| L1 InternTasks and small projects | L2 DesignerProjects and features | L3 DesignerYour product area | L4 SeniorYour area + cross team influence | L5 StaffDesign org + multi product | L6 PrincipalCompany wide + external | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design Quality | Knows the basics. Developing an eye for quality.You can use the design system without breaking it. Your prototypes get the idea across. You cannot always explain why something is off yet but you are learning. | Gets to final designs independently. Growing confidence.Your prototypes are getting sharper. You try tools and figure out what works. You make solid decisions with input and are building the confidence to defend them. | Others reference your work. Trusted taste.You make new patterns when needed and you are fast and high quality. You set patterns others build off and you know the why behind your decisions. Next step is pausing to validate the problem before designing the answer. | People come to you when something looks off. You have a specialty.You push the design system forward. When you introduce a new pattern, you spec and standardize it so others can build off it. Your visual judgment and taste are among the most valuable things on the team. | You define the visual language and where it goes.When designers are stuck, your work is the answer. Your artifacts drive decisions about what we build. The design system exists and evolves because of you. You do not wait to be asked. Your influence extends beyond your vertical. | The quality bar exists because of you.People outside the company know your work. You are advancing the craft, not just practicing it. Your judgment is a strategic input at the executive level. You are the final word on what quality means. |
| Systems and Platforms | Curious about how the product connects.Learning to map a basic flow. Understanding what a system is and why it matters. | Models parts of the system to frame problems.You can look at a piece of the system and use it to frame your problems and solutions. Curious about how platforms get designed. | Models complex systems. Growing into platform design.You spot problems and opportunities through systems thinking. Growing ability to design platforms like design systems, workflow architectures, and structural product challenges. | Defaults to systems thinking. Drives platform design.You engage with eng on architecture and data models. You drive platform design for current and future use cases. | Recognized authority on systems and platform design.Cross functional partners seek you out to visualize complex systems. You go after the highest leverage problems. | Defines how the company thinks about systems.Work spans years and creates lasting infrastructure. Influences how other disciplines approach their own systems challenges. |
| Research and Insights | Sits in on research. Runs basic tests with guidance.You pay attention in research sessions. You pull straightforward insights from what you see. | Runs own research. Picks the right method.Insights go past surface level. Stakeholders trust your findings. You leverage existing research. | Multi method. Tells the team what to do next.You help stakeholders reframe the wrong questions. You incorporate analytics, CX data, and market research. | Asks questions nobody else is asking.Research informs long term strategy. You teach others rigorous analysis. Your insights touch the fundamental questions behind the product. | No precedent research. Connects dots across teams.Coaches richer insights at scale. Synthesizes across others' work to produce new thinking. | Defines the company's relationship with insight.Creates programs that outlast projects. Shapes strategy at the highest level. |
| Content and Brand | Clear UI copy. Follows brand guidelines.Learning what makes content good versus just correct. Understands the brand and applies it consistently. | Purposeful copy. Developing brand voice.Handles the odd marketing request. Beginning to shape the product experience through content. Applies brand consistently in your work. | Applies and maintains brand in your product area.Makes voice and tone calls independently. Handles marketing requests for your product line. Creates materials that represent the product well. You own how brand shows up in your surfaces. | Evolves brand. Creates materials that sell.Writes pitch decks that close deals. Creates product marketing and sales collateral. Starts to influence how brand shows up beyond your product area. At a Series A this breadth is not optional. | Owns brand coherence across all products.Ensures the brand feels unified across product lines. Sets content and brand standards others follow. Mentors on content craft and brand thinking. | Defines the brand. Owns how it shows up externally.Creates and maintains the design language for the company. Owns website, marketing presence, external brand. Defines how Mainstay communicates across every touchpoint and org. |
| L1 InternTasks and small projects | L2 DesignerProjects and features | L3 DesignerYour product area | L4 SeniorYour area + cross team influence | L5 StaffDesign org + multi product | L6 PrincipalCompany wide + external | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipping | Learning the codebase. Small changes with guidance.Getting set up with AI tools. Learning Claude Code for simple tasks like exploring code or generating a basic component. | Ships small to medium changes. Clean PRs.Uses AI tools daily. Knows what AI is good at and where it falls short. QAs own work in the codebase. | Ships meaningful frontend work independently.Understands component architecture. Knows what to build vs hand off. AI is part of daily workflow with custom prompting strategies. Critically evaluates AI output. | Ships complex work. Specs edge cases before engineers hit them.Clear handoffs, not verbose. New patterns are documented and standardized. AI augmented work is second nature. Develops and shares workflows with the team. | Sets standards for how designers ship code.Ships across product areas. Builds design system infrastructure. Pushes boundaries of AI assisted design and brings the team along. If the team is slow to adopt, that is your problem to solve. | Defines code culture for design. Defines AI vision.Builds infrastructure that multiplies everyone's capability. Defines the vision for AI assisted design practice and contributes to broader company AI strategy. |
| Collaboration | Building relationships. Learning what is helpful.Working with engineers, PMs, and the people around you. Learning what creates value versus what creates more work for others. | People enjoy working with you. Knows ship vs hand off.Communicates constraints and trade offs clearly to eng, PM, and stakeholders. | Strong cross functional partnership. Unblocks shipping.Engineers trust your code and judgment. You work effectively with PMs, ops, and customers to validate decisions. | Trusted partner across functions. Accelerates the team.You shape implementation approach with eng collaboratively. You work with sales, ops, and customers directly and repeatedly. You accelerate the whole team, not just your own output. | Strategic partner to eng and product leadership.You own the feedback loop between design and code. When design debt creeps in, that is your problem to solve. You connect teams and stakeholders across the org. You work with xfn leads on planning and priorities. | Represents design at the exec table.You work with xfn partners on annual and quarterly planning. You flag when something is not working. You manage design bandwidth across the company. You say "we cannot take this on right now" or "we need to reprioritize." You are the design function, not just a designer. |
| L1 InternTasks and small projects | L2 DesignerProjects and features | L3 DesignerYour product area | L4 SeniorYour area + cross team influence | L5 StaffDesign org + multi product | L6 PrincipalCompany wide + external | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer and Business Impact | Developing curiosity about customers.You understand how your work connects to team goals when someone explains it. You are learning what a customer need looks like. | Finds the right scope. Participates in planning.Represents customer needs in planning conversations with growing confidence. Understands how your work connects to revenue. | Builds 0 to 1 products. Grounds work in real behavior.You build proof of concepts and MVPs that could win new customers or create new revenue lines. You ground decisions in session replays, analytics, and support tickets. You brainstorm new opportunities with leadership and bring them to life through design. | Design work directly drives revenue.You meet with customers and operators directly and repeatedly. You study competitors. You build pitch decks and shape narratives that close deals. You create 0 to 1 products that become core business lines. | Creates new business opportunities across the org.You re envision the customer experience across org lines. You spot where one product area creates opportunity in another. You connect to broader company trends that spark strategic debate. Org level metrics. | Builds MVPs alongside eng and leadership in days.You create new product lines and revenue opportunities at the company level. You work directly with the CEO on what to build next. You frame multi year bets. Your design work is indistinguishable from business strategy. |
| Product Vision | Understands what the team is building and why.You can execute against a clear direction. You ask good questions about where things are headed. | Has a point of view on how the product should evolve.You see how your work connects to what other people are building. You bring ideas to planning, not just take assignments. | Creates clarity when direction is ambiguous.You see the bigger picture across your product area. Growing into shaping the roadmap rather than just executing against it. | Finds vision in ambiguous spaces. Steps into PM gaps.You write the PRD if nobody else will. You connect what your team is building to what other teams need. You rally the team. | Drives vision across teams and verticals.Identifies where work in one area creates opportunity in another. Connects teams that are not talking to each other. Sets goals that span quarters. | Defines product strategy for Mainstay.Articulates where the product is going over one to three years and what the gaps are. Synthesizes across all product areas. Strategic leader alongside executives. |
| L1 InternTasks and small projects | L2 DesignerProjects and features | L3 DesignerYour product area | L4 SeniorYour area + cross team influence | L5 StaffDesign org + multi product | L6 PrincipalCompany wide + external | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initiative | Asks for help. Acts on feedback quickly.You do not wait to be told what to do next when a task is done. | Proposes solutions without being asked.You see a problem and propose a solution without your manager framing it first. You flag risks and next steps before anyone asks. | Builds the case for what should be built next.Resolves complex issues without escalating. Runs design sprints that lead to real decisions. Writes specs, creates prototypes, produces materials that move work forward. | Shapes the roadmap. Brings own point of view.You do not just respond to what PM defines. You lead initiatives nobody assigned. You delegate when someone else should own it. Your workshops produce outcomes that change what teams build. | Identifies highest leverage problems across the org.Creates frameworks that change how the company thinks about design decisions. Presents to leadership regularly. Recommendations carry weight. | Does whatever the company needs at the highest level.Identifies the most important problems and drives them. Works on company wide initiatives beyond design. Supports leadership on fundraising, strategy, and positioning. Your title says design but your impact is not limited to it. |
| Communication | Clear, kind, responsive. Growing storytelling.Shares work in critiques. Learning how to tell the story behind a design decision. | Shares updates without being asked. Gives and takes feedback well.Your storytelling is getting stronger. People trust your process. | Shares early and regularly. Presents with confidence.Written communication is clear and compelling. Sets expectations on what is shipping and when. Does not wait until work is polished to show it. | Sets the example for how the team communicates.Shares WIP constantly. Explains complex things to executives clearly. Brings cross functional partners along through the process, not just at the end. Coaches others. | Manages the most complex stakeholder relationships.De escalates tension. Creates alignment across the org. The design voice in the most critical conversations. | Trusted advisor to CEO and leadership team.Represents design at the exec level. Owns external communication like LinkedIn and website. Raises the communication bar for everyone. You are the voice of the company as much as the voice of design. |
| Team and Culture | Focused on own growth. Asks good questions.Learns from every interaction. | Shares learning. Helps onboard new people.Starting to shape how the team works together. | Raises the bar through crits and reviews.People get better by working alongside you. You contribute to hiring by helping evaluate candidates. | Shapes team culture and quality standards.Helps hire well and makes new people effective fast. Models how to navigate ambiguity and manage stakeholders. People learn from how you work, not what you teach. | Defines design culture at Mainstay. Central to hiring.The team works the way it works because of norms you set. Everyone gets better because of you, through the standards, patterns, and ways of working you create. | Builds team capability at every level. Attracts talent.Represents Mainstay externally. Shapes hiring practices and quality bar. Creates alignment and culture where none existed before. |