Zed is building a new kind of programming environment.
We’re not just designing a code editor. We’re designing the environment where humans and AI build software together.
Zed combines high-performance local editing, real-time collaboration, and AI agents that can work directly in the codebase.
We’re looking for a Product Design Engineer to help shape how this environment works.
Designers at Zed work closely with engineers, prototype ideas directly in the product, and often implement parts of the interface themselves.
What you'll work onThe editor sits at the center of how developers read, understand, and evolve complex systems. Small interaction decisions can meaningfully shape that process.
You might work on:
Collaborative programming workflows
Interaction models for AI agents that read and modify code
Navigating and understanding large codebases
Keyboard-driven workflows and command systems
Interfaces for Git, debugging, and code exploration
Zed’s design system and interaction patterns
Prototyping and implementing UI in the product
Many of the interaction patterns we’re exploring don’t yet have established precedents.
How you'll workDesign is tightly integrated with engineering.
Designers often pair with engineers, exploring ideas directly in the product. Many interactions start as small experiments in the codebase rather than static mockups.
We care deeply about clarity, performance, simplicity, and craft.
What we're looking forYou might be a good fit if you:
Have strong product design experience
Care deeply about interaction design
Enjoy working on technical products
Prototype ideas in code
You enjoy operating on the bleeding edge, work well with ambiguity, and ship
You are excited to learn some Rust and get your hands dirty creating interfaces in Zed's custom-built UI framework, GPUI
We’re especially excited about designers who have worked on:
Developer tools or IDEs
Code editors or programming environments
Technical productivity software
AI-assisted tools or developer platforms
Complex productivity products
Zed is open source and built in public by the team behind Atom and Tree-sitter.
The editor is written in Rust with GPU acceleration for every frame. When you type or move the cursor, pixels respond instantly. That responsiveness keeps you in flow.
Zed is multiplayer by default, allowing developers to work together in the same codebase in real time. Much of our work happens through pair programming, with engineers collaborating directly inside the editor.
We ship improvements weekly and work closely with a community that cares deeply about the craft of developer tools.
Join us in revolutionizing the development experience. Your expertise could drive Zed's next game-changing feature!
Location: Remote (American or European time zones)
Skills Required
- Strong product design experience
- Deep focus on interaction design
- Prototype ideas in code and build UI prototypes
- Willingness to learn Rust and implement interfaces in GPUI
- Experience designing developer tools, IDEs, or code editors
- Experience with AI-assisted tools or developer platforms
- Experience with complex productivity or technical productivity products
Zed Industries Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Zed Industries and has not been reviewed or approved by Zed Industries.
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Flexible Benefits — Fully remote work and work-from-anywhere options are standard. Flexible working hours provide autonomy over schedules.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO is offered, with encouragement to take time as needed. Time-off flexibility supports work-life balance.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive health insurance is included as a core benefit. Health coverage is positioned as part of a premium benefits package.
Zed Industries Insights
What We Do
We’re Zed Industries, a small and passionate team with a vision for building the world’s best text editor—for you, and for your team. Zed isn’t our first editor. It’s the culmination of more than a decade of experience building tools for developers. We created the hackable text editor, Atom, and the pioneering software platform that launched an entirely new generation of desktop apps, Electron. We also built Tree-sitter, an advanced syntax parsing framework used by the most popular editors in the world. Building tools that matter is in our DNA. Now, we’re building something new again with that same drive and a new vision. We believe the best software is handcrafted, with unparalleled attention to detail. We believe software development is better when it’s a shared experience. We believe there’s a better way to write software—and this is just the start of the adventure.
