Founding Design Engineer, AI Capability Development (AI)

TL;DR

Founding Design Engineer, AI Capability Development (AI): Building paradigms to help people become more capable using AI, shipping features based on discoveries. Focus on integrating skill development into product design and measuring success by how users grow.

Location: Currently, staff is expected to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time, in San Francisco, CA or New York City, NY.

Salary: $1 - $2 USD

Company

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems that are safe and beneficial for users and society.

What you will do

• Ship features that help users develop real skill with AI, measuring success by capability growth, not time-on-site.
• Architect end-to-end prototypes (front-end and back-end) that test new interaction paradigms, with particular attention to the front-of-the-frontend: motion, polish, and interaction feel.
• Define technical direction for the team and establish patterns others can follow.
• Build relationships across Product, Design, and Research to influence how skill development principles shape Anthropic's broader product strategy.
• Translate research insights about skill development and human-AI collaboration into shipped product through close collaboration with researchers.
• Document and share your work through clear writing, prototypes, and presentations that influence thinking across the organization.

Requirements

• 6+ years building and shipping web products, with deep expertise across the stack.
• Strong front-end craft: TypeScript/JavaScript, React, CSS—with an eye for interaction design, motion, and visual detail.
• Solid back-end and data pipeline experience: Python, API design, analytics infrastructure.
• A portfolio showcasing innovative interaction designs and high-quality implementations.
• Track record of independently driving features from prototype to production.
• Experience setting vision, shaping team strategy, and building conviction across cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice to have

• Experience in developer tools, creative tools, learning platforms, or other products where user skill development and mastery matter more than time-on-site.
• Background in learning sciences, cognitive science, HCI, skill acquisition research, or educational psychology (formal or self-directed).
• Experience with experimentation frameworks, A/B testing, or analytics that measure capability development in production.
• Previous experience in research labs, frontier tech companies, or startups with high autonomy and ambiguity.
• Published writing, talks, or open-source work on skill development, human-AI interaction, or product philosophy.

Culture & Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits.
• Optional equity donation matching.
• Generous vacation and parental leave.
• Flexible working hours.
• Lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues.