How Can Your Product Design Career Framework Empower All Designers?

The traditional design career path has long been viewed as a linear progression towards management. But what if there’s another way?

At Criteo, we recently embarked on a journey to redefine our product design career framework. Our goal? To create a more inclusive system that empowers designers to pursue career fulfillment, regardless of their leadership aspirations. When I joined Criteo 4 years ago as UX Lead, I was very surprised to hear very few team members wanted to take management responsibilities. Indeed, these tasks can be quite far from the designer day-to-day role, implying important people or procurement skills. I can’t deny that evolving towards management position as a designer significantly reduces our production time (don’t ask me the last time I designed flows…). This is why it was important to also offer growth opportunities to the team members willing to find deep fulfillment in honing their craft and expertise without the burden of people management.

Our design career framework relies on a dual-track design career path, offering growth opportunities for designers who wish to specialize in individual contribution (IC) tracks, while still acknowledging the value of management tracks.

Our Product Design Career framework proposes a dual-track design career path

The resulting framework outlines two distinct yet complementary tracks:

• Management Track: This track caters to designers who thrive in leadership roles, overseeing teams, and shaping design vision.
• Individual Contributor (IC) Track: This track is designed for designers who prefer to focus on developing deep expertise within a specific design domain.

Both tracks require designers to cultivate a well-rounded skillset that encompasses:

• Craft: Technical skills and domain-specific knowledge
• Strategy: Understanding of product vision and the ability to translate it into design solutions
• Collaboration: Effective communication, teamwork, and the ability to navigate design processes.
• Impact: A focus on driving positive change through design solutions
• For the managers, an additional skillset around their ability to help other designers grow their skills, expertise and knowledge is expected.

What does an IC track look like?

IC designers can expect to progress through increasingly senior levels, becoming recognized experts in their chosen field.

Here are some of the potential benefits of pursuing the IC track:

• Mastery of a Specific Skillset: IC designers have the opportunity to become true masters of their craft, continually refining their skills and knowledge within a particular design domain.
• Technical Innovation: Focusing on a specific area allows designers to stay at the forefront of technical innovation and industry best practices.
• Impact Through Expertise: Deep specialization empowers IC designers to deliver highly impactful design solutions that address complex challenges.

Here are some examples of IC specializations within our Product Design team:

• Design System
• Content
• UX data
• AI technologies
• Commerce XP

It’s important to note that the IC track is not a dead end. Senior IC designers can take on leadership roles within their area of expertise, mentoring junior designers and influencing design decisions at a strategic level.

What does a management track look like?

As designers progress through the management track, they take on increasing responsibility for leading design teams, shaping design vision, and driving product strategy.

Here are some of the potential benefits of pursuing the management track:

• Leadership Development: The management track provides opportunities to hone leadership skills, such as team motivation, mentorship, and conflict resolution.
• Strategic Influence: Design leaders play a crucial role in shaping the overall product vision and influencing strategic decision-making.
• Building and Empowering Teams: Design managers have the opportunity to build high-performing design teams and create a positive and inspiring work environment.

Ditch the ladder, build a powerhouse! A dual-track design career path will empower your designers to become masters of their craft, unlocking their full potential for groundbreaking innovation. Perhaps this model extends beyond product design, influencing the way marketing teams, engineering teams, and even entire companies structure their career paths. The possibilities are vast!