Acme Co · Design & UX Division

Design & UX Career Ladder

Six levels covering Product Design, UX Research, and Design Management. Each entry defines craft expectations, research depth, and the cross-functional influence expected at that level.

D1

Associate Designer

Scope: assigned screens and flows with clear briefs · 0–18 months

Craft

  • Executes high-fidelity mockups following the Acme design system
  • Iterates quickly on feedback; incorporates critique constructively
  • Understands responsive design and accessibility fundamentals

Research

  • Observes user research sessions; synthesizes notes with guidance
  • Monitors usability feedback for assigned features

Influence

  • Presents design work clearly in crit and to PM partners
  • Contributes to design system component library
Promotion signal: Ships polished work with minimal revision cycles; proactively raising edge cases; seeking broader feature ownership.
D2

Designer I

Scope: end-to-end feature ownership · 1–4 years

Craft

  • Owns feature design from discovery brief to final spec
  • Handles multi-state, error, and edge-case flows independently
  • Contributes reusable patterns to the design system
  • Comfortable with motion and micro-interaction design

Research

  • Plans and runs moderated usability tests independently
  • Synthesizes findings into actionable design recommendations

Influence

  • Trusted partner to PM and engineering on their feature area
  • Participates in design critique as a constructive reviewer
Promotion signal: Feature designs ship with measurable usability improvement; peers seek their review; beginning to influence product direction, not just executing specs.
D3

Designer II

Scope: product area, multi-flow systems · 3–6 years

Craft

  • Designs complex, multi-flow systems with strong conceptual coherence
  • Balances aesthetics and engineering constraints fluently
  • Drives design system evolution for the product area

Research

  • Runs mixed-methods research: qual interviews + quant analysis
  • Defines research questions that shape the product roadmap
  • Mentors D1 designers on research planning and synthesis

Influence

  • Design advocate in product and engineering planning discussions
  • Peer reviewer across multiple feature areas, not just their own
  • Actively mentors Associate and D1 designers
Promotion signal: Designs set the standard the team references; research is shaping strategic decisions; demonstrating cross-team impact and developing others.
D4

Senior Designer

Scope: multiple product areas, systems thinking · 6–10 years

Craft

  • Leads design for the most complex, high-visibility product surfaces
  • Sets interaction patterns adopted across the full product
  • Owns the design system strategy for their domain

Research

  • Owns the research program for multiple product areas
  • Defines research standards and frameworks for the design org
  • Translates longitudinal research findings into multi-quarter product strategy

Influence

  • Design voice in quarterly roadmap planning and OKR setting
  • Shapes design hiring criteria and interview process
  • Mentors D2/D3 designers with structured growth plans
Promotion signal: Impact spans multiple product areas; research is a strategic function, not a support function; being asked to solve problems that span the whole design org.
D5

Principal Designer

Scope: org-wide design language and vision · 12+ years

Craft

  • Defines the visual and interaction language for the entire product
  • Solves the highest-stakes design challenges: new platforms, major rebrands
  • Builds the design system that every designer works within

Research

  • Research as a strategic function, not a feature-support function
  • External recognition as a design research thought leader
  • Contributes to industry conferences and publications

Influence

  • Trusted design advisor to CPO and CEO
  • Multiplies the entire design org's craft and ambition
  • Builds Acme's reputation as a design-led company
Promotion signal: This level is awarded. The Principal Designer is creating design culture, not executing within it.
DM

Design Manager

Scope: team of 4–8 designers · transition from D3/D4

People

  • Develops designers at every level through structured 1-on-1s and feedback
  • Hires for craft and culture fit; raises the bar with each hire
  • Handles performance issues empathetically and directly
  • Sponsors D3/D4 promotions with documented evidence

Craft Leadership

  • Maintains craft credibility — can still review and shape design decisions
  • Owns design quality for the team's output, not just process
  • Runs crit sessions that improve both the work and the team's skills

Org Impact

  • Partners with product and engineering leadership on resourcing
  • Builds design ops processes: onboarding, tooling, documentation
  • Represents design in cross-org planning forums
Promotion signal: Team work quality is consistently high; designers are growing quickly; DM is solving design org problems, not just managing designers.