Product Design Engineer at Zed Industries building interfaces for AI-assisted code editing and collaborative programming. Focus on interaction design for AI agents, developer workflows, and real-time collaboration in a Rust-based editor.
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.
The 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.
Design 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.
You 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)