Design Engineer

Job description

ABOUT CHAI DISCOVERY Chai builds the design suite for molecules. We train frontier models that learn the underlying foundations of biochemical structure and interaction, so scientists can move faster and pursue targets that other methods cannot reach. AI is reinventing life sciences the same way it reinvented software engineering, and Chai is at the forefront of this shift. Leading pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly https://endpoints.news/eli-lilly-chai-discovery-sign-ai-software-deal/, Pfizer https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2026/06/04/why-pfizer-and-eli-lilly-are-betting-on-this-13-billion-ai-drug-discovery-startup/, and Novartis https://www.chaidiscovery.com/news/novartis-partnership are rapidly adopting our platform to power their drug discovery programs. Our mission is to accelerate progress towards new cures and better science, and there are countless interesting problems on the road ahead. About the role As Chai's first design engineer, you'll define how scientists interact with the most advanced drug design models in the world, and then build it. This is a design-and-build role: you own the interaction paradigm end to end, from research and low-fi sketches through polished, shipped interfaces in real code. Nobody has fully defined what it means to design a medicine on a computer, so this category of software is yours to invent. Molecular biology is a cluttered, dense, deeply technical domain, and your job is to make it feel obvious and intuitive. Molecular structures are some of the most striking visuals in science, and the product should live up to them: visual and aesthetic craft matters. A great model needs the right product around it to be useful, and right now the product provides just as much leverage as the models do - the design surface is wide open. About you We index on taste, range, and the rare ability to both design and ship. We're looking for someone who gets obsessed with hard problems and sweats the details. We look for: - 5+ years designing exceptional products, with a portfolio showing end-to-end ownership of complex tools built for domain experts - The ability to build what you design: comfortable moving from sketch to Figma to interactive prototype to production front-end code, and fluent talking code with engineers - Experience designing AI-first products that break the mold and do new things in new ways - A bias for simplicity and minimalism in highly technical domains - A clear communicator who can articulate design decisions and synthesize complex science for cross-functional audiences, and a sharp listener who pulls the best ideas and the smallest details into the work You're excited to dive into molecular biology, drug discovery, and AI/ML. A background in biology is not required - what makes the difference is craft, curiosity, and grit. Data visualization, data science, or scientific domain experience is a bonus. WE OFFER The opportunity to work at the vanguard of AI research and frontier biology, with world-class people, on a mission that matters. We protect & promote a culture of high velocity and ownership. We compensate our team accordingly.