Titles And Functions In The Design Jobs Hierarchy, Explained.
Ever wondered how a Staff Product Designer is different from a Principal Designer?
A lot has changed in the last ten years, when designers have evolved into different verticals, and design has an important seat at the table in almost all major corporations now.
Even small startups consider hiring designers before they begin rolling out their products because they know they can’t do without them.
In this ever-changing market of evolving professionals, there are a lot of different titles that seem confusing sometimes, especially when you are applying for a new job online.
You may also have come across titles that are new, unheard of, and sometimes strange.
Honestly, when I first heard of Principal Product Designer, I was only confused about what it really meant, what would the responsibilities be, and what would the job entail.
Now, on a high level, there are two sides of design in any organization, one is the side where there is a lot of involvement of teams people, and management.
On the other side, there are the independent contributors (ICs) who do not like to manage people or be responsible for their mentees.
They just want to be in the thick of the design work, and even get their hands dirty, unlike the typical design managers who sit up at the top, managing the teams underneath.
This is what the hierarchy (could possibly) look like in any typical large-scale organization. There could be more roles and titles, but these are the most common ones, and you may also find jobs on LinkedIn with these titles quite often.
Associate or Junior Designer
Starting from associate or junior designer, this is a position where you may start your design career, either after a degree/course or after an internship.
Either way, you are not given a lot of responsibilities at this level, and you will mostly be getting work from your higher-ups.
You will be responsible for delivering quite a lot of work in the deadline framework, though.
UX/Product Designer (the expectations and the difference)
This is one up to the junior level, but still quite low in the hierarchy. You can consider it a mid-level position, where at least a year of junior or associate experience is required.
At this level, you may have to mentor some juniors, delegate the design work, and actively participate in different areas such as collaborating with developers, and product managers, delivering high-quality work, and reporting to your seniors and lead designers.
This is a position where most designers are expected to stay for at least 4 years before they make the next jump.
The difference between UX and Product Design
As a UX Designer, your key responsibilities will lie in making your users happy, and as a product designer, the major part of your day-to-day life will ALSOinvolve keeping business in the loop and thinking about the overall impact of a product release, instead of focusing only on users.
User satisfaction is necessary by all means, but as a product designer, you also need to focus a lot on other stakeholders who hold a key position within the organization, such as investors.
Senior UX/Product Designer
You reach this level after at least 5 years of experience as a designer.
In some organizations, it is a minimum of 7 years. It highly varies from company to company, but 5 years is the average standard.
At this level, you will be required to handle a project independently, and also manage some junior or mid-level designers. Become a mentor to them, and lead them to the next level.
A senior designer is also expected to facilitate and run workshops and collaborate with PMs, devs, and other organizational team members for effective results. A senior designer is expected to churn numbers, create an impact, and increase the design maturity of an organization.
Lead Designer (UX/Product)
A lead designer is above the senior who also adds certain managerial responsibilities to their everyday life.
A lead may be an independent contributor, or maybe a people’s manager, it depends upon the requirements of the company. I’ve worked with a lead who was an IC reporting directly to the VP, but in the same company, there was another lead designer who was in the managerial hierarchy.
As a lead, the responsibilities of a hiring manager may also be added to your hat, as now you may have to prepare design interviews, assignments, case studies, and interview candidates for the team.
The rest of the responsibilities may be the same as a senior designer, with hands-on work reduced and managerial work increasing on your plate.
However, if you are an IC lead, then the picture might be different.
You may be independently leading an entire design project, and doing everything starting from wireframes in Figma to interviewing users for a research session. The same stuff that you have been doing for years, but with more expertise at hand.
Design Manager / Staff Designer
On the people’s side, the Design Manager is responsible for managing his teams and also being involved in major design decisions or steering big projects with their teams.
On the IC side, the Staff Designer is doing everything that a Lead Designer is doing, but with added experience under his/her belt.
To be promoted to a Staff Designer position, you need at least 7 to 10 years of experience as a designer.
Staff designers can be focused on leading design systems, crafting design best practices within an organization, and being laser-focused on the bigger picture (future-proofing of designs).
At the end, a Staff Designer may report to the VP or the Director level senior person, while a Design Manager may report to the Senior Manager or Director of Design.
Senior Design Manager / Senior Staff Designer
These titles come with more experience, but they may even be non-existentin major companies because the next titles take over —
Design Director / Principal Designer
After being a Staff Designer, the next level is the Principal Designer who is the top-level independent contributor within a company.
The key responsibilities include leading an entire project or product team.
The ICs are always getting their hands dirty by working on the projects from scratch, meddling with the design software on an everyday basis, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.
On the other hand, the Associate Director of Design is a position where you are responsible for creating a design vision of either a project or the organization as a whole.
Thinking about the future, and conceptualizing ideas that may revolutionize your product going further. You will be doing the thinking, ideating, and clearing the path for the work that may be done 5 years from now!
Creative Director / Senior Principal Designer
Both these positions come with extensive experience in the previous titles (Associate Director and Principal Designer). After which, comes the absolute top level of design —
Vice President of Design
At this level, you will be required to report to the C-level of the organization, have high-level meetings, and become a part of the financial side of things as well.
You may also be expected to negotiate for budget for tech stack, tools, and design hires in the company, overview the monthly or quarterly product release within the organization, and be the face of design.
You can steer the design direction within the company by creating project roadmaps and prioritizing design projects within different teams.
Chief Design Officer (CDO) or Chief Creative Officer (CCO)
This is the top C-level of design. If design is given the main seat in your company, there must be a C-level design executive spearheading the initiative.
At this level, you will be expected to lead all things design, from strategy to business decisions, everything will be your call.
You will still be expected to oversee design from the close-ups, as it is created within your company, and you will have the final say before a major product release.
Conclusion
This is how most organizations have defined design roles within their hierarchical structures, and I hope the explanations will help you navigate your career and find a suitable role in the world of design.
© 2025. Mehekk Bassi.
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