Salary / Hourly Rate: $120,000 - $180,000 per year
Benefits: In-person SF team; high ownership on a 5-person, seed-stage startup.,Meaningful equity; fast path to scope as the design/function owner.
Role Information
Role Overview: N/A
Responsibilities: Lead end-to-end product discovery → UX/UI → frontend implementation for Sonia’s iOS app (voice + chat)., Prototype flows for therapy sessions, in-between-session engagement, and progress tracking; iterate weekly from user studies + data., Create and maintain a design system and accessibility standards; set quality bars for motion, micro-interactions, and readability in emotionally charged moments., Partner with founders + research to translate findings into product (e.g., changes that improve GAD-7 movement, adherence, safety triggers)., Ship pragmatically: instrument UX, review outcomes, and polish high-leverage surfaces first.
Qualifications: Design + Frontend hybrid: strong portfolio and implementation (Swift/SwiftUI or equivalent FE)., Ability to run lightweight user tests, synthesize insights, and iterate quickly., Experience designing mobile interactions for complex, stateful conversations (voice preferred)., Bonus: familiarity with LLM/AI product UX, safety affordances, or digital mental-health., HUGE BONUS: Voice interaction design; UX for sensitive contexts (mental health); metrics literacy around GAD-7/PHQ-9.
Minimum Requirements: Has worked at a high-growth startup and thrived in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment.,Attended a top-tier university or participated in entrepreneurship accelerators / elite programs, demonstrating high agency and ambition.,In-person, San Francisco (team works on-site). (From founder email + YC page),Portfolio showing shipped mobile work and hands-on build ownership.
Screening Questions: Please share your portfolio:,2–3 minute video (Loom or Google Drive): Record a 2-3 minute video introducing yourself and screen-sharing one project you’re proud of. If possible, keep your camera on so we can see how you communicate.,Why Sonia? What about our mission (building a safe AI therapist, voice + text) and our in-person SF culture resonates with you?
Company Information
About Company: N/A
Culture: N/A
Additional Information
Interview Process: Step 1: Vibe check call — 15 minsQuick introduction, alignment on mission and role, confirm in-person SF and work-auth fit.Step 2: Take-home exercise — ~4 hoursSmall UX/FE task tailored to our app (voice + chat). Show how you scope, make trade-offs, and move from rough concept → testable prototype. Include brief notes on decisions and what you’d test next.Step 3: Portfolio & design review — 30–45 minsWalk us through two shipped, end-to-end projects (discovery → design → build). Focus on user outcomes, what changed after launch, and how you used data or research to iterate.Step 4: In-person trial in SF — 1–2 days (paid)Work on a scoped feature with the team. We’ll pair on product discovery, flows (SwiftUI or equivalent), polish, and instrumentation. We look for clarity, speed, taste, communication, and how you reason about safety and measurable outcomes.Step 5: OfferWe’ll debrief quickly, share references as needed, and discuss compensation/equity within the YC-listed range for this role.
Day to day: Design and ship Sonia’s iOS experience end to end: talk to users (“clients”), review app interaction data, sketch and prototype flows for voice and chat sessions, build SwiftUI edits, and instrument what you ship so we can see what changes for users. You’ll alternate between quick product discovery, Figma, and hands-on implementation, iterating weekly with founders. The goal of each cycle is a measurable improvement in user experience and, over time, in validated outcomes like GAD-7, while maintaining safety throughout the experience.
Team: You’ll work directly with the three founders on a five-person, SF-based team; collaboration is in person. Expect tight feedback loops with the AI and research functions, with high ownership over what to build, how it should feel, and the first implementation.
Growth: As one of the first design/FE hires, you’ll define the design system, set quality bars, and establish product practices that future teammates will follow. There’s fast scope growth into leading multi-month initiatives (e.g., new session modalities, adherence features, evaluation dashboards) and, as the team scales, the opportunity to hire and mentor designers/engineers while shaping processes that keep Sonia outcome-focused and safe.
Ideal Candidate Profile: We’re looking for a design–engineering hybrid who owns discovery → UX/UI → implementation for our iOS app, iterates quickly with the founders in person in San Francisco, and cares deeply about measurable outcomes and safety.What makes you a strong fit • You’ve shipped mobile product end-to-end (portfolio shows discovery, design, and hands-on build), ideally in Swift/SwiftUI. • You can design stateful conversational experiences (voice + chat) and instrument what you ship to learn quickly. • You use research and data to decide—e.g., you can explain how you’d evaluate changes with validated measures like GAD-7, not just engagement metrics. • You thrive on small-team pace and high ownership, collaborating daily with founders in person in SF. • You treat safety as a product feature and can describe guardrails you’ve designed for sensitive contexts. Benchmark profile (from founders) • Design: young, hungry, ideally with some engineering skills or interest; new-grad OK. • https://x.com/floguo (design engineer; strong product taste + build skills).Signals we’re likely to pass • Only visual polish with no shipped, user-validated work. • Can’t work in person in San Francisco. • No experience designing or building for voice/chat or other safety-critical UX.Why this is exciting • Mission with evidence: Sonia is building a safe AI therapist (voice + text) and publicly emphasizes outcomes; you’ll shape how the app looks, feels, and measures progress from day one.
