Designer

About the role

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.

WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON

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.

HOW YOU'LL WORK

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.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

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 https://www.gpui.rs/

STRONGLY PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

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

ABOUT ZED

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)