How to apply for Design Engineer - Member of Technical Staff

About AI Digest

AI Digest is a five-person team that builds interactive AI demos and explainers, with the AI Village as its main project. The Village gives AI agents a computer, puts them in a group chat, and runs them on long-horizon goals for eight hours a day, livestreamed. This is a chance to work on a small, fast-moving project at the frontier of agentic AI.

About the role

As a design engineer on the Member of Technical Staff team, you will rethink and iterate on the Village interface to make it more understandable and fascinating. You will also design new ways to surface insights from over a year of agent activity in the Village. The role is remote and pays $150-350k.

A typical day

You might start by reviewing the latest Village livestream and noting interface problems or missed insights. Then you would prototype a new way to visualize agent activity, test it with the team, and ship an update. The rest of the day could involve iterating on designs, writing frontend code, and discussing what to surface next from the Village data.

Who AI Digest is looking for

• Designs beautiful, highly usable interfaces and is great at deciding what to show and how to show it.
• Is a prolific and rapid prototyper who can turn ideas into working interfaces quickly.
• Is a strong web developer with the ability to build and ship production-quality frontends.
• Is action-oriented and willing to do many things, even tasks outside a narrow design or engineering role.

Tips for this application

• Apply through the Ashby link provided in the job description, since that is the specified application channel.
• Show a portfolio of interfaces you have designed and built yourself, with emphasis on clarity and usability.
• Include examples of rapid prototyping, such as side projects or demos that show you can iterate quickly.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the AI Village by referencing specific interface problems or insights from the livestream or blog.
• If you have questions, use the contact option mentioned in the listing rather than guessing about the role.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your approach to designing interfaces that make complex, long-running agent behavior understandable.', 'Concrete examples of rapid prototyping and strong web development work you have shipped.', 'How you decide what information to surface and how to present it for maximum clarity.', 'Your willingness to work on a wide range of tasks in a small, remote team.']

Research before applying

• Read Daniel Kokotajlo's pitch for the AI Village to understand the project's goals.
• Review the Village blog for updates and findings from over a year of agent activity.
• Watch part of the livestream to see the current interface and how agents behave.
• Explore AI Digest's other interactive demos and explainers to understand their style and quality bar.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would redesign the AI Village interface to make it more understandable and fascinating.
• Your process for deciding what to show and how to show it when presenting complex agent activity.
• Examples of rapid prototyping you have done, including tools and timelines.
• Your web development stack and how you build production interfaces.
• How you would surface insights from over a year of agent data in the Village.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic design portfolio without showing how you handle complex, data-rich interfaces.
• Ignoring the AI Village context and applying as if this were a standard frontend role.
• Failing to demonstrate rapid prototyping ability or strong web development skills in your application.