Full Stack Engineer (AI Lab)

About the job

We are launching a new AI Lab—a small, fast-moving innovation unit focused on reimagining The Economist’s journalism for an AI-driven world. This role will be central to prototyping and shipping early experiences that bring AI models into user-facing tools, particularly via web and mobile interfaces. You’ll ship products from zero-to-one and see your ideas directly influence how millions of readers interact with our journalism. If you enjoy working close to design, iterating fast, and building novel interactions across text, voice, and visuals, we’d love to hear from you. You'll be one of the first three engineers in a dedicated lab, working alongside the Tech Lead, Design Lead and Product Lead. You’ll be part of a globally distributed team working closely with colleagues in the UK and Europe. Role Base Location - Indonesia or India What You’ll Do • Build interactive prototypes that surface LLM capabilities in mobile and web environments (e.g. chat + audio agents / interfaces). These are often high-fidelity, code-based prototypes intended for user testing and internal demos, with a path to becoming V1 features. • Implement voice interaction flows in mobile and web • Work closely with the Design Lead to explore new interaction paradigms and integrate Figma flows into working prototypes • Integrate LLM outputs, voice services, and backend logic into frontend experiences—collaborating with the wider engineering team on AI infrastructure. • Contribute to frontend components and frameworks (React/Next.js, Tailwind, etc.) to streamline iteration across projects. • Comfortable collaborating with Python-based AI infra and APIs (e.g. FastAPI backends, LangChain-like pipelines). • Able to run/test Python scripts (e.g. model calls, audio processing, etc.). • Ideally able to contribute some Python components if needed (like wiring up STT/TTS calls, or tweaking endpoints for a demo). • Comfortable collaborating across time zones and async workflows. Specific skills and expertise • 5+ years of experience in frontend or full-stack development with a strong UX instinct • Fluency in React and modern JavaScript/TypeScript (ideally with Next.js) • Strong working knowledge of browser audio APIs and libraries for voice interaction (e.g. Web Speech API, MediaRecorder, Web Audio, or integrations with ElevenLabs/HeyGen/VibeVoice) • Familiarity with mobile-first design, responsive layouts, and rapid prototyping • Comfortable working across frontend/backend boundaries (e.g., creating lightweight API routes or integrating with LLM endpoints) • Experience working closely with product and design to prototype ideas and iterate on feedback • Strong communication skills and a collaborative, curiosity-driven attitude Strong candidates might also have • Swift/ iOS experience • Experience working in R&D labs, design-led startups, or other experimental environments • Exposure to conversational UI, voice agents, or multimodal interfaces • Familiarity with design tools like Figma, Miro, or ProtoPie • Experience integrating STT/TTS services like Whisper, ElevenLabs, Azure Speech, etc. • Interest in journalism, editorial products, or designing with tone and clarity in mind • Enthusiasm for emerging GenAI capabilities and the role they could play in everyday tools • Experience writing Python for scripting or integrating AI APIs (e.g. TTS/STT, OpenAI, Whisper, ElevenLabs)

Requirements

• frontend development
• full-stack development
• React
• JavaScript
• TypeScript
• voice interaction
• prototyping
• Python

Preferred Technologies

• frontend development
• full-stack development
• React
• JavaScript
• TypeScript
• voice interaction
• prototyping
• Python

About the company

The Economist Group is a global media and information services company committed to championing progress. We equip individuals and organisations with expertise, insights, and perspectives to navigate change and drive growth.