Desktop Engineer – AI

A1 is a self-funded AI group, operating in full stealth. We’re building a new global consumer AI application where backend systems are not glue - they are the control plane that connects models, data, users, and product experiences. This is a founding desktop engineering role. You will design and build a high-performance desktop application with deep AI features, tight OS integration, and real-time collaboration - operating under real-world constraints like memory pressure, startup time, large local state, and continuous updates. Why This Role Matters

You define how users experience AI-powered collaboration on desktop

Your work directly impacts speed, reliability, and trust at scale

You solve hard problems at the intersection of OS, frontend, real-time systems, and AI

You build production systems used daily — not prototypes

You help set desktop engineering standards from day one

What You’ll Do

Build and maintain cross-platform desktop apps using Electron

Design responsive, scalable UI for real-time collaboration

Implement desktop-specific capabilities: File system access

Native notifications

Auto-updates

Deep linking

Integrate AI-powered features (chat, agents, AI assistance) via backend APIs

Optimize memory usage, startup time, and runtime performance

Profile and reduce Electron overhead

Handle large local state and message history efficiently

Ensure smooth real-time updates (messages, typing indicators, presence)

Maintain stability across macOS and Windows environments

Requirements

4+ years of software engineering experience

Hands-on experience building production Electron applications

Strong knowledge of: JavaScript / TypeScript

React or similar UI frameworks

Desktop application lifecycle

Experience with: IPC communication

Local storage (SQLite, IndexedDB, filesystem)

WebSockets or other real-time transport

Strong debugging and performance profiling skills

Nice to Have

Experience integrating AI features in production: LLM-based chat

AI agents

Streaming AI responses

Understanding of AI constraints: Latency vs UX tradeoffs

Cost considerations

Non-deterministic outputs

Experience handling large local datasets or long-lived app sessions

Familiarity with native OS behaviors on macOS or Windows

Our Team & Culture

We operate as a dense, senior, high-performance team. We value clarity, speed, craftsmanship, and relentless ownership. We behave like founders — we build, ship, iterate, and hold ourselves to a high technical bar. If you value excellence, enjoy building real systems, and want to be part of a small team creating something globally impactful, you’ll thrive here. About A1

A1 is a self-funded, independent AI group, focused on building a new consumer AI product with global impact. We’re assembling a small, elite team of ML and engineering builders who want to work on meaningful, high-impact problems.

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