User Interface Design + Developer

User Interface Design + Developer Compensation: $150K–$250K base + equity (no bonus) Location: San Francisco, CA (5 days/week in office) Work Policy: On-site only Sponsorship: Not available Stage: Seed-stage surgical robotics startup | $14M funding | Founded 2023

Who Are We? We’re a seed-stage robotics company building autonomous surgical systems designed to dramatically shorten the learning curve for surgeons. Using off-the-shelf robotic hardware combined with advanced controls, planning systems, and machine learning, we’re creating intuitive interfaces that allow surgeons to issue high-level guidance while the system executes steps with precision and speed.

This is not incremental software. We’re designing real-time control systems for life-critical environments. That means low latency, high accuracy, computer vision for anatomical detection, and a user interface that must feel intuitive under pressure.

We’re early, well-funded, and building from scratch. The next hire will define how surgeons interact with our robots.

What’s in It for You? You will be the first full-time designer—owning the entire design process end to end.

You’ll invent human-robot interaction patterns from the ground up, not just refine an existing UI.

You’ll work at the intersection of robotics, gaming-style interactivity, real-time systems, and surgical devices.

You’ll collaborate directly with hardware, ML, and software engineers in a highly interdisciplinary team.

You’ll have meaningful autonomy, creative control, relocation assistance ($5–10K), and a direct path to technical leadership as the team grows.

What Will You Do? Own user research, requirements gathering, UX strategy, and full UI/UX execution from concept through implementation.

Design intuitive robotic control systems for touchscreen devices (iPads) used in surgical environments.

Build and ship interactive front-end applications combining robotics control, simulation, and real-time 2D/3D visualization.

Implement motion, animation, and high-performance browser-based interfaces using TypeScript and modern frameworks (React or similar).

Develop 3D visualizations using tools such as Three.js, Unity, Unreal, Babylon.js, or comparable engines.

Collaborate across hardware and software teams to integrate sensor data, control systems, and live feedback loops.

Rapidly prototype and iterate on complex interactive systems blending gaming mechanics, robotics control, and simulation.

Travel up to once per month to surgical sites to observe product usage and gather real-world feedback.

What Will You Need? Experience as a founding or early-stage designer who has built products 0→1—not just iterated on mature systems.

Proven ownership of the full design lifecycle: user research → concept → high-level design → refinement → implementation.

A strong portfolio demonstrating shipped products (design and coded work required).

Hands-on experience with interactive 2D/3D systems, gaming, robotics control interfaces, AR/VR, simulation, or animation.

Strong TypeScript and modern front-end development experience (React, Vue, Lit, or similar).

Experience with motion and animation frameworks (WebGL, Three.js, Unity, Unreal, D3, GSAP, Lottie, etc.).

Comfort with light-to-moderate coding (10–50% of role) alongside design ownership.

Strong UX instincts and experience gathering real user requirements.

Comfort traveling to surgical sites and observing real surgical procedures.

U.S. work authorization required (not open to OPT).

Strongly Preferred CS degree. Startup experience. Human Machine Interface (HMI) or Human Robot Interface (HRI) experience. Experience with real-time systems, WebSockets, physics engines, or 3D modeling. Mobile development familiarity (React Native, SwiftUI, etc.). Accessibility-focused design experience.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to invent entirely new interaction paradigms—not someone optimizing dashboards or maintaining form-heavy enterprise tools. You should be excited to design from scratch, code what you design, and see it used in high-stakes surgical environments.