C

Staff Frontend Engineer

Cadre
Full-time
On-site
San Francisco, California, United States
Frontend Development

Staff Software Engineer (Frontend)

Location: On-site in San Francisco, CA
Company: Variant

About Variant

Variant is reinventing software design with AI—transforming a single idea into endless design explorations. Think of it as the “cursor for design,” empowering users to explore creative directions they never would have considered on their own.
  • Raised a $5.9M seed round in December 2024, backed by top-tier investors.

  • Currently, a 7-person team, where every line of code has immediate impact on product direction.

  • Founded in 2024 by seasoned engineers and designers from leading tech firms.

  • Positioned at the intersection of AI and design, tackling challenges in parallel AI generation, complex state management, and agentic backends.

  • Huge opportunity: operating in the $1T+ AI market with a product that makes software not only functional, but beautiful.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer (Frontend) to lead the development of complex, high-performance interfaces. You will play a key role in shaping the core product experience, taking ownership of zero-to-one product builds and solving hard technical challenges at the frontier of AI-driven design.

What You’ll Do

  • Lead frontend architecture and development of new product features from concept to launch.

  • Collaborate with a tight-knit team of engineers and designers to push the boundaries of creative tooling.

  • Build and optimize rich, interactive applications with demanding state management requirements.

  • Contribute to shaping engineering culture and best practices in a high-scope, fast-moving environment.

Qualifications

Seniority

  • 6–10 years of experience in software engineering, with strong emphasis on frontend development.

  • Track record of operating at staff level on zero-to-one product builds.

Work Experience

  • Background in early-stage startups (Seed/Series A) or experience as a YC founder.

  • Experience at companies known for complex frontend systems (e.g., Figma, Framer, Webflow, Canva).

  • Experience in demanding, startup-like environments (e.g., Cruise, xAI).

Hard Skills

  • Proficiency in React and Next.js.

  • Deep understanding of the DOM and browser APIs.

  • Experience building applications with complex state management (e.g., canvas apps).

  • Contributions to notable open-source projects (5k+ GitHub stars preferred).

Soft Skills

  • Thrives in high-scope, fast-paced environments.

  • Strong bias toward IC work rather than people management.

  • T-shaped mindset—able to stretch beyond core specialty.

Education

  • Strong academic background is a plus but not the primary focus.

Why Join Us

At Variant, you’ll join a small, high-impact team where your work has immediate influence on product direction and user experience. This is a rare opportunity to help define the foundation of a company positioned at the forefront of AI and design.