I woke up about a month into my portfolio design sprint when I realised why not lean into the specialisation rather than shy away from it? In a tight market, and an even tighter industry (UX) I quickly realised that very thing holding me back was a solid commitment to my own skills.
Specialise to become indispensable
I could be one of maybe three people applying for that type of role as opposed to 1 of hundreds! I know at least three people who do this role so it feels completely viable.
The title UX Engineer bubbled to the surface and it dawned on me that’s who I am, professionally speaking. As front end development has become more JavaScript heavy and Full Stack Developer-y, it was easy to feel left behind. However, now there’s a solid place for someone like me who likes to design with code, and bring those two sides together.
A UX Engineer is essentially a Design Technologist because you sit between the design and development teams, helping designers achieve what’s best for the user using technology. While a UX Engineer takes a generally pessimistic viewpoint (the technology determines the designs we can produce to a large extent), they then use this as a guardrail to smooth out the design delivery process.
Design delivery needs to be smooth and constant. This is the key concept that the role champions, and there’s a bit of confusion around how AI fits into this. Figma Make is great for quick prototyping but don’t use that code in development – it has div itis and is in React and may not fit your tech stack or be accessible.
So what AI system actually works for streamlining a DS?
Figma MCP
A real option these days is Figma MCP. When you use it as an AI agent to learn your tokens and design system, it creates a two way street. It creates a dependable ecosystem that lets design changes update code and code changes update designs.
At its core the design system must be device-agnostic to be most effective, and prescriptive up to a certain point so the MCP can learn the rules. The DS must allow for design flexibility and it must give developers a DRY system to use for the FE. A good README.md file goes a long way!
The goals of a UX Engineer
The goals for a UX Engineer are: Minimise UI bugs and maximise UX understanding. Don’t call it a “code handoff”, but do call it UX Engineering communicating well with developers.
Ultimately, as a UX Engineer you help design stay ahead development and of the design system by communicating future plans to both sides. Shepherd the user story through to finished product. Developers care whom they are helping so it’s my job to bring them along for the ride. I tell them stories, the good, the bad, and the ugly – developers can then empathise and understand for whom they are building.
The story ends with a good result – I was able to land a role as a UX Engineer! Once I committed to that role I had clarity in my job search and my future in tech overall. It helped that I spoke about Using Code as a Design Tool in early 2025, and someone I met at that talk thought of me first when a role came up.
Specialise and trust the process
Get out there, trust the process, and be very clear about your skills; be specific! It takes time but it pays off.
