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 a Product Designer: 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 team is already asking about you. Don't make them wait, apply!
Your day-to-day
We're hiring 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 you get
- A world-class team 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. We're rebuilding the studio around it, and you'll help define how it works
- A direct line to founders. Strong ideas go from concept to shipped in days, the decision loop is that short
- Trips to SF to work with clients. You get the epicenter up close
- Top-tier AI tooling on us (whatever's winning right now)
- Unlimited hardware & software budget
- Dinners, retreats and workations
- Unlimited budget for growth
The process
1. You first
Hit that big Apply button and tell us about yourself.
2. Vibe check
Let’s jump on a call, so we can both figure whether it’s a fit.
3. Show off
Join us for a design session, so we can see your wizardry.
4. Join the team
One last interview to talk details and that’s it, you’re on board!
The timeline
The process
Process description
Recruiters
