Staff Software Engineer (Core UI)

SimSpace serves as an AI Proving Ground where organizations can confidently train, test, and outmaneuver adversaries in any environment. Trusted by allied governments, militaries, enterprises, and research institutions worldwide, SimSpace enables adaptive, AI-ready defenses that stay ahead of evolving threats. Founded in 2015 by experts from U.S. Cyber Command and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the platform unifies training, testing, and validation in a realistic, live-fire simulation—helping teams evaluate security investments, optimize performance, and compress cyber readiness cycles from months to days.

Why join SimSpace? We are an organization that is focused on building our culture and mindfully enhancing our atmosphere every day which is why we have collaborated on an integral value system. Our governing philosophy of being Human Centered is deeply embedded within our value system. We apply this philosophy to every one of our internal team members, external clients, and their customers.

How Do We Work? We believe that people are at the center of everything we do. SimSpace fosters a culture of continuous learning, curiosity, and professional growth. That belief shows up in action: in-house training, internal and external learning platforms, cyber conferences, industry events, and dedicated time for skill development. Our people are empowered to shape their careers - and it shows. Year over year, SimSpace consistently outperforms industry benchmarks in internal mobility, promotions, and total rewards growth.

Who Thrives Here? We are a team of innovators, protectors, and problem-solvers. We believe diversity of thought and experience fuels better solutions, and we’re committed to building teams that reflect the communities we serve. Whether you’re remote or office-based, you’ll collaborate with talented colleagues across departments and time zones, united by the mission to create a safer digital world.

We invite you to apply today!

SimSpace is investing in the craft, consistency, and quality of every interface our customers touch, as well as in the systems that make great UI possible at scale. Our Core UI team owns the foundation the rest of the product is built on: our design system, shared component libraries, frontend architecture, and the partnership between engineering and UX Design.

As a Staff Software Engineer on Core UI, you'll be the senior-most technical voice on the team—setting frontend architecture and standards, leading complex UI initiatives end to end, and contributing directly to the systems every product team depends on. You'll partner deeply with UX Designers, Product Managers, and engineers across the organization, and your technical leadership and mentorship will be key to helping the team raise its bar.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a people-management one. You set direction through architecture, code, and influence—staying close enough to the work to make the hard calls, unblock difficult problems, and hold a high bar for craft, accessibility, and performance. We're looking for an experienced engineer who wants real ownership of a domain and treats the frontend platform as a product.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

SET TECHNICAL DIRECTION & ARCHITECTURE

• Serve as the senior-most technical voice for SimSpace's core frontend, owning architecture decisions and the technical roadmap for shared UI systems.
• Lead major frontend initiatives end to end—from requirements gathering and architecture design through delivery—setting clear goals, priorities, and technical direction.
• Steward architectural decisions and manage technical and UX debt deliberately, balancing long-term health with delivery needs.
• Define and enforce frontend technical standards for code health, performance, testing, and documentation.
• Mentor Design Engineers and frontend engineers, modeling strong craft, collaboration, and pragmatism.

BUILD & EVOLVE CORE UI SYSTEMS

• Design, build, extend, and maintain SimSpace's design system (e.g., Monorail) and higher-order component libraries, emphasizing consistency, accessibility, responsiveness, and performance.
• Contribute directly and deeply to the code, ensuring shared systems stay aligned between design (Figma) and implementation (code, Storybook).
• Review and curate contributions from other engineers to shared UI libraries, maintaining high standards for UX quality and code health.

BRIDGE UX AND ENGINEERING

• Act as a technical partner to UX Designers—providing feasibility feedback, implementation guidance, and UI engineering insight early in the design process.
• Define, improve, and automate the workflows that turn design intent into production code efficiently and predictably.
• Develop prototyping workflows that let UX research gather customer feedback and iterate on designs quickly.

CHAMPION ACCESSIBILITY

• Lead accessibility (a11y) best practices at the component and system level.
• Define standards, documentation, and WCAG-aligned guidance that help engineers build accessible interfaces.
• Identify gaps through testing and drive remediation across shared systems.

RAISE QUALITY & ENABLE TEAMS

• Identify and address UX and UI quality issues—visual inconsistencies, interaction gaps, and usability bugs—across the product.
• Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure quality, performance, and adherence to standards.
• Create documentation, examples, and internal talks that help frontend engineers use shared UI systems effectively, and support initiatives like theming, white-labeling, and design token strategy.
• Lead UI-focused initiatives end to end, balancing ideal UX outcomes with delivery realities.

WHAT YOU BRING

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of professional experience in frontend, UX, or design-adjacent engineering, including a track record of leading technical projects end to end. (Adjust to your leveling.)
• Deep expertise in TypeScript and React—modern component patterns, state management, and performance—sufficient to set architectural direction for shared systems.
• Experience building and maintaining design systems or shared UI libraries used by multiple teams.
• Solid understanding of accessibility (a11y) standards and how to operationalize them in real-world interfaces.
• Experience writing well-tested, well-documented UI code intended for reuse and scale.
• Proven ability to collaborate closely with designers, product managers, and engineers across teams.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with Storybook, design tokens, and Figma-to-code workflows.
• Familiarity with frontend testing strategies (unit, visual, and accessibility testing).
• Experience with responsive design systems and theming or white-labeling approaches.
• Experience with rapid UI prototyping and iterating against customer and UX research feedback.
• Comfort working across the stack when needed (API integration, backend collaboration).
• Interest in emerging tools and workflows, including AI-assisted UI development and prototyping.
• Experience bootstrapping services or libraries with CI/CD tooling (e.g., GitHub Actions, ArgoCD).

WHO YOU ARE

• You set a high bar for UX quality, consistency, and craft—and you know how to operationalize it through systems and standards, not heroics.
• You're the person others look to for hard technical calls, and you make them with judgment and pragmatism.
• You enjoy working across disciplines and translating design intent into durable, reusable systems.
• You're comfortable leading initiatives end to end without formal authority, influencing through craft and collaboration.
• You're conscious of scalability and reusability, but realistic when it comes to trade-offs.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

The Core UI team exists to reduce UI inconsistency and UX debt, improve accessibility and usability, increase frontend velocity through shared systems, and make SimSpace's product feel cohesive, modern, and premium. As the senior-most engineer on this team, your technical decisions set the standard the rest of frontend builds on—shaping how every product team builds interfaces and how customers experience SimSpace every day.

OUR TECH STACK INCLUDES

TypeScript, React, Kotlin, Storybook, Figma, our design system (Monorail), Git/GitHub, Docker, Kubernetes

We’re proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive package designed to support your well-being, growth, and success:

• Compensation. Base salary range: $185,000 – $260,000, reflecting our confidence in your expertise and impact, with the opportunity for annual bonuses tied to company performance and individual contributions.
• Health & Wellness. Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, plus savings plans—coverage starts on day one!
• Mental Health Support. Access to company-paid counseling, coaching, and resources for you and your family through Spring Health.
• Financial Well-Being. Plan for your future with a 401(k)-retirement savings plan featuring a company match.
• Parental Leave. Paid leave plans to support you and your loved ones during life’s most important moments.
• Ownership Opportunities: Equity stock options at hire, with annual performance-based grants—become an invested stakeholder in our shared success.
• Referral Rewards: Earn $1,500–$3,500 for every qualified hire through our employee referral program.
• Peloton Interactive Wellness Program: Full- and partial- subsidized membership plans and equipment discounts to help you reach your personalized wellness goals.
• Continuous Learning: Access a LinkedIn Learning membership to prioritize your personal and professional development.
• Social Connections: Monthly reimbursements for meaningful connections with teammates through our SocialSpace Community.
• Extra Perks: Legal plan coverage, pet insurance, wellness reimbursements, and more to simplify life’s details.
• Semi-flexible hours, with the expectation that you overlap the main part of the day to meet deadlines, collaborate with colleagues and attend key meetings.

SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

SimSpace is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.

Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups only apply to jobs if they meet all of the qualifications. However, no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. SimSpace encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. We look forward to your application!

We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, in accordance with applicable law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact careers@simspace.com.

SimSpace does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies.

Actual compensation for the position is based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to affordability, skills, qualifications and experience, and may vary from the range.