Job description

ABOUT SKIFFRA Skiffra is building the intelligence layer for the physical world. We translate complex, real-world environments into clear, actionable data. While most AI companies focus on digital industries, we design AI native orchestration systems for the sectors that extract, move, and build ecosystems around us. We turn messy, high stakes operations into intelligent, adaptive workflows that improve decisions in real time. Our first proving ground is mining and natural resources, but the platform is modular by design and built to scale into any industry where decisions are expensive and the consequences are real. THE ROLE You'll lead design for the software our field teams actually carry with them on shift: underground, in the pit, wherever the work is happening. Not the dashboards. Not the back-office tools. The stuff that has to work in someone's hands while they're doing a physically demanding job. Field software is a completely different design challenge, and it's the one we haven't cracked yet. If you've ever designed a mobile product that had to survive contact with the real world — gloves, glare, noise, motion, bad connectivity, someone glancing at a screen for two seconds mid-task — you understand the challenge ahead. This is where design stops being a polish layer and starts being the adoption strategy. We're not shipping to a few hundred office users who'll sit through onboarding. We're shipping to a large, distributed, non-desk-bound workforce — if the product doesn't respect the physical reality of their job, they simply won't use it. While we're starting with mining, we won't stop there; it'll be the start of several industries that we plan to bring this platform into. You won't just design for our current customer; you'll build the foundational design system and language for how Skiffra shows up on a physical, high-stakes job site, period. That system is what makes it possible to expand into new verticals fast, instead of re-solving the same problems from scratch every time. WHAT YOU'LL DO Build the System - Establish a design system for field products that scales across many use cases while staying simple enough for immediate, low-friction use - Set the design standards and vocabulary that future product lines and future designers will build on - Elevate existing product surfaces opportunistically: administrative tools, voice-based agents, and more Design for the Field - Design for glove-on interaction: touch targets, gestures, and input patterns that hold up when fingers are covered and dexterity is reduced - Design for ambient noise: interfaces that don't rely on voice as the sole channel, and voice interactions that work in high-noise environments - Design for color, brightness, and display extremes: adaptive UI across indoor, underground, and open-pit light conditions, with layouts and contrast that stay legible in direct sunlight - Design for situational usability: workers who are moving, wearing PPE, managing physical tasks, and can only glance at a screen for a few seconds at a time - Build for natural, low-friction adoption across a workforce with varying tech familiarity, working conditions, and shift patterns. Adoption is a design outcome, not a training or rollout problem - Prototype in Figma or a higher-fidelity tool (ProtoPie, Framer) for interactions that need to feel real: glare/contrast states, offline states, gesture-based flows Founding-Level Impact - Collaborate closely with product, engineering, on-site delivery teams, and client operations stakeholders - Conduct on-site field research to understand real working conditions, not just remote user interviews - Influence design standards, hiring, and culture as our first dedicated field-product design hire WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 7+ years of product design experience, including senior or lead ownership of at least one 0→1 or major redesign effort - Strong systems thinking, with the ability to build a design system that scales across many field use cases - Comfort designing for mobile/handheld and ruggedized hardware form factors - Comfort reading/editing basic HTML/CSS or React components - Familiarity with mobile design systems and native platform conventions (iOS HIG, Material), plus when to break from them for ruggedized/field use - Some exposure to design tokens and how they map to a real component library (so their system survives contact with engineering) - Comfort operating in zero-to-one environments with evolving requirements - Clear communicator who can translate messy, real-world constraints into simple, usable design decisions NICE TO HAVE - Direct experience designing for frontline, field, industrial, or physically-constrained environments (e.g., construction, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, oil & gas, mining, warehousing) rather than purely office-based SaaS - Background in industrial, mining, energy, or heavy-industry sectors - Experience designing safety-critical software where usability errors carry real physical risk - Familiarity with voice interface design - Prior experience as a founding or early design hire HOW WE WORK We value speed, clarity, and technical rigor. We favor simple systems over clever ones, prototypes over over-planning, and ownership over handoffs. You’ll work directly with founders and ship things that matter quickly. LOCATION & WORK MODEL This is a hybrid role with regular in-person collaboration in Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area. We are not a remote-only company. WORK AUTHORIZATION Candidates must be authorized to work in the country where this role is based. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. BENEFITS & ELIGIBILITY This position is eligible for Skiffra’s standard benefits, including health insurance and retirement plans, and may also qualify for participation in the Company’s bonus and incentive programs. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Skiffra is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

Requirements

Must-haves

Build the System
Establish a design system for field products that scales across many use cases while staying simple enough for immediate, low-friction use
Set the design standards and vocabulary that future product lines and future designers will build on
Elevate existing product surfaces opportunistically: administrative tools, voice-based agents, and more
Design for the Field
Design for glove-on interaction: touch targets, gestures, and input patterns that hold up when fingers are covered and dexterity is reduced
Design for ambient noise: interfaces that don't rely on voice as the sole channel, and voice interactions that work in high-noise environments
Design for color, brightness, and display extremes: adaptive UI across indoor, underground, and open-pit light conditions, with layouts and contrast that stay legible in direct sunlight
Design for situational usability: workers who are moving, wearing PPE, managing physical tasks, and can only glance at a screen for a few seconds at a time
Build for natural, low-friction adoption across a workforce with varying tech familiarity, working conditions, and shift patterns. Adoption is a design outcome, not a training or rollout problem
Prototype in Figma or a higher-fidelity tool (ProtoPie, Framer) for interactions that need to feel real: glare/contrast states, offline states, gesture-based flows
Founding-Level Impact
Collaborate closely with product, engineering, on-site delivery teams, and client operations stakeholders
Conduct on-site field research to understand real working conditions, not just remote user interviews
Influence design standards, hiring, and culture as our first dedicated field-product design hire
7+ years of product design experience, including senior or lead ownership of at least one 0→1 or major redesign effort
Strong systems thinking, with the ability to build a design system that scales across many field use cases
Comfort designing for mobile/handheld and ruggedized hardware form factors
Comfort reading/editing basic HTML/CSS or React components
Familiarity with mobile design systems and native platform conventions (iOS HIG, Material), plus when to break from them for ruggedized/field use

Nice-to-haves

Background in industrial, mining, energy, or heavy-industry sectors
Experience designing safety-critical software where usability errors carry real physical risk
Familiarity with voice interface design
Prior experience as a founding or early design hire

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

aidesign systemfigmareactdesign systems

Platform: ashby
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