Shipd is our gamified data collection platform that transforms boring annotation into an addictive, competitive experience. With quests, bounties, and leaderboards, Shipd attracts the best contributors for complex data tasks -- and now we need a Founding Design Engineer to take our current platform and turn it into a polished, scalable system.
Build design systems: Create custom design systems and reusable UI components that support many data formats and workflows.
Own the Quest Builder: Engineer multi-step agent workflows and UI generation that make setup fast, consistent, and scalable.
Tackle complex UX challenges: Design for 6+ hour coding sessions, competitive programming culture, and real-time telemetry.
Ship gamification features: Build leaderboards, streaks, bounties, and community mechanics that drive engagement.
Engineer developer tooling interfaces: Extend VS Code forks, browser extensions, and trace viewers with performant, developer native-feeling UI/UX.
Ship without handoffs: Combine design + engineering to move fast, iterate, and polish.
Proven track record building 0→1 products and design systems from scratch.
Background in developer tools, gamification platforms, or complex marketplaces.
Ability to think like both a designer and an engineer—balancing aesthetics, interaction, and performance.
A founding mentality: scrappy, equity-motivated, excited to work hard to build something lasting.
Hybrid thinker: part game designer, part engineer.
Obsession with functional complexity, not just pretty UI.
Curiosity about developer psychology and how to motivate at scale.
Thrives in ambiguity; ships fast without waiting for process.
Experience with VS Code extensions, IDE plugins, or browser extensions.
Familiarity with marketplace/community dynamics.
Exposure to gamification design or engagement psychology.
Top Skills
What We Do
Providing code data vetted by the best engineers, so you can build the most capable models
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