Design Engineer

ABOUT AARU Aaru operates at the frontier of predictive intelligence, using AI to simulate and predict human behavior at scale. By generating and deploying instances of artificial intelligence that mirror humans, called agents, Aaru simulates entire populations with unprecedented accuracy. Our partners use Aaru to refine strategic positioning, identify and understand high-value audiences, validate concepts and messaging before launch, optimize pricing decisions, and build a continuously richer understanding of their customers through simulation. We provide organizations with invaluable foresight, empowering them to anticipate outcomes and proactively make the right decisions at the right time, every time. We're a small, dedicated, mission-driven team and we intend to stay that way. We believe the best work happens when exceptionally talented people are given ownership, trust and the space to operate without bureaucratic friction. We work with urgency and intellectual honesty and expect new team members to match our velocity. We seek individuals who thrive at the frontier, who push beyond conventional limits, who bring curiosity and conviction in equal measure, and who want their work to have demonstrable impact in the world. If you're energized by the idea of a small team doing things that feel impossible, let’s build together. ABOUT THE ROLE The Design Team owns designing, building, and evolving experiences across every surface of Aaru. As a Design Engineer, you will work with Product and Brand Designers, Platform Engineers, and Product Managers to bring those experiences to life in code. RESPONSIBILITIES - Explore and refine product experiences in code with Product Designers - Bring Aaru’s visual identity to life with Brand Designers - Partner with Platform Engineers to ship polished, maintainable product experiences - Shape solutions with Product Managers around user needs, priorities, and technical constraints - Advance the shared design system so designers and engineers can ship better work, faster YOU MAY BE A FIT IF - You’ve shipped products in close partnership with designers and software engineers - You can read and write front-end code, with strong interaction and visual design judgment - You can explain design and engineering tradeoffs to Product Managers - You thrive in ambiguous and novel technical domains - You ship fast and know when to slow down for polish - You communicate clearly in writing and in person - You have the courage to push back and the humility to change your mind STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO HAVE - Have built a design system for a platform or developer product - Have shipped 0→1 product surfaces in partnership with design, engineering, and product - Have brought a brand system into a working product experience LOCATION This role is based in New York City. Aaru is an in-person company, working 5 days a week in office. Candidates are expected to be located within the New York City metropolitan area or open to relocation. BENEFITS At Aaru, we take care of our people. In addition to a competitive base salary and equity participation, we offer comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, visa sponsorship and relocation support, and various other benefits and perks.