Software Product Design Engineer

About the role

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, often interacting directly with users.
• You’ll also be plugged into the heartbeat of the startup ecosystem, surrounded by founders and builders working on the hardest problems.

This is a unique opportunity to combine design taste, frontend craftsmanship, and real product impact in a role with broad autonomy and high visibility.

• Location: This is an in-person role at YC's campus in Dogpatch, San Francisco.
• This is where our users (founders, partners, and employees) are five days a week, so it’s optimal for you to be here with them.
• 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, depending on experience. YC has a profit-sharing program, which is comparable to equity in an early-stage startup or carry in a VC fund.

Benefits

Our full benefits package includes medical, vision, and dental plans, infertility benefit, STD/LTD, life insurance, commuter benefits, flexible spending account, health savings account, 401(k) + 4% matching, generous parental leave, paid holidays, and flexible paid time off policy.

Work Authorization: Y Combinator is willing to sponsor certain employment visas in accordance with company policy.