Steps AI
Website:
stepsai.co
Job details:
Role: Software Development Engineer (SDE) – Frontend
Location: Hyderabad, India, On-Site
Type: Full-Time
Only apply if: You have ≥ 2 years of production-grade frontend experience with strong, demonstrable expertise building and shipping scalable React / Next.js applications, and you can point us to live, deployed products you have built.
About Steps AI
We are a fast-growing product startup building intelligent, AI-powered software for modern businesses. Our focus is on crafting seamless, high-performance user experiences powered by scalable backend systems and data-driven intelligence — and we ship to real customers every week.
As we scale, we are looking for a Frontend-focused SDE who thrives in a fast-paced environment and can take end-to-end ownership of frontend architecture and user experience across a complex, multi-surface product.
What You'll Do
Core Frontend Development
- Build production-grade applications using Next.js (App Router), React 19, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS.
- Architect scalable, reusable component libraries and design systems on top of shadcn/ui / Radix primitives.
- Implement modern UI patterns using hooks, context, and advanced state management.
- Optimize performance using code-splitting, lazy loading, caching, and SSR / SSG / ISR / CSR strategies.
- Ensure pixel-perfect, responsive, accessible UI across devices and browsers.
UI/UX Engineering Excellence
- Translate product requirements and Figma designs into robust frontend implementations.
- Build complex dashboards, data visualizations, and interactive multi-step workflows (charts, tables, maps, geographic intelligence, analytics views).
- Build AI-driven, streaming interfaces - chat/agent UIs, token-by-token streaming, real-time updates, and rich message rendering (markdown, code, math).
- Integrate real-time features using WebSockets, SSE / streaming APIs, or event-driven updates.
- Ship accessible, SEO-friendly, high-performance web interfaces measured against Lighthouse best practices.
Frontend Architecture & Scalability
- Design scalable folder structures and modular, maintainable frontend architecture.
- Implement server- and client-state management using TanStack Query and Zustand (or equivalent modern solutions).
- Build robust forms with React Hook Form + Zod validation.
- Integrate with backend services (TypeScript/Node and Python) over REST and/or GraphQL APIs.
- Ensure robust error handling, observability, and performance monitoring.
- Drive frontend testing strategy with Vitest / Jest, React Testing Library, and Cypress/Playwright.
- Contribute to embeddable / SDK-style frontend artifacts (e.g. CDN-delivered, shadow-DOM-isolated widgets) where relevant.
Engineering & Collaboration
- Conduct structured code reviews and enforce high-quality coding standards.
- Collaborate closely with backend engineers, product managers, and designers.
- Contribute to CI/CD workflows and deployment pipelines.
- Take ownership of features from concept to production release.
- Mentor junior engineers and uphold engineering best practices.
Must-Have Qualifications
Core Frontend Expertise
- ≥ 2 years of production experience building scalable web applications.
- Strong command over Next.js, React, TypeScript, and modern JavaScript (ES6+).
- Deep understanding of rendering strategies (SSR, SSG, ISR, CSR) and when to use each.
- Advanced Tailwind CSS knowledge and experience building custom design systems.
- Experience with frontend performance optimization and profiling.
API & Integration
- Experience integrating frontend applications with Node.js and Python backends.
- Strong understanding of REST APIs and/or GraphQL.
- Familiarity with authentication systems (JWT, OAuth, session-based auth).
- Experience handling large datasets, paginated/infinite APIs, and streaming responses.
Frontend Ecosystem Knowledge
- Server/client state management (TanStack Query / React Query, Zustand, Redux Toolkit).
- Form management (React Hook Form, Zod/Yup validation).
- Data fetching and caching strategies.
- Component-driven development; experience with design systems / Storybook is a plus.
- Data visualization libraries (Recharts, D3, ECharts, Nivo, or similar).
DevOps & Quality
- Experience with Docker-based local development workflows.
- CI/CD familiarity (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.).
- Strong Git workflows and collaborative branching strategies.
- Testing mindset spanning unit, integration, and E2E coverage.
Engineering Mindset
- Clean, maintainable code adhering to SOLID principles.
- Strong debugging and performance-profiling skills.
- Ownership-driven, product-first thinking.
- Comfortable working independently in an in-office startup environment.
Critical Requirements – High Weightage
This is non-negotiable. Applications without these will not be prioritized.
Portfolio, Live Products & Demos
You must be able to show, not just tell. With your application, explicitly share:
- An active GitHub profile showcasing real, production-grade frontend code (not just tutorials or forks).
- Live, deployed projects - public URLs we can open and interact with right now. Next.js + TypeScript projects strongly preferred.
- Live demos / a portfolio site where you specifically showcase your UI/UX work - the visual quality, interaction design, responsiveness, and polish you are personally responsible for.
- Demonstrated ability to build complex dashboards, SaaS products, AI-integrated UIs, or data-heavy interfaces.
- Clean code structure, thoughtful architecture, and clear documentation.
In your application, please include direct links to:
https://forms.gle/FPUtQZ9ebgHPeAH59
1. Your GitHub profile (and 1–3 specific repos you're proud of).
2. At least one live deployed product (URL) you built or substantially contributed to.
3. A portfolio / demo that highlights your UI/UX craftsmanship.
Tell us, for each link, exactly what you built and which parts are yours.
Technical Assessment
We will evaluate your:
- Frontend architecture design and scalability decisions.
- Code quality and maintainability.
- Performance optimization strategy.
- Ability to convert product requirements into production-ready UI.
- End-to-end ownership during feature implementation.
Nice-to-Have
- Experience building AI-powered, streaming, or data-heavy interfaces.
- Knowledge of WebSockets, streaming UIs, and real-time collaboration features.
- Experience building embeddable widgets / SDKs (shadow-DOM isolation, CDN delivery).
- Experience with design systems and internal UI libraries.
- Exposure to animation libraries (Framer Motion, GSAP).
- Contributions to open-source React/Next.js projects.
- Experience working in early-stage startups.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary (Base Pay: 50-75K per month) with a strong growth trajectory.
- High-impact role with direct influence on product direction.
- Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI-driven products.
- Fast execution cycles and a strong ownership culture.
- Learning budget for courses and certifications.
- Collaborative in-office engineering culture in Hyderabad.
https://forms.gle/FPUtQZ9ebgHPeAH59
If you are passionate about building scalable, beautiful, and high-performance frontend systems and want to shape the product experience of a growing startup - send us your GitHub, your live products, and your portfolio.
We'd love to see what you've shipped.
Click on Apply to know more.
