So I'm actually in a similar position. Most of my company does lower-stack development (MAC protocols). But we still have to provide a lot of user facing techno

So I'm actually in a similar position. Most of my company does lower-stack development (MAC protocols). But we still have to provide a lot of user facing technology. When we do, I'm that guy. I'm not traditionally a UI guy, but I find interfaces really interesting. I end up getting a lot of opportunity to try new things and play with large amounts of data. But enough about me. If you're really not interested in doing UI work, you should reconsider your current professional station and see if there are options which are better aligned with what you're interested in. There's no reason you should be dragged into projects that don't have any appeal. I'd be willing to bet that in the long term, you will grow miserable. If, in fact, you enjoy these UI opportunities, I wouldn't worry about your lack of expertise getting in the way. If they're willing to let you tinker around with projects like this knowing your skill level, I think this can only improve your skillset and help you be a more well-rounded developer. (It's hard to deny that a good knowledge of how interfaces work will pay of with good design decision during initial development.) There are amazing resources out there to help you learn good UI practice. I've mentioned some in other answer here. I have more if you're interested. (Or checkout my bookmarks at http://pinboard.in/u:mikegreenberg http://pinboard.in/u:mikegreenberg )