Add Job Description Design Engineer

[dimitrieh]

Description

Adds JD for design engineer to FlowFuse handbook.

Related Issue(s)

Discussed need in the product meeting.

Checklist

• I have read the contribution guidelines
• I have considered the performance impact of these changes
• Suitable unit/system level tests have been added and they pass
• Documentation has been updated
• For blog PRs, an Art Request has been created (instructions)

[dimitrieh]

90 days plan needs a little bit more work.

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[dimitrieh]

@ZJvandeWeg @gstout52 up for review

[gstout52]

The JD part is good, but a lot of the content of the Skills area is focused on the degree to which the Design Engineer is an expert on various things. That is more relevant to a job advertisement. Relatedly, the parts about a hiring plan and 90 day plan can be cut, as this entry is just about what the DE's responsibilities are.

[dimitrieh]

@gstout52

The JD part is good, but a lot of the content of the Skills area is focused on the degree to which the Design Engineer is an expert on various things. That is more relevant to a job advertisement.

You want to keep the first two sections only in that case?

Relatedly, the parts about a hiring plan and 90 day plan can be cut, as this entry is just about what the DE's responsibilities are.

ah, I thought it was discussed in the meeting I needed to come up with a 90 day plan 🤔

[gstout52]

@gstout52

The JD part is good, but a lot of the content of the Skills area is focused on the degree to which the Design Engineer is an expert on various things. That is more relevant to a job advertisement.

You want to keep the first two sections only in that case?

Relatedly, the parts about a hiring plan and 90 day plan can be cut, as this entry is just about what the DE's responsibilities are.

ah, I thought it was discussed in the meeting I needed to come up with a 90 day plan 🤔

@ZJvandeWeg can you weigh in? @dimitrieh thinks you requested both the onboarding plan and the job description.

[allthedoll]

Since it is only my second day, I am still building context, and I want to make sure I understand the intent behind this hire before I give deeper feedback.

🎯 Clarification on the outcome we are hiring for

Could we clarify the specific outcome we are hiring toward? What gap are we trying to fill, or what problems do we need this role to solve? Understanding the purpose of the hire will help me evaluate whether the responsibilities and the 90-day expectations are aligned to the impact we actually need.

💭 A few questions that would help me anchor this:

• What bottlenecks or needs prompted opening this role?
• Is the focus more on design leadership, execution capacity, or cross-functional glue work?
• How will success be measured in the first 6 to 12 months?

📝 At first glance, here are my thoughts

📜 TLDR:
This is a strong and detailed draft. My initial concern, based only on first impressions, is that the role attempts to cover a very large set of disciplines at once. It includes design leadership, research, frontend engineering, product strategy, community engagement, design systems, and AI prototyping. Finding a single person who can sustainably do all of this may be difficult and may not yield the outcome we really need.

🍰 Initial impressions:

• Several sections read as if we are hiring a very senior or lead-level hybrid designer and engineer. I would like to confirm if that is intentional.
• The 90-day plan contains a large number of strategic outcomes happening in parallel. I would love to understand which of these are essential and which are aspirational.
• The AI expectations appear strong across the document. I would like to understand if this is a core requirement or an enhancer when useful.
• Design system ownership appears multiple times. It may help to clarify whether this is full ownership or shared responsibility.

I'm happy to provide more specific suggestions once I understand the intended scope and expected impact of the role. 😇

[dimitrieh]

@allthedoll I'll provide some context regarding this PR:

This PR adds the job description for the "design engineer" role to the FlowFuse handbook. This is my role within FlowFuse and was not yet defined in the handbook. We are not directly hiring more people for this role, but this would additionally prepare us for such a situation.

It was discussed during one of the product meetings that there was a need to formalize my role as part of my onboarding, especially as my role is a bit more hybrid rather than staying within the confines of a traditional "(ux/product) designer".

Afai recall I needed to define the full JD, which would include a 90 days plan regardless of us hiring a new person.

Below I'll answer your more direct questions:

Could we clarify the specific outcome we are hiring toward? What gap are we trying to fill, or what problems do we need this role to solve? Understanding the purpose of the hire will help me evaluate whether the responsibilities and the 90-day expectations are aligned to the impact we actually need.

• What bottlenecks or needs prompted opening this role?
• Is the focus more on design leadership, execution capacity, or cross-functional glue work?
• How will success be measured in the first 6 to 12 months?

No immediate hiring was discussed. Though my advice is that we do look forward and we do intend to hire another design engineer that can switch between product design and engineering work as needed. This would not only help give us more capacity, it would also make it so that there is more eyes on product & design related work and opportunities to collaborate/get a second pair of eyes on projects. I can further elaborate on this in e.a. our 1:1, I have put it in our agenda for the meeting.

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Regarding your TL;DR, I agree. I think this can be considered a symptom of the need for more resources here so we can further specialize and reduce scope. We can brainstorm to de-consolidate.

Some other quick thoughts based on your points:

Several sections read as if we are hiring a very senior or lead-level hybrid designer and engineer. I would like to confirm if that is intentional.

Intentional, but intended to be iterated on based on feedback.

The 90-day plan contains a large number of strategic outcomes happening in parallel. I would love to understand which of these are essential and which are aspirational.

"Journey Architecture" would be an important one. Anything can be considered aspirational as I have been looking for someone to iterate upon this in order to refine/distill.

The AI expectations appear strong across the document. I would like to understand if this is a core requirement or an enhancer when useful.

Imo this is a core requirement. DesOps is changing rapidly with the introduction of AI. The ability to quickly create and iterate on concepts, close the distance for developer handoff by working with the code more directly, and to be able to deliver on FE code directly as needed are responsibilities that belong to this hybrid role. Happy to elaborate further.

Design system ownership appears multiple times. It may help to clarify whether this is full ownership or shared responsibility.

Shared responsibility, I'd advocate for this always.

[allthedoll]

@dimitrieh Thanks for the additional context. That makes way more sense. 😅

One thing this brings up for me (not blocking and definitely something we can handle in a later PR) is how we want to separate what is specific to your current role versus what a repeatable Design Engineer role would look like if we hired more than one person. The scope works for your position, but it may not scale cleanly if we try to hire multiple people into the same expectations. Is that something we should address now, or later?

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	A hybrid role that bridges product design and front-end engineering to rapidly deliver user-focused experiences.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	Design Engineers at FlowFuse bridge the gap between **product design** and **front-end engineering**, combining UX with technical expertise to deliver better holistically considered user experiences faster.
	Design Engineers at FlowFuse bridge the gap between **product design** and **front-end engineering**, combining UX and technical expertise to deliver well considered user experiences at a faster pace.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	This is a true hybrid role requiring equal mastery of both product design and technical aptness in code—you'll design high-level concepts in Figma AND you will move quickly to try out ideas in code with the potential to implement or aid in implementing them into production. You should be as comfortable in design tooling as you are on the command line and in an IDE.
	This is a hybrid role that requires strength in both product design and hands-on front-end implementation. You will design high level concepts in Figma and move quickly to test ideas in code with the potential to implement or contribute to implementation in production. You should be as comfortable in design tools as you are on the command line and in an IDE.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

As a Design Engineer, you'll own user journeys end-to-end, from initial concept through final implementation. You'll work with your team to develop quick iterations on ideas, shifting between responsibilities for UX, Product, and Development—filling gaps where necessary by conducting user research, journey mapping, UI and systems design, prototyping, roadmapping, and development while staying the main advocate for the user's perspective.

As a Design Engineer, you will lead or contribute to user journey development from initial concept through final implementation. You will work with your team to iterate quickly, shifting between responsibilities across UX, Product, and Development. You may fill gaps by conducting user research, mapping journeys, designing interfaces and systems, prototyping, participating in roadmapping, and contributing to development work while maintaining a strong user perspective.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	You'll leverage AI tools strategically to explore design directions, generate functional prototypes or implementations, and iterate rapidly. This accelerates the team's velocity without compromising quality or implementation.
	You will use AI tools as a core part of your workflow to explore design directions, generate functional prototypes or implementations, and iterate rapidly. This accelerates the team's velocity without compromising quality or delivery.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	1. **First/peer interview:** Conduct a video interview to assess past experience, portfolio, and abilities related to the Design Engineer role, and evaluate communication skills and cultural fit. Past hands-on experience with start-to-finish shipping experiences, user research experience, and ability to articulate design decisions is essential for credibility and decision-making.
	1. **Peer interview:** Conduct a video interview to assess past experience, portfolio, and abilities related to the Design Engineer role, and evaluate communication skills and cultural fit. Hands-on experience delivering end-to-end features, conducting user research, and articulating design decisions is essential for credibility and decision making.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	1. **Manager/team interview:** Meet with leadership/team to discuss career goals, alignment with company values, and team fit, direct upcoming responsibilities and projected timeline if hired.
	1. **Hiring manager interview:** Meet with the hiring manager to discuss career goals, alignment with company values, and team fit, along with upcoming responsibilities and projected timelines if hired.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	1. **Design/Technical Assessment:** Live design/prototyping/coding session designing and building an experience improvement. Assess design and coding proficiency, AI tool usage, and ability to chime in for product and/or development when needed.
	1. **Design and technical assessment:** A live design, prototyping, and coding session focused on improving an experience. Assess design and coding proficiency, effective use of AI tools, and the ability to contribute to product or development work when needed.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	1. **STAR Interview (Behavioral Alignment):** A behavioral interview to understand past experiences and assess alignment with FlowFuse's values, initiative, and collaboration style. Conducted by the CEO.
	1. **STAR interview (behavioural alignment):** A behavioural interview to understand past experiences and assess alignment with FlowFuse’s values, initiative, and collaboration style. Conducted by the CEO.

[allthedoll]

Suggested change

	1. **Offer:** Extend offer to selected candidate.
	1. **Offer:** Extend an offer to the selected candidate.

[allthedoll]

@dimitrieh Thanks for the additional context. That makes way more sense. 😅

One thing this brings up for me (not blocking and definitely something we can handle in a later PR) is how we want to separate what is specific to your current role versus what a repeatable Design Engineer role would look like if we hired more than one person. The scope works for your position, but it may not scale cleanly if we try to hire multiple people into the same expectations. Is that something we should address now, or later?