Lead Frontend Engineer

Department: Product

Location: San Francisco

Employment Type: FullTime

Zyphra is an artificial intelligence company based in San Francisco, California.

The Role:

As a Lead Frontend Engineer, you’ll lead the design and development of the user-facing side of our agentic system, shaping how users interact with AI across their desktop, browser, and filesystem. You’ll work across interface design, component libraries, and frontend infrastructure to craft seamless, accessible, and intuitive user experiences. You’ll work closely with engineers, ML researchers, and backend teams to bring intelligent agents to life in a way that’s beautifully simple and deeply useful.

You’ll Work Across:

• Design and development of browser-based and desktop interfaces

• Building and maintaining component libraries and styling systems

• Researching and refining user flows based on real-world usage and feedback

• Prototyping and implementing UI features in collaboration with ML, backend, and systems teams

• Making a complex AI product feel simple, accessible, and empowering for a wide range of users

What We're Looking For / Requirements:

• Strong frontend engineering skills with fluency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript/TypeScript

• Experience with modern frontend frameworks such as React

• Demonstrated attention to UI detail and usability, with a user-first mindset

• Ability to prototype and iterate quickly, both in code and with design tools like Figma

• Experience designing and developing responsive, accessible, and high-performance interfaces

• Strong intuition for HCI principles, accessibility, and visual clarity

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills—especially with engineers, designers, and ML researchers

Qualifications / Additional Skills:

• Experience designing or building browser extensions or desktop applications (e.g., Electron, Tauri)

• Experience with mobile platforms and responsive design (not required but helpful)

• Prior work on products involving complex workflows, automation, or agentic behavior

• Interest or experience in backend development, APIs, or AI systems to better interface with the full stack

• Familiarity with accessibility standards and inclusive design best practices

• A track record of launching polished and user-loved products

• Passion for systems-level thinking: building reusable design systems, libraries, and scalable patterns

• A clear, opinionated eye for elegant design and user delight

Why Work at Zyphra:

• Our research methodology is grounded in methodical, step-by-step approaches to ambitious goals. Both deep research and engineering excellence are equally valued

• We strongly value new and crazy ideas and are very willing to bet big on new ideas

• We move as quickly as we can; we aim to minimize the bar to impact as low as possible

• We all enjoy what we do and love discussing AI

Benefits and Perks:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and FSA plans

• Competitive compensation and 401(k) plan

• Relocation and immigration support on a case-by-case basis

• In-office snacks and meals provided

• Unlimited PTO and company holidays

• In-person team in San Francisco with a collaborative, high-energy environment