Principal Frontend Engineer

About the RoleWe're a seed-stage AI automation company building the control plane that lets businesses design, deploy, and manage intelligent back-office workflows. Think visual workflow builders, real-time observability dashboards, and hybrid interfaces that serve both technical and non-technical users — layered on top of enterprise ERP systems.We recently hired a designer. Now we need the engineer who executes. This role owns the frontend control plane UI — the surface our customers live in every day. You'll work directly with founders, ship fast, and have a significant say in how the product looks and behaves.This is a hybrid role. We're opening an office in Union Square and expect engineers in the office a few days per week. Remote-only candidates will not be considered.What You'll BuildThe core control plane UI — workflow authoring, agent configuration, task management, and human-in-the-loop approval surfacesReporting and observability dashboards for workflow performance and analyticsReal-time data sync layers using WebSockets and Server-Sent EventsAdaptive interfaces that serve both technical operators and business usersAPI integrations in close collaboration with backend engineersWhat We're Looking ForMust-haves:4–7 years of full-stack experience, strongly frontend-weighted (60–80% UI work)Expert-level React with TypeScript — production-grade, recent, modern patternsProven experience building complex interactive UIs: dashboards, workflow builders, visual editors, data-rich applicationsModern CSS proficiency — Tailwind preferredFull-stack integration experience: building and consuming APIs, collaborating with backendProduct mindset — you care about how things feel and function, not just whether they shipNYC-based or genuinely willing to commute to Union Square a few days per weekExisting US work authorization required — visa sponsorship is not availableNice-to-haves:Real-time UI experience: WebSockets, SSE, collaborative editingBackground at a workflow builder, no-code/low-code, or visual editor company (Retool, Airtable, Notion, Zapier, Monday.com, etc.)Enterprise SaaS or B2B tooling exposureEarly-stage startup experience (seed through Series B)State management library depth: Zustand, Redux, or RecoilWhy This RoleGenuinely hard UI problems — visual programming, real-time collaboration, enterprise workflow UX. Not another CRUD app.Founding team equity at a well-backed seed round. The equity is meaningful.Small team (~16 people), direct founder access, and real ownership of a critical product surface from day one.Competitive base: $200K–$250K depending on experience.Not a Fit If:You're primarily backend or infrastructure-focusedYou need visa sponsorshipYou're only open to remoteYour background is exclusively FAANG/large company with no startup exposureYou're on a people management track