Design Engineer
Lean In
Apply to this jobAbout Lean In & The Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation
THE ROLE
We're hiring a Design Engineer - a rare hybrid who both designs and builds. You'll own experiences end to end: research and design the interface, then write the code that brings it to life. As AI collapses the distance between idea and implementation, the most valuable people are those who move fluidly across the whole arc of a product - taste and craft on one side, engineering rigor on the other. You'll have real autonomy, direct influence on the experiences we put in front of our community, and room to grow alongside the team and platforms you help shape.
What You'll Do
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Lead the end-to-end design process — research, concept, and prototypes for web and mobile.
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Build and evolve design systems and patterns that stay consistent and scale across products.
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Spot opportunities to make the user experience better and proactively propose thoughtful solutions.
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Take features from design concept to production release.
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Develop responsive, accessible front-end experiences using modern JavaScript frameworks.
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Write clean, maintainable, well-tested code, and troubleshoot and debug across the stack.
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Partner with product, data, and leadership to translate user needs into shipped solutions.
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Optimize performance, accessibility, and security across everything you build.
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Help shape engineering and design standards as the team grows.
Design the experience
Build the product
Own the craft
What You Will Bring
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3+ years across design and engineering — or deep experience in one with demonstrated ability in the other.
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A portfolio that shows user-centered thinking and strong execution.
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Expert proficiency in Figma, including components, variants, auto-layout, and design systems.
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Strong front-end skills: modern JavaScript frameworks, HTML5, and CSS3.
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Working back-end proficiency (Python, Node.js, Ruby, Java, etc.) and comfort building RESTful APIs.
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A strong foundation in interaction design, visual design, and information architecture.
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Deep understanding of responsive design, accessibility standards, and inclusive design principles.
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Fluency with — or strong curiosity about — AI-assisted design and development tools.
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A self-starter who thrives with autonomy and drives projects forward with minimal direction.
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Strong communication and presentation skills, and the ability to collaborate across a small team.
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A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Design, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
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A deep commitment to Lean In's mission to inspire and equip women to lead.
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Alignment with the Sandberg Bernthal Family Foundation's initiatives, including building resilience and driving social impact.
Compensation (from employer):
130000–200000 USD per year
Summary
Design and build web and mobile experiences, develop code, and improve user interfaces.
Job title
Design Engineer
Experience level
3+ years
Minimum experience
3+ years exp
Industry
nonprofit
Location requirements
San Francisco, CA, on-site role
Salary
$130k–$200k
Management role
No
Required skills
Preferred skills
Specializations
Structured locations inferred from the posting.
San Francisco, CA, USA