The National Design Studio Became a DOGE Landing Pad. Now ‘Big Balls’ Is Recruiting
Last year, the first iteration of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began to wind down with billionaire Elon Musk’s departure from government in June 2025. But a new entity, led by yet another tech billionaire, emerged much more quietly less than two months later: the National Design Studio (NDS).
NDS is headed by Joe Gebbia, the cofounder of Airbnb who now serves as the country’s chief design officer. Its mission is to redesign government websites to make them “beautifully designed” with a “great user experience,” according to Gebbia. But NDS retains many of the hallmarks of DOGE, including some of its team members, an opaque structure, and a seeming lack of adherence to the way many rules and systems in the federal government work. As it continues hiring, WIRED spoke to an engineer who interviewed for a position with the agency.
“I don't want to come off as...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to wired.com. To see the full text click HERE
