Software Product Design Engineer

Y Combinator; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental plans

401(k) plan with 4% matching

Generous parental leave

Flexible paid time off policy

Job summary

A leading startup accelerator in San Francisco is seeking a frontend engineer to develop critical user-facing tools. This role offers a dynamic work environment within a small team, allowing for high impact and fast-paced development. Candidates should have strong frontend skills, especially in React, and be eager to participate in shaping user experiences. Compensation ranges from $185K to $300K based on experience, alongside a full benefits package and generous relocation support.

Qualifications

• Experience in frontend development, particularly with React.
• Ability to craft intuitive user interfaces.
• Understanding of backend processes and API development is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and improve internal software tools.
• Shape UX/UI for Bookface, enhancing founder interactions.
• Develop investor tools to connect founders and investors.

Skills

Frontend development

UX/UI design

React

Full-stack development

Tools

Rails

Postgres

Job description

Y Combinator is run by a small team committed to helping founders build the next Airbnb, Stripe, Reddit, or Doordash. We work together on the same San Francisco campus where we run each YC batch, and we operate using the same principles we teach our startups. If you’ve read Paul Graham’s essays or watched YC’s videos, you already have a sense of what it’s like to work here: fast-moving, product-led, and focused on helping founders succeed. Working at YC puts you right in the center of the startup world.

About the role

YC relies heavily on software to run the batch and support thousands of alumni — and much of that software is deeply frontend-driven, used all day by founders, partners, and investors. The Bookface team builds YC’s most important user-facing tools, and nearly everything you work on will shape someone’s experience in the batch or alumni community. Current projects include:

• Internal Software. Build and improve the internal tools that keep YC running at scale — from productivity software for Group Partners who support thousands of companies, to systems that help finance and legal teams process high-volume operational workflows.

• Bookface. The primary interface founders use throughout the batch — from event schedules to office hours to pitch prep. You’ll be shaping UX and UI that founders interact with every single day.

• Investor Tools. A critical frontend experience used by thousands of investors. Your work helps founder and investors connect with one another, and further the support of YC raising billions of dollars in seed funding.

About the team

Our whole software team is only 15 full-stack product engineers, and we enjoy working in a small team with high impact and knowing each other by name. We have a broad range of experiences from bigger companies like Meta and Google, and many of us have started startups ourselves. True to YC advice, our product engineers talk to our customers regularly and ship fast. We also define our own roadmap and often design our own products when needed.

Our stack is pretty straightforward (Rails, React, Postgres), and the last three engineers have learned it on the job. For this particular role, you will lean heavily toward owning the frontend: crafting fast, intuitive interfaces, bringing new product ideas to life in React, and shaping the quality bar for everything users touch. Furthermore, the further you are able to go down the stack -- to create API endpoints, server-side controllers and database schemas/migrations -- the better able you'll be able to own entire products end-to-end.

Location: This is an in-person role at YC's campus in Dogpatch, San Francisco. This is where our users (founders, partners, and employees) are five days a week, so it’s optimal for you to be here with them. You must live in the SF Bay Area or be willing to relocate. We offer generous relocation support for those who want to move to SF to work here.

Compensation: $185K to $300K base salary, depending on experience. We also offer carry in the YC fund, which offers potential upside in the YC investment fund. (It would be the investment equivalent of upside at a startup).

Benefits: Our full benefits package includes medical, vision, and dental plans, infertility benefit, STD/LTD, life insurance, commuter benefits, flexible spending account, health savings account, 401(k) + 4% matching, generous parental leave, paid holidays, and flexible paid time off policy.

Work Authorization: Y Combinator is willing to sponsor certain employment visas in accordance with company policy.

Legal note: Y Combinator considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law, including San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance. Y Combinator is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of job applicants and complying with the California Consumer Privacy Act. The privacy policy of Ashby, Inc., the hiring platform used by Y Combinator, governs the collection of such data and can be found here.