How to apply for Frontend Engineer

About Elicit

Elicit is a public benefit company building an AI research assistant that helps researchers make better decisions by prioritizing systematicity and transparency. Unlike many AI startups, Elicit focuses on supervising the process rather than just outcomes, aiming to create a scalable ML system that researchers can trust. Working here means contributing to a tool that augments human reasoning in academia and beyond, with a clear social mission.

About the role

As a Frontend Engineer at Elicit, you'll own the user-facing experience of an AI-powered research assistant, shipping features weekly that directly impact how researchers interact with complex data. You'll work with a modern front-end stack to build smooth, delightful workflows that make Elicit indispensable for its users. This role is pivotal in balancing rapid iteration with long-term system design, ensuring the product remains both innovative and reliable.

A typical day

You'll start your day with a quick stand-up to align on priorities, then dive into coding a new feature or refining an existing one based on user feedback. You might collaborate with designers and backend engineers to ensure seamless integration, and later test your work with real users or internal stakeholders. The day ends with a deploy or a plan for the next iteration, always keeping the researcher's experience at the forefront.

Who Elicit is looking for

• Has 3+ years of experience with modern front-end frameworks (e.g., React, Vue, or Svelte) and state management libraries, and can demonstrate shipping features weekly in a fast-paced environment.
• Possesses a strong eye for user experience and system design, with a portfolio showing intuitive, accessible interfaces that solve real user problems.
• Is passionate about advocating for smooth user workflows and can articulate how they've improved product delight in past roles.
• Thrives in a remote, autonomous setting and is eager to contribute to a mission-driven public benefit company focused on AI for research.

Tips for this application

• Highlight specific examples of features you've shipped weekly in previous roles, including metrics or user feedback that show impact.
• Showcase your understanding of Elicit's product by using it (or its competitors) and referencing specific UI/UX improvements you'd propose in your application.
• Emphasize your experience with modern front-end stacks (e.g., React, TypeScript, Next.js) and mention any work with AI or data-heavy applications.
• Demonstrate your commitment to user-centric design by including a portfolio link or case studies that detail your design process and outcomes.
• In your resume or cover letter, explicitly connect your work to Elicit's mission of transparency and systematicity in AI research.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your track record of shipping user-facing features on a weekly cadence, with concrete examples of how you balanced speed and quality.', "How you've advocated for smooth user workflows and improved product delight in past projects, ideally in a research or data-intensive context.", "Your familiarity with Elicit's product and mission, and why you're excited to contribute to a public benefit company focused on AI for research.", 'Your approach to front-end system design that supports long-term scalability while meeting short-term delivery goals.']

Research before applying

• Sign up for Elicit and use it for a research task to understand its current features, strengths, and pain points from a user perspective.
• Read Elicit's blog, especially any posts about their product philosophy, ML system design, and public benefit mission.
• Explore Elicit's tech stack (e.g., via their engineering blog or job posts) to understand what modern front-end technologies they use.
• Check out recent talks or interviews with Elicit's team members to grasp their vision for AI in research and how front-end engineering contributes.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would prioritize features to meet weekly shipping goals while maintaining high-quality user experience.
• A deep dive into your experience with a modern front-end stack: specific challenges, architecture decisions, and performance optimizations.
• Your process for designing smooth user workflows, including how you gather user feedback and iterate on UI/UX.
• How you would handle a situation where a feature you shipped didn't resonate with users—what steps would you take next?
• Your thoughts on building transparent and systematic interfaces for AI tools, and how you'd apply that to Elicit's research assistant.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic application that doesn't mention Elicit or show familiarity with their product and mission.
• Focusing only on technical skills without demonstrating a strong sense of user experience and design advocacy.
• Failing to provide concrete examples of shipping features quickly—vague claims without metrics or outcomes can hurt your candidacy.