Senior Design Engineer

AssemblyAI develops Voice AI technology that helps companies build applications capable of understanding and working with spoken audio. Its models support large-scale speech and voice products, processing millions of hours of audio and serving a substantial volume of API activity.

Despite operating at significant scale, AssemblyAI maintains a relatively small team. The company emphasizes speed, individual ownership, and giving team members the ability to influence products directly without multiple layers of approval.

Its technology is used by companies including Granola, Fireflies, Figure AI, and CallRail.

About the Role

AssemblyAI is looking for a Senior Product Designer to take significant ownership of the experience across its developer-facing products.

The position combines Product Design with frontend engineering. You'll design experiences across core surfaces such as the Playground and dashboard, then have the ability to implement those ideas directly using React and TypeScript.

The focus goes beyond making interfaces functional. AssemblyAI wants someone who cares about the details that make software feel polished — including hierarchy, interaction states, information density, movement, feedback, and overall visual quality.

You'll work closely with Engineering, Marketing, and other teams, often taking an early or loosely defined idea all the way to a finished product experience.

What You'll Do

• Lead visual and interaction design across AssemblyAI's main product interfaces.
• Transform early-stage concepts into thoughtful, high-fidelity product experiences.
• Prototype ideas quickly to explore interactions and validate direction before development.
• Build and refine production interfaces using React and TypeScript.
• Establish a strong standard for usability, visual craft, motion, hierarchy, and interaction quality.
• Improve the experience of technical users working with AssemblyAI's Voice AI technology.
• Develop and evolve the company's design system and reusable component patterns.
• Ensure the visual language remains coherent as the product expands.
• Work directly with Engineering and Marketing when defining solutions and product direction.
• Move projects forward independently without requiring fully developed specifications.
• Incorporate AI tools and agents into design and development workflows to accelerate exploration and shipping.

What They're Looking For

AssemblyAI is looking for someone with a strong design foundation who is also capable of implementing sophisticated interfaces.

Key qualifications include:

• A portfolio showing polished digital products that have reached production.
• Strong Product Design, UX, interaction, and visual design capabilities.
• Excellent visual judgment and attention to interface details.
• Advanced proficiency with Figma, from early exploration through production-ready designs.
• Experience creating and maintaining shared components and design libraries.
• Ability to produce detailed prototypes and communicate interaction behavior.
• Practical frontend engineering experience.
• Confidence building production interfaces with React and TypeScript.
• Experience using AI-assisted tools within design and development workflows.
• Understanding of how AI-native interfaces differ from conventional software experiences.
• Ability to work effectively when requirements or solutions are initially unclear.
• Strong end-to-end ownership, from identifying the problem through implementation and launch.

Design + Frontend Engineering

A defining aspect of this position is the ability to move directly between design and production code.

Design remains the primary discipline, but frontend development gives you the ability to bring your own ideas into the product rather than relying entirely on a traditional design-to-engineering handoff.

That could mean moving from an early Figma exploration to an interactive prototype, refining the experience, and then helping build the final React interface yourself.

The role therefore suits designers who enjoy being close to implementation and want control over details that can sometimes disappear between design and development.

AI-Native Product Design

Because AssemblyAI's core business is Voice AI, you'll be designing for users who are actively building with artificial intelligence.

The company is looking for someone comfortable thinking about AI-native product interactions while also using AI tools and agents within their own workflow.

AI-assisted design and development should help you explore ideas, prototype, iterate, and ship faster — while strong human product judgment remains central to the final experience.

Nice to Have

Additional experience that could be valuable includes:

• Motion design and interface animation.
• Designing purposeful micro-interactions and transitions.
• Illustration or visual storytelling.
• Creating original graphics and diagrams.
• Experience with developer-focused software.
• Designing API-first platforms or technical products.
• Understanding how developers evaluate and interact with technical tools.

Who This Role Could Suit

This position could be particularly interesting for a Senior Product Designer with Design Engineer capabilities.

It's a strong match for someone who enjoys combining:

Product thinking → UX → visual design → prototyping → AI-assisted workflows → frontend implementation

You'll have considerable ownership over both how AssemblyAI's products work and how they feel, while operating within a small team building products at significant scale.

Compensation

The expected salary range for U.S.-based candidates is $180,000–$240,000.

The final offer will depend on factors such as relevant experience, skill level, qualifications demonstrated during the hiring process, and internal compensation considerations.

AssemblyAI may consider candidates with different experience levels, in which case the compensation range may also change.