Founding Product Designer

Conduit; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top tier pay and equity

Generational opportunity

Zero bureaucracy

Direct collaboration with the founder and exec team

Job summary

A leading automation technology company based in California is seeking a Founding Design Engineer to craft the user experience for its innovative platform. The role involves designing human-robot interactions and building intuitive interfaces that enhance automation systems. The ideal candidate will be fluent in interaction design and capable of prototyping in tools like Figma. This position offers top-tier compensation and equity, along with a unique opportunity to shape the future of industrial automation.

Qualifications

• Fluent in interaction design and storytelling through interfaces.
• Experienced with prototyping and motion tools.
• Comfortable in technical environments and eager to learn.

Responsibilities

• Design how humans interact with robots and automation.
• Prototype ideas through motion and mockups.
• Collaborate with engineers to deliver elegant designs.
• Collaborate with engineers and customers on factory-floor insights and automation.
• Bridge design and engineering through practical implementation across tech stacks.

Skills

Interaction design

Visual hierarchy

Prototyping tools (Figma, Framer)

HTML

CSS

TypeScript

Tools

Figma

Framer

HTML/CSS/TypeScript

Job description

Conduit's FactoryOS platform allows manufacturers to scale production ready automation solutions in days, not months. With a suite of powerful applications, we allow manufacturers to automate faster and smarter by coordinating every robot, machine, and system on one platform. At Conduit, our mission is to give every American manufacturer the power to automate their factories at lightning speed.

We’re already deployed in production at top manufacturers and growing fast. Backed by leading investors, and built by a team that moves at light speed with deep conviction in American industrial dominance.

The Role

As the Founding Design Engineer, you’ll define the visual and interaction DNA of Conduit — the next-generation automation platform that’s transforming how factories modernize. You’ll craft the foundational product experience that unites engineers, operators, and machines through a single orchestration layer. Your work will guide how people see, touch, and understand automation itself.

What you’ll do

Design how humans interact with robots. You’ll create the interfaces, gestures, and feedback loops that define the future relationship between people and machines — from mobile robots on the floor to analytics dashboards in the cloud.

• Shape the core product language. From early conceptual sketches to high-fidelity interfaces, you’ll define the design system and interaction principles that scale across Conduit’s ecosystem — from fleet control to mission planning to AI‑assisted insights.
• Design workflows that feel inevitable. You’ll translate complex industrial processes into intuitive, visual logic — building interfaces that make data, devices, and automation feel human and alive.
• Prototype relentlessly. You’ll bring ideas to life through motion, mockups, and working prototypes that validate and inspire.
• Lead with insight. You’ll partner closely with our forward‑deployed engineers and customers on factory floors, gathering insights directly from the people who run automation every day.
• Bridge design and engineering. You’ll collaborate with software and robotics engineers to ship elegant, performant designs — fluent enough in HTML, CSS, TypeScript, and component systems to make the possible real.

You have

A founder‑mindset designer — you care about building a platform from first principles, not just polishing pixels.

• Fluent in interaction design, visual hierarchy, and storytelling through interfaces.
• Experienced with prototyping and motion tools (Figma, Framer, or similar).
• Comfortable in technical, high‑context environments — you love learning how systems actually work.
• Excited by the idea of being the first — establishing the creative north star for a platform that will define modern manufacturing.

What we offer

• Top tier pay and equity: we want to make it easy to be at Conduit.
• Generational opportunity. Be early at a company defining the software layer for industrial automation.
• American reindustrialization is happening. We’re building the platform to make it real — faster.
• Zero bureaucracy. High impact. You’ll be on the front lines, solving real problems for real factories.
• You will level up. You’ll work directly with the founder and exec team.

Interested candidates

Send resume, cover letter, and GitHub to [e-mail].

Conduit is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.