Senior Design Engineer

Why Zania
Every enterprise spends millions of dollars on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). It's one of the most critical, yet universally painful, parts of running a business. For decades, this industry has been dominated by legacy systems with notoriously low NPS scores, making it totally ripe for disruption.
Zania is building agentic AI for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) to solve this massive problem. We are on a rocketship trajectory, creating intelligent agents that automate and augment the most complex risk and compliance workflows. We have found exceptional product-market fit and are scaling our team very quickly. Some reasons to join Zania are:

• Dream Customers: Our customers are the most notable enterprises in the world, including FAANG, Big 4 firms and a portfolio of top customers.
• Tier 1 Backing: Funded by a leading Tier 1 venture capital fund, giving us the resources to build a generational company.
• World-Class Team: Zania is hiring the best. Our team includes AI and Security leaders from Airbnb, Microsoft, Bain & Company, Deloitte, PwC, Brex, and Instacart.
• Pioneering Technology: Our engineers and GRC experts work at the absolute forefront of applied AI, building the next generation of agentic systems that will define the future of compliance.
• Hyper-Growth: We have seen 10x ARR growth in the last year and are rapidly expanding.
• Competitive Compensation & Equity.
  

Role Overview
As a Design Engineer for GRC AI Agents, you will be at the forefront of a revolution in security compliance. Your mission is to design and build a new class of intelligent AI agents that will replace legacy GRC tools like Archer, ServiceNow GRC, and OneTrust. We are not just improving existing workflows; we are fundamentally reimagining how compliance and risk management are done in an AI-native world.
We believe the best way to test complex AI interactions is through functional software, not static mockups. You will own the design vision and the technical execution of our user experience, working directly with Fortune 500 customers, our engineering team, and the founder. You will craft living, coded prototypes that are orders of magnitude more intuitive, powerful, and elegant than what exists today.
This role is based in our Palo Alto, CA office. We use an in-person work model and offer relocation assistance.
What You'll Do

• Build AI-Native Experiences: Own the end-to-end user experience for our GRC AI agents. You will be responsible for designing and developing how users interact with, trust, and derive value from complex agentic workflows, turning powerful AI into simple, functional UI.
• Develop Coded Prototypes: Move beyond Figma. Translate complex product requirements and deep user insights into interactive, code-based prototypes (e.g., React, HTML/CSS/JS). Deliver functional solutions that allow users and stakeholders to actually "feel" the user journey rather than just looking at it.
• Bridge Design and Engineering: Partner closely with Product Management to define user problems and sit side-by-side with Engineering. You won't just hand off designs; you will contribute to the front-end codebase to ensure the faithful, high-quality implementation of your vision.
• Champion the User: Conduct usability testing using your functional prototypes to deeply understand the needs and mental models of security professionals. Iterate rapidly based on how users interact with the live elements.
  

Representative Projects

• Build the "SOC 2 Agent" Interface: Design and code a functional front-end prototype for an experience that makes a complex, year-long audit process feel simple, transparent, and continuous.
• Rapid Workflow Prototyping: Develop an end-to-end, interactive workflow for third-party risk management. You will test and iterate on novel UI concepts in code, ensuring a traditionally manual process feels genuinely automated and intelligent in practice.
• Architect the UI Component Library: Establish the technical and visual foundations of our design system. You will create and maintain a library of reusable, production-ready front-end components that will ensure a cohesive user experience as we scale.
• Drive User Research via Interaction: Lead generative user research with 15 CISOs and Chief Risk Officers by putting real, clickable, data-rich prototypes in their hands to uncover core user problems and opportunities for our "Risk Management Agent."
  

What You Have

• Design Engineering Experience: 8+ years bridging the gap between product design (UX/UI) and front-end engineering, specifically creating complex, data-rich applications for B2B SaaS.
• Technical Chops: Deep proficiency in modern front-end frameworks (e.g., React, Vue), HTML, CSS/Tailwind, and JavaScript/TypeScript. You are just as comfortable in an IDE as you are in design software.
• Domain Expertise: A strong interest in the security, risk, and compliance domain. Curiosity for understanding complex user workflows (e.g., in GRC, SOC 2, ISO 27001) is a significant plus.
• AI Passion and Vision: A genuine passion for AI and a desire to build new interaction patterns purpose-built for an AI-native world. You are excited to solve novel UX challenges related to trust, transparency, and collaboration with AI agents.
• Exceptional Communication: World-class ability to present and defend your design and technical decisions to customers, engineers, and senior leadership.
• Founder's Mentality: You are a proactive, "get-it-done" builder who is comfortable with ambiguity, thinks strategically, and thrives in a fast-paced, 0-to-1 environment.
  

Compensation And Benefits

• Flexible PTO policy.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Meals and snacks in the office
• Relocation and immigration support
  

Zania is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.
Compensation Range: $125K - $220K