UI/UX Designer

Mid Level Career UX Designer

This isn't a traditional UX role focused on process ceremonies and long research cycles — it's a builder role at the center of an early AI platform. We're looking for a hands-on UI/UX designer who can translate deep technical capabilities into a product experience that is clear, fast, and visually compelling. You won't just refine flows — you'll define them. You won't wait for perfect inputs — you'll create momentum and direction. Our ideal candidate is energized by early-stage product work and understands how to design under uncertainty. You are comfortable working from evolving requirements, incomplete data, and fast feedback loops. You know how to study the competitive landscape, extract best practices, and rapidly shape them into a differentiated product identity. You care about usability, but you also care about product velocity and business impact. This role is especially well suited for designers who want something new and highly relevant - moving out of slow-moving projects, government programs, or legacy technologies into a fast, product-driven AI platform. If you've been looking for a way to apply your skills to modern AI products with real user impact and rapid iteration, this is an opportunity to reset your trajectory. You'll work directly with engineering, product strategy, and sales/marketing leadership to shape the primary user experience of the Holokai platform — from our desktop Chat Enablement interface to our SaaS administrative control plane. If you enjoy turning complex systems into intuitive products and want visible ownership over the user experience of an emerging AI platform, this role provides that opportunity.

About Holokai Holokai is building a platform to accelerate the secure, rational adoption of Enterprise AI. Our product enables organizations to safely deploy AI tools through model access controls, governance guards, and policy enforcement — while still delivering strong user productivity through a desktop chat experience and integrated AI workflows. We are an early-stage startup with pilot customers, rapid product iteration, and direct customer feedback loops. Designers at Holokai work close to product decisions and engineering implementation, not as a downstream function but as a core part of product creation.

Who Thrives in This Role

Designers with commercial startup or SaaS product experience who want greater ownership and product influence

Designers currently supporting legacy technologies or less relevant use cases who want to transition to modern AI product design

Designers who relocated to the DC metro area from commercial tech hubs and want to stay in product-focused work

High-talent early-career designers or recent graduates with strong portfolios and high learning velocity

Builders who prefer shipping and iteration over heavy process and documentation cycles

Designers who enjoy working directly with engineers and shaping product direction early

Duties/Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end UI/UX design of the Holokai product across desktop and SaaS platform interfaces

Translate complex AI, security, and governance capabilities into intuitive, user-centered workflows

Design clean, visually strong interfaces that highlight product differentiators and build product trust

Create wireframes, high-fidelity mockups, prototypes, and production-ready design assets

Establish and evolve Holokai's visual and interaction identity across the platform

Work directly with engineers to ensure designs are practical, implementable, and performant

Partner with product, sales, and marketing to align UX with adoption and growth goals

Incorporate feedback from pilot customers and early users into rapid design iterations

Evaluate competitor and adjacent products to identify usability patterns and opportunities

Contribute directly to front-end implementation where practical (design systems, components, styling)

Required Skills/Abilities

Strong portfolio demonstrating shipped product UI/UX work for modern SaaS or desktop applications

Ability to design for complex technical products and data-rich interfaces

Demonstrated ability to design and ship product features with limited structure and evolving requirements

Comfort making strong design decisions without extensive formal user research infrastructure

Portfolio examples showing practical, production-oriented interface work — not only conceptual exercises

High proficiency with modern design and prototyping tools (Figma or equivalent)

Ability to move quickly from concept to production-quality design artifacts

Strong visual design skills including layout, typography, and interaction clarity

Practical understanding of frontend constraints and implementation tradeoffs

Ability to collaborate tightly with engineering teams

Self-directed with high ownership and bias toward action

Strong communication skills and ability to justify design decisions

Comfort working in early-stage startup environments with rapid iteration cycles

Nice to Have Skills

Experience contributing to design systems or reusable component libraries

Frontend implementation experience (React, Angular, or similar frameworks)

Experience designing AI, analytics, security, or workflow-driven interfaces

Brand and visual identity development experience

Education and Experience

Bachelor's Degree in Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Travel Requirement: Occasional travel may be required