Prototype Design Engineer

Kentik is a network intelligence platform that helps organizations manage and optimize their networks. The Prototype Design Engineer will work closely with Product Managers to create intuitive user experiences and actionable insights for their Cloud Observability product line. This role involves gathering requirements, designing solutions, and collaborating with various stakeholders to enhance the overall user experience.

Responsibilities:

• Gather and review requirements from Product Managers and customers, identifying pain points and designing solutions
• Use prototypes as communication tools to align design, research, and engineering teams around shared understanding and direction
• Take a holistic approach to improve Kentik's UX, contributing to its overall accessibility and usability
• Effectively present and articulate design choices to various stakeholders, including Product Management, Engineering Management, customers, and executives
• Collaborate with other Product Designers to drive strategic UX initiatives across the entire product and enhance the overall Kentik experience by making it more accessible to novice users
• Produce UI artifacts using appropriate tools based on the design exercise, such as high-to-low-resolution mockups, and visual designs

Requirements:

• Demonstrated curiosity and/or experience in observability/infrastructure analytics or monitoring, with a willingness to learn complex technical concepts and present them with simple UX
• Strong prototyping skills, capable of quickly iterating and adjusting designs to achieve consensus
• Analytical and structured mindset, capable of asking the right questions, digging into user data, talking to customers, and making design choices that benefit our user base
• Passion for enterprise SaaS offerings, particularly data-heavy products with complex visualizations, and the ability to evaluate competitors in the market
• Proven ability to work across design and engineering, comfortably navigating both conceptual and technical discussions
• Demonstrated experience with LLMs and prompt engineering (through work, research, or significant personal projects)
• 4+ years of software engineering experience with Python or similar languages
• Background in human-computer interaction, UX, or instructional design
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and prioritize effectively
• Experience with version control, CI/CD, and modern software development practices
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, autonomous environment
• Familiarity with networking as a field, and a willingness to learn
• Experience with Claude or other frontier AI models in production settings
• Experience with Data Analytics tools and platforms, including data visualization over large datasets
• Understanding of transforming complex domain-specific workflows into intuitive UI/UX
• Practical experience in Frontend Engineering, with proficiency in Node/React being highly advantageous
• Familiarity with Public Cloud Analytics or infrastructure monitoring