Careers

Build things people reach for

dfirst is a small, design-led studio that designs, builds and ships digital products — our own and our clients'. We hire senior people who care about the details and want to own the whole problem.

Why dfirst

A studio worth your best years

Design leads, everywhere

Design isn't a layer we add at the end. It drives the work — and it drives how we hire, review and ship.

One team, end to end

Brand, product, engineering and growth sit together. You own real features in real products, not slices thrown over a wall.

We ship our own products

You'll work on client projects and on products that are ours — live on the App Store, with real users and a real bar.

Remote, async, senior

We hire people we can trust with the whole problem, then give them the room to solve it well.

Open roles

Where we need you

Don't see your exact title but think you're a fit? Write to us anyway — tell us what you'd own.

You set the design direction on client work and our own products, and you raise the bar for everyone around you. This is a maker's seat, not a manager's — you'll still be in the file, pushing pixels and defending the details that make a product feel considered.

What you'll do

Lead the design direction for a product from first sketch to launch — information architecture, interaction, visual system and motion.
Shape brand and product identity together, so the two never feel bolted on to each other.
Build and maintain design systems that engineers can ship from without guesswork.
Turn research and real human behaviour into design decisions you can defend, not just preferences.
Set the quality bar in critique and mentor designers earlier in their path.
Partner closely with engineering so what ships matches what was designed.

What we're looking for

6+ years designing digital products, with a portfolio of work that actually shipped.
Fluent in modern UI craft: type, grid, colour, spacing, motion — and able to explain why each choice is right.
Expert in Figma, including components, variables and prototyping.
A systems thinker who can also sweat a single screen until it sings.
Strong written and spoken English; comfortable presenting and defending work.

Nice to have

Experience designing for both iOS and Android native patterns.
Comfort with brand identity, motion, or front-end code.
Have shipped your own side project or product.

Apply by email — we read every one.

Apply for Senior Designer

You'll own features end to end — from the messy problem and the user's head, through wireframes and interaction, to the polished, production-ready screens engineering builds. You care as much about the empty state and the error as the happy path.

What you'll do

Design end-to-end flows for mobile and web products — from problem framing to shipped UI.
Prototype interactions so decisions are felt, not just described.
Contribute to and work within design systems; keep patterns consistent across a product.
Fold in research, analytics and real usage to make the next version sharper.
Sweat the details most people skip — empty states, loading, errors, edge cases.
Work in tight loops with engineering and hand off work that's genuinely buildable.

What we're looking for

3+ years in product/UX·UI design with shipped mobile or web work in your portfolio.
Strong interaction and visual fundamentals; you can take a flow from zero to polished.
Fluent in Figma and modern prototyping.
Able to reason about usability and accessibility, not just aesthetics.
Clear communicator in English, writing and speaking.

Nice to have

Familiarity with native iOS/Android or responsive web constraints.
A feel for copy and microcopy.
Light front-end skills (HTML/CSS) to speak engineering's language.

Apply by email — we read every one.

Apply for Product Designer

You'll take designs and turn them into App Store products that are quick, reliable and a pleasure to use. We ship our own apps, so you'll own real features in real products with real users — not throwaway prototypes.

What you'll do

Build and ship iOS features in Swift and SwiftUI, from architecture to App Store release.
Translate detailed designs into native UI that matches the intended look, feel and motion.
Write clean, typed, testable code and keep apps fast and memory-light.
Integrate APIs, local persistence, notifications and the platform frameworks a product needs.
Own quality: profiling, crash-free sessions, accessibility and smooth performance.
Work closely with design and the rest of engineering across the whole lifecycle.

What we're looking for

3+ years building iOS apps, with apps you've shipped to the App Store.
Strong Swift and SwiftUI (plus a working knowledge of UIKit where it matters).
Solid grasp of app architecture, concurrency, and the Apple Human Interface Guidelines.
Experience with REST/GraphQL, local storage, and the release pipeline.
Care for detail and performance; good English communication.

Nice to have

Experience with offline-first apps, StoreKit, or widgets/App Intents.
Some backend or cross-platform exposure.
An eye for design and motion.

Apply by email — we read every one.

Apply for iOS Developer

You'll bring designs to life as Play Store products that perform across the Android landscape. You'll own real features in shipping products, and you'll care about the details — motion, responsiveness, the behaviour on the mid-range device, not just the flagship.

What you'll do

Build and ship Android features in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, from architecture to Play Store release.
Turn detailed designs into native UI that honours Material and the product's own feel.
Write clean, typed, testable code; keep apps fast and smooth across devices and screen sizes.
Integrate APIs, local persistence, notifications and the platform frameworks a product needs.
Own quality: profiling, crash-free sessions, accessibility and real-device performance.
Collaborate tightly with design and engineering across the whole lifecycle.

What we're looking for

3+ years building Android apps, with apps you've shipped to the Play Store.
Strong Kotlin and Jetpack Compose; comfortable with modern Android architecture (coroutines, Flow).
Good grasp of Material Design and performance across the device range.
Experience with REST/GraphQL, local storage, and the release pipeline.
Care for detail and performance; good English communication.

Nice to have

Experience with offline-first apps, Kotlin Multiplatform, or widgets.
Some backend or cross-platform exposure.
An eye for design and motion.

Apply by email — we read every one.

Apply for Android Developer

You'll own new business in the US: finding the right clients, building real relationships, and turning conversations into signed, well-scoped projects. You believe in design-led work and can sell it on value, not on being the cheapest. You're the first point of contact US clients meet — so you set the tone.

What you'll do

Own the US sales pipeline end to end — from first outreach to closed, well-scoped engagements.
Build and nurture relationships with founders, product leaders and marketing teams.
Qualify opportunities and shape them into proposals the studio can deliver brilliantly.
Represent dfirst in calls, pitches and (where useful) industry events in US time zones.
Work with design and delivery so every promise made in the sale is one we can keep.
Keep CRM, forecasts and reporting clean and honest.

What we're looking for

4+ years in B2B sales or business development, ideally selling design, product or software services.
A track record of closing meaningful deals and hitting targets.
Based in the US (or able to work full US business hours) with strong US market knowledge.
Consultative seller who leads with value and understands design-led work.
Excellent written and spoken English; sharp, credible, and organised.

Nice to have

An existing US network in tech, startups or product.
Experience selling for a studio or agency.
Comfort with modern sales tooling and lightweight marketing.

Apply by email — we read every one.

Apply for Sales Manager — US Region

How to apply

Email us with the role in the subject line and a link to your portfolio or work, your CV or LinkedIn, and a line on why dfirst. Each opening has an Apply button that writes most of that email for you.