UX Designer

Andromeda Surgical; South San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Healthcare benefits

Wellness stipend

401(k) retirement plan

Visa sponsorship available

Early-stage hardware startup

Job summary

Andromeda Surgical, Inc. is seeking a creative UX Designer to craft the touchscreen interface used by surgeons to control a robotic system. You will operate at the intersection of hardware and software, shaping real-time interactions with high craft.

As the first designer, you will own research to pixel-level execution, build foundational design systems, and collaborate with engineers to deliver a capable, regulated product.

Qualifications

• 3–4 years of UX or interaction design experience.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating high craft.
• Experience in hardware–software interaction.
• Proficiency in 2D and 3D interface design including animation.
• Experience conducting user research with surgeons.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced startup with limited resources.

Responsibilities

• Design the touchscreen interface for real-time robot control.
• Create visual feedback conveying robot state and surgical progress.
• Conduct user research with surgeons to understand workflows.
• Rapidly prototype from sketches to high-fidelity mockups.
• Work across 2D and 3D interfaces with motion.
• Collaborate with hardware and software engineers to translate design.
• Prepare design documentation for regulatory processes.
• Define and maintain design guidelines for the surgical interface.

Skills

UX design

Interaction design

User research

2D design

3D design

Hardware–software interaction

Fast-paced environment

Tools

Unity

Unreal Engine

3D animation tools

Job description

UX Designer

About Andromeda

Andromeda is building autonomous surgical robots designed to help surgeons perform procedures more safely, consistently, and efficiently. Our engineers and designers work across robotics, software, hardware, machine learning, and clinical operations to bring robotic systems from concept to real-world deployment. We are a small, highly collaborative team of 11 that values ownership, curiosity, craft, and the ability to move quickly from idea to execution.

The Role

We are looking for a creative UX Designer who thinks like an artist and is comfortable at the intersection of hardware and software. This is not a traditional product design role. You will design the experience through which surgeons control a surgical robot via an iPad, making complex real-time interactions feel intuitive, responsive, and human.

Think of it like designing a game where every interaction has real consequences. If the surgeon pushes on tissue, the interface needs to respond visually, the way a game gives you feedback when you hit something. That level of craft and psychological thinking about interaction is what we are looking for.

As the first and only designer on the team, you'll be hands-on with everything from research to pixel-level execution, without a dedicated research team, design system, or large budget to lean on. We're looking for someone who sees that as an opportunity to build something foundational, not a constraint.

What You'll Do

• Design the touchscreen interface that lets surgeons control the robot intuitively in real time.

• Create visual feedback systems that communicate robot state, tissue interaction, and surgical progress clearly and immediately.

• Conduct user research with surgeons to understand their mental models, workflows, and pain points.

• Rapidly prototype and iterate on interaction concepts, from rough sketches to high-fidelity mockups.

• Work across both 2D and 3D, designing dynamic interfaces with animation and motion, not static screens.

• Collaborate closely with hardware and software engineers to translate design intent into a working product.

• Prepare and maintain design documentation to support regulatory and compliance processes (e.g. FDA filings).

• Define and maintain design guidelines for the surgical interface.

What We're Looking For

• 3 to 4 years of experience in UX, interaction design, or a related creative field.

• A strong portfolio that demonstrates thoughtful, high-craft work. This is the main thing we evaluate, more than years of experience.

• Experience designing something genuinely impressive, ideally involving hardware-software interaction.

• Real ability across both 2D and 3D design, including dynamic interfaces, animation, and how interactions feel to the user.

• Experience conducting user research. You should have done user research before and know how to translate insights into design decisions.

• Comfort working in a fast-paced, ambiguous startup environment with limited resources, where the scope evolves and you're expected to move fast with what you have.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in game design or mobile game development.

• Background at animation studios such as Pixar or Disney.

• Experience with Unity, Unreal Engine, or similar interactive tools.

• iOS or mobile app design experience.

• Background in industrial design, having designed physical hardware products (form, materials, ergonomics).

• Experience working in a regulated or compliance-heavy environment (medical device, aerospace, automotive), including preparing design documentation for regulatory purposes.

What This Role Is Not

• This is not a front-end coding role. We have a UI Engineer for that.

• This is not a traditional enterprise UX role focused on wireframes and user flows.

• This is not for someone who has only designed digital-only products.

What Success Looks Like

Successful designers at Andromeda combine strong craft and taste with a deep curiosity about how people interact with complex systems. They prototype quickly, conduct real user research, and design interfaces that feel intuitive even when the underlying system is complex. They collaborate closely with engineers, iterate fast, and care about building something that works in the real world, even with limited resources.

Why Join Andromeda?

At Andromeda, you will have the opportunity to work alongside a small, highly technical team tackling some of the hardest problems in robotics, software, and healthcare. Your work will directly shape how surgeons interact with our robot, and will have a direct impact on products deployed in real clinical environments.

We Offer

• Competitive salary and equity package

• Flexible healthcare benefits through an individual coverage reimbursement program

• Monthly health and wellness stipend

• 401(k) retirement plan

• Visa sponsorship available for eligible candidates

• The opportunity to help build a category-defining company from an early stage