How to Apply to Midjourney

11 min read Last updated March 8, 2026
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Midjourney uses email-only applications ([email protected]) with no ATS — your resume is read by humans, so optimize for clarity, impact, and visual design rather than keyword density
  • Join and actively participate in the Midjourney Discord community before applying — attend David Holz's weekly Office Hours to understand current priorities and demonstrate genuine engagement
  • Lead your application with your single most impressive shipped product, published paper, or technical achievement — at a team of fewer than 60 people, proven ability to deliver exceptional work is the primary hiring signal
  • Keep your application email under 300 words with a clear subject line, PDF resume attachment, and links to your best work — conciseness signals the communication skills Midjourney values
  • Demonstrate radical self-sufficiency in your resume and interviews — highlight projects where you owned the problem end-to-end without extensive management or team support
  • Be patient with the process — Midjourney's tiny team hires infrequently and timelines are unpredictable, but persistence and continued skill-building can pay off in future application cycles

About Midjourney

Midjourney is one of the most remarkable companies in the AI era — a self-funded, independent AI research lab that built one of the world's most widely used generative AI products with fewer than 60 employees. Founded in 2022 by David Holz, who previously co-founded Leap Motion (the hand-tracking technology company), Midjourney created an AI image generation platform that has fundamentally changed how millions of people create visual art, design concepts, and creative work. What makes Midjourney extraordinary is its operating model. With estimated annual revenue exceeding $200 million and a team smaller than most startups' engineering departments, Midjourney achieves a revenue-per-employee ratio that dwarfs virtually every technology company in existence. The company is headquartered in San Francisco but operates as a fully remote organization, with team members distributed across the globe. Midjourney's product initially launched as a Discord bot, leveraging the massive Discord platform to build a community of millions of users who generate images through text prompts. The company has since expanded to a dedicated web application, but Discord remains central to its identity and community. David Holz himself hosts weekly 'Office Hours' sessions on the Midjourney Discord server — a rare level of founder accessibility that reflects the company's community-first philosophy. The culture at Midjourney is defined by extreme ownership, intellectual curiosity, and a bias toward shipping. With such a small team, every individual has outsized impact. There are no layers of management, no bureaucratic processes, and no room to hide. Team members are expected to be exceptional individual contributors who can operate independently, move fast, and produce work that would typically require teams many times their size. This is not a company that hires for potential — they hire for demonstrated excellence and the ability to thrive in an environment of radical autonomy. For job seekers, working at Midjourney represents a rare opportunity to join one of the most influential AI companies in the world while working alongside a small group of extraordinarily talented people. The impact per person is enormous, the technology is cutting-edge, and the company's independence from venture capital means decisions are driven by product vision rather than investor pressure.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Review Open Roles on the Careers Page

    Visit https://www.midjourney.com/careers to see current openings. Roles are organized by category — typically Research, Infrastructure, Frontend, and Design. Read each role description carefully. Midjourney posts lean job descriptions that emphasize what you'll work on rather than checkbox requirements. Pay attention to the specific technical areas mentioned, as these signal exactly what problems the team is currently solving. If no role matches your background perfectly, consider whether your skills map to an adjacent listed role — at a team this small, roles often evolve.

  2. 2
    Prepare Your Application Materials

    Midjourney does not use an applicant tracking system. Your application goes directly to [email protected], which means a human will read every word. Prepare a concise, compelling email that includes: your resume (PDF format preferred), a brief introduction explaining why you want to work at Midjourney specifically, links to relevant work (GitHub, portfolio, published research, shipped products), and a clear statement of which role you're applying for. Do not send a generic cover letter. Your email itself is your cover letter, and it should demonstrate that you understand what Midjourney is building and why your specific skills matter for their mission.

  3. 3
    Craft a Standout Email to [email protected]

    Your email subject line should be clear and professional: include the role title and your name (e.g., 'Application: Research Engineer — Jane Smith'). In the body, lead with your strongest credential — the single most impressive thing you've done that's relevant to the role. Keep the email under 300 words. Midjourney values people who communicate clearly and concisely. Attach your resume as a PDF (not a Word doc, not a Google Drive link). If you have a portfolio or GitHub profile, include the URLs inline rather than as attachments. End with a specific, genuine reason you want to join Midjourney — not generic flattery, but something that shows you've thought deeply about the company's work.

  4. 4
    Build Visibility Through the Midjourney Community

    One of the most powerful things you can do before and after applying is become an active, thoughtful member of the Midjourney Discord community. With millions of members and David Holz hosting weekly Office Hours, the Discord server is the closest thing to Midjourney's front door. Contribute meaningfully: share technical insights about image generation, help other users, participate in discussions about new features, and attend Office Hours to understand the team's current priorities. Community engagement won't replace a strong application, but it demonstrates genuine passion and gives you context that will make your application and interviews significantly stronger.

  5. 5
    Follow Up Thoughtfully

    If you haven't heard back within two to three weeks, a single polite follow-up email is appropriate. Reference your original application date, reiterate your interest briefly, and mention any new relevant work you've completed since applying. Do not follow up more than once. Midjourney is a tiny team processing applications while building one of the most-used AI products in the world — response times will vary. Patience and professionalism matter. If you're rejected or don't hear back, continue building your skills, contributing to the community, and consider reapplying in six months with new work to show.

Resume Tips for Midjourney

critical

Optimize for Human Readers, Not Algorithms

Unlike most companies where your resume passes through ATS parsing software, Midjourney applications go to a human inbox. This means you should prioritize readability, visual clarity, and compelling content over keyword stuffing. Use a clean, well-designed PDF layout. Your resume should be scannable in 30 seconds — a hiring manager at a 50-person company doesn't have time to decode dense formatting. Lead with impact, not responsibilities.

critical

Lead with Shipped Work and Measurable Impact

At a company where every person does the work of ten, demonstrated ability to ship matters more than credentials. For each role on your resume, emphasize what you built, launched, or improved — with specific metrics where possible. 'Built the real-time inference pipeline serving 2M daily requests at 50ms p99 latency' is vastly more compelling than 'Worked on backend infrastructure.' Midjourney wants people who have a track record of building things that work at scale.

critical

Highlight Independent Ownership and Autonomy

Midjourney's tiny team means no one is going to hand you detailed specifications or manage your daily tasks. Your resume should demonstrate that you've thrived in environments requiring self-direction. Highlight projects where you identified the problem, designed the solution, and executed end-to-end without extensive oversight. Founding projects, open-source contributions, and solo research publications are particularly strong signals.

critical

Include Links to Your Best Work

A resume is a summary; your actual work is the proof. Include links to your GitHub profile, published papers, live products you've built, design portfolios, or any publicly accessible demonstration of your abilities. For research roles, link to your Google Scholar profile or arXiv papers. For engineering roles, link to open-source projects or technical blog posts. For design roles, a curated portfolio is essential. Make sure every link works and leads to something impressive.

recommended

Keep It Concise — One to Two Pages Maximum

Midjourney values clarity and efficiency in communication. A sprawling five-page resume signals the opposite of what they're looking for. Limit your resume to one page if you have fewer than ten years of experience, two pages maximum for senior candidates. Every line should earn its place. Cut anything that doesn't directly support your candidacy for the specific role you're targeting.

recommended

Demonstrate AI and Machine Learning Depth

Even if you're applying for a non-research role (infrastructure, frontend, design), showing familiarity with AI and machine learning concepts is valuable at a company whose entire product is an AI model. Mention relevant coursework, personal projects involving generative AI, or experience working alongside ML teams. For research roles, your resume should read like a condensed CV with publications, research areas, and technical depth front and center.

ATS System: None (Email-Based)

Midjourney does not use an applicant tracking system. All applications are submitted directly via email to [email protected]. This means your resume will not be parsed by software — it will be read by a human being. There is no online application portal, no form to fill out, and no automated screening. Your email and attached resume are your entire application. This email-based process is consistent with Midjourney's lean operating philosophy: a small team that avoids unnecessary tools and processes. The upside for applicants is that a well-crafted, thoughtful application won't be filtered out by keyword-matching algorithms. The downside is that there's no application status tracker — you won't receive automated updates about your application's progress.

  • Send your resume as a PDF attachment — not a Word document, not a Google Drive link, not pasted into the email body
  • Use a clear, professional subject line that includes the role title and your name
  • Keep your email concise and compelling — it functions as your cover letter
  • Do not use mail merge or mass-application tools — personalized emails stand out immediately against templated ones
  • Ensure your email signature includes links to your GitHub, LinkedIn, or portfolio
  • Proofread meticulously — with no ATS buffer, typos and formatting errors are immediately visible to the reader

Interview Culture

Interviewing at Midjourney is unlike the process at most technology companies.

There are no standardized interview loops with six rounds of behavioral questions, no take-home assignments designed by committee, and no HR screening calls. The process is lean, direct, and deeply technical — reflecting the company's overall philosophy of eliminating unnecessary overhead. Expect conversations with people who are actually doing the work you'd be joining. At a company of fewer than 60 people, you may speak directly with David Holz or senior team leads who have deep context on the problems you'd be solving. These conversations tend to be exploratory rather than adversarial: the team wants to understand how you think, what you've built, and whether you'd thrive in an environment of radical autonomy with minimal structure. For research roles, be prepared to discuss your published work in depth, explain your research methodology, and engage in technical discussions about diffusion models, image generation architectures, and the frontiers of generative AI. For engineering roles, expect questions about systems design, performance optimization, and your experience building and operating production systems at scale. For design and frontend roles, your portfolio will be the centerpiece of the conversation. The bar is extraordinarily high. Midjourney can afford to be selective because they hire rarely and each person's impact is enormous. They're not looking for people who can do the job adequately — they're looking for people who would be the best person in the world for this specific role at this specific moment. That said, the team is known for being respectful and genuine in interviews. There's no hazing, no gotcha questions, and no performative difficulty. They simply want to find exceptional people who are excited about the same problems they're solving. Timelines can be unpredictable. With a small team focused primarily on building product, hiring processes may move slowly or in bursts. Patience is important, and radio silence doesn't necessarily mean rejection.

What Midjourney Looks For

  • Exceptional individual contributors who can operate with minimal oversight and produce outsized results — Midjourney's entire model depends on each person doing the work of a much larger team
  • Deep technical expertise in your specific domain, whether that's machine learning research, distributed systems, frontend engineering, or design — generalists are less useful at a company where every role demands mastery
  • A track record of shipping real products or publishing impactful research — demonstrated results matter far more than credentials, titles, or years of experience
  • Comfort with ambiguity and rapid change — at a company building on the frontier of AI, priorities shift quickly and the ability to adapt without extensive direction is essential
  • Strong written communication skills — as a fully remote company, Midjourney relies heavily on asynchronous written communication, and the ability to express complex ideas clearly in writing is non-negotiable
  • Genuine passion for AI, creativity, and the intersection of technology and art — people who are excited about Midjourney's mission bring an energy and curiosity that makes the entire team stronger
  • Intellectual humility paired with confidence — the best candidates can defend their ideas rigorously while remaining genuinely open to being wrong

Frequently Asked Questions

What email format should I use when applying to Midjourney?
Send your application to [email protected] with a clear subject line formatted as 'Application: [Role Title] — [Your Name]' (e.g., 'Application: Research Engineer — Jane Smith'). In the body, write a concise introduction (under 300 words) explaining which role you're applying for, your strongest relevant qualification, and why you specifically want to work at Midjourney. Attach your resume as a PDF file. Include links to your GitHub, portfolio, published research, or other evidence of your work directly in the email body. Do not use HTML-heavy email templates or include large inline images — keep it professional and text-focused.
How important is a portfolio when applying to Midjourney?
Extremely important, regardless of the role. Midjourney is a company that values demonstrated ability over credentials. For research roles, your publications and research contributions serve as your portfolio — link to your Google Scholar profile or key papers on arXiv. For engineering roles, a strong GitHub profile with well-documented projects, especially anything related to AI, image processing, or distributed systems, significantly strengthens your application. For design and frontend roles, a curated portfolio showcasing your best work is essentially mandatory. Even if the role doesn't traditionally require a portfolio, linking to tangible evidence of your skills (blog posts, open-source contributions, side projects) gives your application substantially more weight.
Should I join the Midjourney Discord server before applying?
Yes, and not just as a checkbox exercise. The Midjourney Discord server, with millions of members, is the company's primary community hub. David Holz hosts weekly Office Hours where he discusses product direction, technical challenges, and the team's current thinking. Attending these sessions gives you invaluable context about what Midjourney is working on and what problems they're trying to solve — information you can reference in your application to demonstrate genuine understanding. Beyond Office Hours, contributing thoughtfully to technical discussions, helping other users, and sharing insights about image generation shows the kind of community-minded, self-directed engagement that aligns with Midjourney's culture. Active community participation won't compensate for a weak technical profile, but it can meaningfully differentiate your application from equally qualified candidates.
Is Midjourney fully remote, and where are team members located?
Midjourney is a fully remote company headquartered in San Francisco. Team members work from locations around the world. The company's remote-first approach is integral to its lean operating model — with fewer than 60 employees, they hire the best people regardless of geography rather than limiting their talent pool to a single city. Communication happens primarily through asynchronous channels, which means strong written communication skills are essential. The company's roots in Discord (both as a product platform and community tool) mean the team is comfortable with real-time digital collaboration when needed, but the default mode is asynchronous work that respects individual focus time and time zone differences.
How small is Midjourney's team, and what does that mean for new hires?
Midjourney operates with approximately 40 to 60 employees — a remarkably small team for a company generating over $200 million in estimated annual revenue and serving millions of users. For new hires, this means several things. First, your individual impact will be enormous — there's no hiding in a large organization, and every person's contributions are visible and consequential. Second, you'll work with minimal management structure and maximum autonomy, which is liberating for self-directed people and challenging for those who need external structure. Third, hiring is infrequent and extremely selective, so getting an offer is a genuine achievement. Fourth, you'll likely interact with nearly everyone on the team, including founder David Holz, giving you exposure and influence that would take years to earn at a larger company.
What is David Holz's vision for Midjourney, and why does it matter for applicants?
David Holz has spoken publicly about Midjourney's mission as expanding human imagination and creativity through AI. Unlike many AI companies focused purely on technical benchmarks, Holz emphasizes the aesthetic, emotional, and creative dimensions of image generation. He previously co-founded Leap Motion, a gesture-tracking hardware company, which reflects his longstanding interest in the interface between humans and technology. For applicants, understanding Holz's vision matters because Midjourney hires people who share genuine excitement about this intersection of AI and creativity. In your application and interviews, demonstrating that you've engaged with Midjourney's product, followed Holz's public commentary (Office Hours, interviews, social media), and thought critically about the future of generative AI will distinguish you from candidates who view the role as just another job at an AI company.
What compensation should I expect at Midjourney?
Midjourney does not publicly disclose compensation ranges, and as a private, self-funded company, they are not subject to the same pay transparency requirements as publicly traded tech companies in some jurisdictions. However, given the company's substantial revenue, small team size, and the caliber of talent they compete for, compensation is widely understood to be highly competitive with top-tier technology companies. Midjourney competes for the same researchers and engineers sought by Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The company's profitability and independence from venture capital also mean potential for meaningful equity or profit-sharing arrangements, though specifics vary. During the interview process, be prepared to discuss your compensation expectations openly and research market rates for comparable roles at elite AI research labs.
How long does the Midjourney hiring process typically take?
There is no standardized timeline. Because Midjourney is a small team without a dedicated recruiting department, hiring timelines are unpredictable and can vary significantly. Some candidates report hearing back within a week; others wait several weeks or longer. The process itself tends to be shorter than at large tech companies — with fewer interviewers and no bureaucratic approval chains, decisions can be made quickly once conversations begin. If you haven't heard back within two to three weeks, a single polite follow-up email is appropriate. Beyond that, continued silence likely means the team has moved forward with other candidates, though it's worth reapplying with new work to show after six months. The key is patience without passivity — continue building your skills and portfolio while you wait.
Can I apply to Midjourney if there's no open role matching my exact background?
You can, but be strategic about it. If your skills are genuinely exceptional and clearly relevant to Midjourney's work — even if no current opening is a perfect match — a well-crafted speculative email to [email protected] may be worth sending. Clearly articulate what you'd contribute, why it matters for the company's current trajectory, and include compelling evidence of your work. That said, Midjourney posts roles when they have specific needs, and a speculative application is far less likely to result in a conversation than one aligned with a listed opening. A better strategy may be to build visibility through the Discord community, continue developing relevant skills, and apply promptly when a matching role appears.
View Open Positions at Midjourney →

Related Resources

Similar Companies

Sources

  1. Midjourney Careers Page — Midjourney
  2. David Holz Interview: The Story Behind Midjourney — The Verge
  3. How Midjourney Built a $200M+ Business with a Tiny Team — Forbes
  4. Midjourney Discord Server and Office Hours — Discord / Midjourney Community