Founding Engineer (Fullstack)

Since launching, Onlook hit #1 on Hacker News, was the #1 trending repo on GitHub – above DeepSeek + Anthropic – and has earned over 22,000 GitHub stars. We’re looking to bring on Onlook’s first Founding Engineer. You’re a full-stack engineer who is ready to build a generational design-led company.

This role requires autonomy - you’ll be setting standards for one of the fastest-growing open source projects backed by YC ever. You’ll help design and build an uncompromising visual IDE loved by tens of thousands of designers and engineers around the world.

Why Onlook exists

Software creation is still broken at its core. Design and engineering operate in parallel, constrained by single-player tools that limit exploration and collaboration.

Onlook changes that. We’re building creative agents that help teams rapidly explore design space on top of real, production-grade components. Designers can explore and iterate freely. Engineers can participate creatively without sacrificing control. AI expands what’s possible and how fast you can craft. Open source keeps it transparent and flexible, respecting the need for remixability with code.

What makes Onlook different is that it’s multiplayer by default. Instead of isolated IDEs and static design files, we’re creating a shared creative space where ambitious teams explore, iterate, and build together on top of their existing brand systems and code primitives.

We aim to be the most loved design and developer tool in the world by empowering teams – not automating them away. In close partnership with leading product teams, we’re building an entirely new way to design together.

The most important things we look for:

• Olympic-level dedication – you want to be the best in the world at what you do.
• Ownership – you like autonomy and control over the destiny of the company.
• Speed – you’re comfortable shipping and iterating quickly with feedback.
• Craft – you’re opinionated and are willing to defend your opinions.

Ideally, you:

• Are looking for a fast-paced, intense startup environment.
• Are willing to put in long hours and go the extra mile.
• Are comfortable with any part of the stack, front-end, back-end, or database.
• Believe in open source and are ok with your work being very public.

If you’d like to stand out, please share a project or piece of work that you’re most proud of. We love seeing people’s work. If you have a personal website, please include that as well.

Our Tech Stack

Front-end

• Next.js - Full stack
• TailwindCSS - Styling
• tRPC - Server interface

Database

• Supabase - Auth, Database, Storage
• Drizzle - ORM

AI

• AI SDK - LLM client
• Anthropic - LLM model provider
• Morph Fast Apply - Fast apply model provider
• Relace - Fast apply model provider

Runtime

• Bun - Monorepo, runtime, bundler
• Docker - Container management

Working at Onlook

Your day-to-day involves implementing state-of-the-art techniques for code generation, collaborating with over 100 contributors across the world, answering user feedback, setting the technical and product direction, and helping build the early culture of Onlook. You’ll be working across various parts of the stack and taking full ownership over large projects or features. This is a small, nimble team, and we expect you to take initiative.

In the event that you’re in SF, we have a very cool office near South Park – it has ultra tall ceilings, tons of natural light, great restaurants and groceries stores just a block away, a full-kitchen, espresso, and even a shower. Employees get bespoke black bomber jackets with the Onlook crest embroidered on them, their own standing desk, monitor, budget for tech, and more.

Onlook’s values are a reflection of our founding team and the cultures of the companies we’ve come from. Speed, technical excellence, brand, grit, and attention to detail are what uniquely set Onlook apart.

• Two separate 30 minute screening calls.
• 90 minute technical interview
• We’ll ask for two references for people you’ve worked with or reported to.
• 1-3 day paid work trial or invitation to make an open-source contribution.
• Offer or rejection within the week following the work trial.