We're a well-knit digital design studio working with products, brands and (ai-)code. Top founders come to us because we get early-stage like no one else. We help them define, build and scale future unicorns. That means we think beyond eye-candy (though a criminally good shader still hits). Fair warning: this is not a place to coast. The pace is set by founders who move fast, and we like it that way.
We're looking for an independent Product Desginer for a long-term B2B cooperation: someone hyped to build 0→1. You organise your own time and place of work and deliver the agreed results your way. Nobody here is breathing down your neck about what, when or how you do it. See a better route to the goal? Take it and take the cred.
The cooperation is non-exclusive: you're free to work with other clients, as long as it doesn't create an actual conflict of interest or breach confidentiality. Each project (scope, timeline, remuneration) is agreed separately, and taking one on is always your call.
Sounds like your kind of collaboration? Apply below.
What You’ll Do
We're looking for someone who builds, not just designs.
At tonik, a design doesn't stop at a Figma file. You take a problem from a founder's head to something people can click, test and ship, sometimes in days. If your instinct on hearing "design a settings page" is to generate a working version and iterate on it, keep reading. Our clients are ambitious startups (lots of AI and deeptech) that need a partner, not another wireframe.
- Designing products end-to-end: business, UX, UI, and increasingly working prototype or code
- Going generate-first (v0, Lovable, Figma Make, Cursor, Claude Code) and deciding what deserves Figma-level craft
- Showing work as clickable demos, not screenshots
- Running client workshops and being the point of contact for your clients
- Presenting and getting a 'yes!' to your ideas, defending them with data
- Leading your project design team (think 2-3 people) and collaborating with developers
- Sharing your AI workflows and having an opinion about what's happening at tonik
It’s a match if you’re like this
- Build things daily with AI-first tools (Cursor, Claude Code, v0, Lovable or similar) and have opinions on when each wins
- Go from brief to clickable, multi-screen prototype in hours, not days
- Still have strong UI muscles: AI gets you to 70%, your craft gets it to 100%
- Think product: edge cases, empty states, "what if there are 300 items?"
- Can read and tweak React/HTML/CSS well enough to iterate on generated code – you understand front-end fundamentals (components, layout, state) well enough to direct AI tools and iterate on generated code. You don't need to be a developer, but code isn't a black box to you
- Know UX methods, work well within design systems, handle ad-hoc client calls
- Have at least B2+ English (Netflix subtitles on, but not really looking)
- Are okay with weekly evening calls with US clients (ET/PT)
- Are self-organized, ambitious, and vibe with a high-performance, low-ego, drama-free culture
- Bonus: design engineer skillset
What the cooperation includes
- A world-class bench around you: high-agency, senior, low-ego. We set the bar high, raise it often, and pull you up with it
- Founders from the Valley's top rosters: a16z Speedrun, YC, HF0 and more. We've partnered with 200+ of them
- AI-native delivery, not pixel pushing. The studio runs on it, and how you use it can shape how we all do
- A direct line to founders. Strong ideas go from concept to shipped in days, the decision loop is that short
- Trips to SF when the project calls for it. You get the epicenter up close
- Top-tier AI tooling (whatever's winning right now) and every access the project needs
- EU-timezone cooperation, overlap only where the project genuinely needs it
- Optional invites to dinners, retreats and nights out. Come if you feel like it
The process
1. You first
Hit that big Apply button and tell us about yourself. Don't forget to attach your portfolio.
2. Vibe check
Let's jump on a call, so we can both figure out whether it's a fit.
3. Show off
You’ll get a task so we can see your magic in practice.
4. Seal the deal
One last call to talk details (e.g. the scope and model of cooperation, remuneration, expected availability) and that's it!
Process coordinators
