Frontend Systems Developer (contract)

Atomic Machines is ushering in a new era of micromanufacturing with its Matter Compiler™ technology platform. This platform enables new classes of micromachines to be designed and built by providing manufacturing processes and a materials library that are inaccessible to semiconductor manufacturing methods. It unlocks MEMS manufacturing not only for device classes that could never be produced by semiconductor methods, but also for entirely new categories. Furthermore, this digital platform is fully programmable in the way 3D printing is digital—but whereas 3D printing produces parts of a single material using a single process, the Matter Compiler™ technology platform is a multi-process, multi-material system: bits and raw materials go in, and complete, functional micromachines come out. The Atomic Machines team has also created an exciting first device—made possible only through the Matter Compiler™ technology platform—that we will be unveiling to the world soon.

Our offices are in Emeryville and Santa Clara, California.

About The Role

In this role you will help maintain and extend a web-based visual graph editor for manufacturing workflows. Users create and connect nodes representing materials/workpieces/tools and manufacturing steps (processes/inspections), validate the resulting workflow against catalogs and strict data contracts, and export a schema-compliant JSON representation for downstream tooling.

This role blends UI engineering with data integrity work. The editor must stay responsive on large graphs, preserve correctness (IDs, validation, export format), as well as support collaboration workflows through version control integrations.

This is a part-time, hybrid, freelance/contract role. Hours:

• 1st 60 days: 20-40 hours per week
• Ongoing: 10-20 hours (minimum) per week
  
  

What You’ll Do

• Build and maintain a React + TypeScript UI for a graph editor (node/edge creation, selection, multi-select, drag/drop, property panels)
• Implement schema-driven validation and export (JSON Schema / AJV), ensuring stable, backwards-compatible outputs as schemas evolve
• Improve performance and reliability for large graphs (rendering, minimizing re-renders, preventing UI jitter, safe persistence)
• Support workflows around identity/ID rules, including ID generation, transformations on copy/paste/import, and “minting/locking” behaviors that freeze certain fields once finalized
• Maintain integrations used in real production workflows:
• GitLab API (branching, committing files, MR workflows)
• Methods API (catalog sync, offline fallback, validation that blocks pushes when API is down)
• Authentication (Okta)
• Ship small-to-medium features end-to-end: UI, state changes, validation, tests, and docs
• Triage bugs from real users (manufacturing/process engineers), reproduce quickly, and implement safe fixes
• Add/maintain unit tests (Jest + TS) around tricky logic (ID transformation, export validation, API sync behavior)
• Keep the build/lint/test pipeline healthy (Vite, TypeScript, ESLint, Jest) and handle dependency upgrades carefully
• Collaborate asynchronously with a cross-functional team (process, production, AI) through clear PRs, strong commit hygiene, and pragmatic technical decisions
• Tools/Stack You’ll Work With: React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind CSS, ReactFlow, AJV (JSON Schema), Jest, ESLint, GitLab API, OpenAPI, Okta
  

What You’ll Need

• Experience building complex, stateful UI systems (not CRUD/dashboard apps)
• Strong React + TypeScript with state management + performance optimization
• Experience with graph/diagram editors or similar interaction-heavy UIs
• Experience with large in-memory data + UI/data synchronization
• Experience with validation systems + deterministic outputs (schema, exports)
• Strong debugging in complex systems + ability to explain tradeoffs
• Experience leading complex, ambiguous problems across cross-functional teams with multiple stakeholders
  
  

Bonus Points For:

• Manufacturing background (MES, process planning, CAD/CAM adjacent tooling, “recipes/methods/catalog” concepts)
• JSON Schema / AJV experience and comfort with strict data contracts
• GitLab API experience, auth systems (Okta/OIDC), or “internal tool” deployment constraints
  
  

Hourly Rate Range: $90 USD - $120 USD