentially other perks.

Working Hours: 40 hours per week (standard full-time).

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range of $165,000 - $220,000 USD for a Senior UI Engineer in the Bay Area (Emeryville/Santa Clara) is competitive and aligns with industry benchmarks for experienced professionals in specialized technical roles. The inclusion of equity suggests a startup environment with high growth potential, where employees can benefit directly from the company's success. The "Benefits" listed are standard but crucial for attracting top talent. The 40-hour work week is typical, but the nature of the role might involve occasional on-call duties or extended hours during critical release phases, common in fast-paced tech environments.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Micromanufacturing Technology / Advanced Materials Science. Atomic Machines is at the forefront of micromanufacturing with its Matter Compiler™ technology platform, enabling the creation of micromachines with unprecedented capabilities.

Company Size: The description does not explicitly state the company size, but the mention of "offices in Emeryville and Santa Clara" and the focus on a specific technology platform suggest a growing, potentially mid-sized startup or a well-funded R&D-focused organization.

Founded: The company was founded in 2017, indicating it is an established startup with a proven technology platform and likely moving towards broader commercialization or scaling.

Team Structure:

• The role is within the "AI and Modeling & Simulation organization," specifically on the "Data Engineering and Analytics team," indicating a strong data-centric approach.

• Collaboration is expected with AI researchers, process engineers, chemists, device engineers, designers, and software engineers, highlighting a highly cross-functional and interdisciplinary environment.

• The UI Engineer will work closely with these diverse technical groups to translate complex domain requirements into practical UI solutions. Methodology:

• Data-driven development, with a focus on AI/ML workflows, metrology, and telemetry data.

• Emphasis on rigorous engineering principles, including data integrity, deterministic behavior, and precise technical execution.

• Agile development practices are implied through the mention of iterative feature development, PRs, and release cycles.

• A "first principles" approach to problem-solving is highly valued, encouraging deep understanding before implementation.

Company Website: https://www.atomicmachines.com/ (Note: This URL was derived from the company name and common domain patterns; it should be verified.)

📝 Enhancement Note: The company's focus on a novel "Matter Compiler™" technology suggests a highly innovative and technically challenging environment. The emphasis on cross-functional collaboration and a data-centric approach implies that operations, in a broader sense (ensuring smooth internal workflows, data integrity for R&D and potential GTM analytics), is critical to their success. This UI role directly supports these operations by building the tools that enable them.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned as a "Senior UI Engineer," indicating a mid-to-senior career stage. It involves significant ownership, responsibility for existing codebases, and deep collaboration with highly technical domain experts. The role requires not just coding proficiency but also strong problem-solving, communication, and system-level thinking.

Reporting Structure: While not explicitly stated, the role is within the "AI and Modeling & Simulation organization" and the "Data Engineering and Analytics team." The Senior UI Engineer will likely report to a lead engineer, engineering manager, or director within this data/AI/modeling group, working closely with product managers and other technical leads.

Operations Impact: The UI Engineer's work directly impacts operational efficiency and data integrity across multiple departments. By creating intuitive, reliable tools for defining manufacturing processes, exploring data, and annotating for AI/ML, they enable faster R&D cycles, more accurate data collection, and smoother GTM enablement through better internal tooling. Ensuring "usability, data integrity, deterministic behavior, and technical precision" for these internal applications is paramount to the company's ability to innovate and scale its unique micromanufacturing technology.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in React, TypeScript, and complex UI architectures within a specialized domain (micromanufacturing, AI/ML data).

• Domain Expertise: Develop a strong understanding of manufacturing processes, materials science, and AI/ML data pipelines, becoming a valuable bridge between engineering and operations.

• Leadership Potential: As a senior engineer, opportunities may arise to mentor junior engineers, lead feature development initiatives, or even transition into technical lead or management roles within the engineering organization.

• Cross-functional Impact: Gain experience working across diverse technical teams, enhancing collaboration and problem-solving skills relevant to complex GTM strategies that rely on robust internal systems.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Senior" title and the emphasis on ownership and complex problem-solving suggest this role offers substantial growth for an engineer looking to make a significant impact. The blend of front-end development with deep domain integration provides a unique career path that combines technical depth with operational relevance.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The description mentions "offices in Emeryville and Santa Clara, California." This suggests a physical office presence, implying a traditional on-site or hybrid work environment rather than fully remote. The nature of the work, involving complex technical collaboration and potentially hands-on interaction with manufacturing processes or R&D, leans towards an on-site or structured hybrid model.

Office Location(s):

• Emeryville, CA: Located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, known for its biotech and tech presence.

• Santa Clara, CA: Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, a hub for technology companies. Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Environment: The role explicitly requires close partnership with AI researchers, process engineers, chemists, device engineers, designers, and software engineers. This implies a workspace designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, potentially with shared project spaces, meeting rooms, and open communication channels.

• Tools & Technology: Access to modern development tools, high-performance computing resources, and potentially specialized hardware or simulation environments will be crucial for developing and testing complex UI applications.

• Operations Team Interaction: Regular interaction with end-users of the internal applications (manufacturing, process, and engineering teams) will be key for understanding needs, gathering feedback, and troubleshooting issues, fostering a direct link between development and operational impact.

Work Schedule: Standard 40-hour work week is mentioned. However, given the critical nature of the applications supporting manufacturing and R&D, there might be an expectation of flexibility for critical deadlines or urgent issue resolution, typical in fast-paced tech environments.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in two distinct Bay Area locations suggests the company is committed to fostering in-person collaboration and leveraging the deep talent pool in those regions. For operations professionals, this means an environment where direct interaction with R&D and manufacturing teams is possible, leading to a better understanding of operational needs and challenges.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter or hiring manager will likely review your resume and conduct a brief call to assess basic qualifications, experience, and cultural fit.

• Technical Interview(s): Expect one or more technical interviews focusing on React, TypeScript, state management, data structures, and problem-solving. This may include live coding exercises or deep dives into past projects.

• System Design/Architecture Interview: Given the complexity of the applications, a session focusing on how you would design or improve a complex UI system, manage state, and ensure data integrity will likely occur.

• Cross-functional/Domain Interview: An interview with engineers or domain experts (e.g., process engineers, AI researchers) to assess your ability to understand complex requirements and collaborate effectively.

• Manager/Hiring Manager Interview: A final discussion to assess overall fit, career aspirations, and alignment with the team's goals.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Complexity: Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to handle complex state, intricate data models, and challenging user interactions, especially those involving graphs or workflows.

• Highlight Problem-Solving: For each project, clearly articulate the problem you were solving, your approach, the technical decisions you made, and the outcome. Emphasize how you reasoned from first principles.

• Demonstrate Data Integrity: Provide examples of how you've implemented validation, enforced data contracts, and ensured deterministic behavior in your applications.

• Showcase Collaboration: If possible, include examples where you worked closely with non-engineering stakeholders to translate requirements into functional software.

• Code Quality: Ensure any code samples or links to repositories are well-documented, follow best practices, and demonstrate strong TypeScript and React usage.

Challenge Preparation:

• System Design Scenario: Be prepared to discuss how you would architect a complex UI feature, manage its state, handle data validation, and ensure performance. Consider the specific context of manufacturing or scientific data.

• Debugging Scenario: You may be presented with a hypothetical bug or issue within a complex UI and asked to walk through your debugging process.

• Behavioral Questions: Prepare to answer questions about how you handle ambiguity, collaborate with diverse teams, communicate technical tradeoffs, and take ownership of existing code.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is expected to be rigorous, reflecting the "senior" level and the complexity of the role. A strong portfolio that clearly demonstrates the required skills, particularly in handling complex data and state, will be crucial for advancing through the application stages. The emphasis on "first principles" and "rigorous communication" suggests interviewers will probe deeply into your thought process.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• React 18: The core JavaScript library for building user interfaces.

• TypeScript: Used for static typing, enhancing code quality and maintainability.

• Vite: A modern front-end build tool for fast development and optimized builds.

• Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework for rapid UI styling.

• ReactFlow: A library for building node-based editors and graph visualizations, critical for the visual graph editor component.

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly mentioned, the role is within the "Data Engineering and Analytics team," implying potential use of data visualization tools or frameworks to present engineering and metrology data. CRM & Automation:

• GitLab API: Used for interacting with GitLab for code management, CI/CD pipelines, and potentially issue tracking.

• OpenAPI: Likely used for defining and interacting with backend APIs, ensuring clear data contracts.

• Okta: Used for authentication and access management, ensuring secure access to internal applications.

• AJV (JSON Schema): A powerful JavaScript implementation for JSON schema validation, crucial for maintaining data integrity and enforcing data contracts.

📝 Enhancement Note: The specified toolset (React, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS, ReactFlow, AJV) indicates a modern, efficient front-end development stack. The integration with GitLab API, OpenAPI, and Okta points to a well-structured software development lifecycle and secure application deployment. The explicit mention of AJV highlights the critical importance of data validation and schema adherence in this role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Precision & Rigor: A strong emphasis on technical accuracy, data integrity, and deterministic behavior, essential for manufacturing and scientific applications.

• First Principles Thinking: Encouraging a deep understanding of problems and a methodical approach to solutions, rather than relying on existing patterns.

• Collaboration & Cross-Functionality: Valuing close teamwork with diverse technical disciplines (AI, process engineering, design, software) to achieve complex goals.

• Ownership & Accountability: Expectation that individuals will take responsibility for their work end-to-end, including maintenance and stabilization.

• Clarity & Precision in Communication: Valuing clear, rigorous communication, especially regarding technical decisions, tradeoffs, and implementation details.

Collaboration Style:

• Interdisciplinary Partnership: Engineers work hand-in-hand with domain experts to translate highly technical requirements into functional software.

• Iterative Development: A culture that supports building, testing, and refining features through feedback loops, likely involving regular PR reviews and user testing.

• Knowledge Sharing: Encouraging clear documentation, thoughtful commit hygiene, and precise PRs to facilitate understanding and collaboration across the team and broader engineering organization.

• Problem-Solving Focus: A collective effort to tackle complex, ambiguous technical challenges by leveraging diverse perspectives and rigorous analysis.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to be highly technical, collaborative, and focused on delivering robust solutions for complex problems. For operations professionals, this means working in an environment that values accuracy, deep understanding, and teamwork to build tools that directly support critical business functions like R&D and manufacturing.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Translating Complex Domain Knowledge: The primary challenge will be to deeply understand intricate manufacturing processes, materials science, and AI/ML data requirements and translate them into intuitive, usable UI for technical users.

• Maintaining Deterministic Systems: Ensuring that complex stateful applications behave predictably and consistently across various inputs and user actions is a significant technical challenge.

• Balancing Maintenance and New Development: Taking ownership of an existing codebase requires balancing the need for stability and bug fixes with the desire to build new features and innovate.

• Cross-functional Communication: Effectively bridging communication gaps between highly specialized technical teams (e.g., chemists, AI researchers, software engineers) requires strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced UI Architecture: Opportunity to deepen expertise in building and scaling complex, stateful front-end applications, particularly in a domain-specific context.

• Domain Expertise Acquisition: Gain in-depth knowledge of micromanufacturing, materials science, AI/ML data pipelines, and manufacturing execution systems (MES).

• Cross-functional Team Leadership: Potential to lead feature development initiatives and mentor junior engineers, developing leadership and project management skills.

• Exposure to Cutting-Edge Technology: Work with novel technologies like the Matter Compiler™, providing unique insights into advanced manufacturing and its software enablement.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges presented are typical for senior engineering roles in innovative tech companies, requiring a blend of technical acumen and soft skills. The growth opportunities are substantial, offering a path for deep technical specialization and domain expertise development, highly valuable in the GTM enablement context.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a complex, stateful UI system you've built. What were the main challenges, and how did you ensure data integrity and deterministic behavior?" (Focus on React/TypeScript, state management, validation, and your problem-solving approach).

• "How would you approach designing a UI for defining multi-step, multi-material manufacturing processes? What data models and validation mechanisms would you consider?" (Demonstrate your ability to translate complex domain requirements into technical solutions, thinking from first principles).

• "Imagine a manufacturing engineer reports a critical bug in our graph editor. Walk me through your process for diagnosing and fixing it, considering potential impacts on other parts of the system." (Highlight your debugging methodology, root cause analysis skills, and communication strategy). Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about Atomic Machines and our Matter Compiler™ technology?" (Research the company's mission, technology, and recent news. Connect your skills to their innovation).

• "How do you approach working with highly technical domain experts from different fields (e.g., chemists, AI researchers)?" (Emphasize your communication skills, ability to listen, and translate needs).

• "This role involves maintaining existing code as well as building new features. How do you balance these priorities?" (Show your commitment to code quality, stability, and continuous improvement). Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure: Organize your portfolio by project, clearly stating the problem, your role, the technologies used, your solutions, and the outcomes/impact.

• Demo Key Features: For relevant projects (e.g., graph editors, complex data interfaces), be prepared to do a brief live demo or provide video walkthroughs that highlight your technical implementation and problem-solving.

• Quantify Impact: Where possible, use metrics to demonstrate the value of your contributions (e.g., improved performance, reduced errors, increased user efficiency).

• Showcase Code Quality: Have well-documented code samples or links to public repositories ready, demonstrating your proficiency in React, TypeScript, and best practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating not just coding skills, but also strategic thinking, problem-solving from first principles, and effective communication within a complex technical environment. The portfolio review will be a critical component, so showcasing relevant projects with detailed explanations is key.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior UI Engineer position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on Greenhouse.

• Tailor your Resume: Highlight experience with React, TypeScript, complex UI systems, state management, data validation, and any relevant experience in industrial, manufacturing, or scientific software development. Quantify achievements where possible.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 projects that best demonstrate your ability to build complex, stateful UIs, ideally involving graph editors or workflow builders. Ensure clear documentation of the problem, your solution, and the technologies used. Prepare to walk through these projects in detail.

• Prepare for Technical & Behavioral Interviews: Practice coding problems related to React and TypeScript, and prepare to discuss your approach to system design, debugging, and working with cross-functional teams. Research Atomic Machines' technology and mission.

• Understand the Role's Context: Familiarize yourself with the company's "Matter Compiler™" technology and the specific needs of internal users in manufacturing and R&D. This will help you frame your answers and demonstrate your understanding of the role's impact.

⚠️ 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.