Chai is a research lab working on AI to unlock biology. Our models design new molecules for new medicines. We are changing how biologists develop drugs, just as language models are changing how engineers write code. Our vision is a design suite for molecules, with applications across life sciences, agriculture, materials and beyond.
Our founders have been at the forefront of this field from the beginning. We are backed by Thrive, General Catalyst, OpenAI, Dimension and other tier-one investors. We partner with global life sciences companies like Eli Lilly on deals that are transforming industry.
We are known for talent density, rigorous research and pace of execution.
About the role
As Chai's first design engineer, you'll define how scientists interact with the most advanced drug design models in the world, and then build it. This is a design-and-build role: you own the interaction paradigm end to end, from research and low-fi sketches through polished, shipped interfaces in real code.
Nobody has fully defined what it means to design a medicine on a computer, so this category of software is yours to invent.
Molecular biology is a cluttered, dense, deeply technical domain, and your job is to make it feel obvious and intuitive. Molecular structures are some of the most striking visuals in science, and the product should live up to them: visual and aesthetic craft matters. A great model needs the right product around it to be useful, and right now the product provides just as much leverage as the models do - the design surface is wide open.
About you
We index on taste, range, and the rare ability to both design and ship. We're looking for someone who gets obsessed with hard problems and sweats the details. We look for:
5+ years designing exceptional products, with a portfolio showing end-to-end ownership of complex tools built for domain experts
The ability to build what you design: comfortable moving from sketch to Figma to interactive prototype to production front-end code, and fluent talking code with engineers
Experience designing AI-first products that break the mold and do new things in new ways
A bias for simplicity and minimalism in highly technical domains
A clear communicator who can articulate design decisions and synthesize complex science for cross-functional audiences, and a sharp listener who pulls the best ideas and the smallest details into the work
You're excited to dive into molecular biology, drug discovery, and AI/ML. A background in biology is not required - what makes the difference is craft, curiosity, and grit. Data visualization, data science, or scientific domain experience is a bonus.
We offerThe opportunity to work at the leading edge of AI research, with world-class people, on a mission that matters. We protect & promote a culture of high velocity and ownership. We offer highly competitive compensation.
Skills Required
- 4+ years designing web or data-heavy SaaS products; a portfolio that shows end-to-end ownership of complex workflows
- Comfortable moving from low-fi sketches to polished Figma files and interactive prototypes
- Able to learn enough about molecular biology and AI/ML concepts to model user mental maps accurately
- Skilled at planning and running user-research sessions, interviews, usability tests, and rapid feedback loops
- Translate insights into clear information architecture, task flows, and interaction patterns
What We Do
Building frontier artificial intelligence to predict and reprogram the interactions between biochemical molecules.
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