A career framework in six pillars and seven levels. Built for performance conversations, growth, hiring, and self-assessment.
At Karbon, product definition is shared by all. Our partners in Product help us decide where to invest and which problems are worth solving. Engineers help us understand what's possible and bring the product to life in code. Design's contribution is the ability to make ideas visible and tangible, faster than anyone else on the team.
That's the superpower. When a problem is abstract, we prototype it into something people can feel. When a direction is contested, we show it rather than argue it. When a customer describes a pain point, we turn it into an interface they can touch and test. The result is that the whole team gets the clarity they need to rally behind, and the product takes shape faster and with better intuition than it otherwise would.
We work AI-native and at high velocity. AI is the environment our work happens in, from first concept to final detail. We use LLMs to pressure-test assumptions, spot edge cases, and draft briefs. We use AI tools to prototype at the speed of thought. We treat research as a velocity tool, not a gate. We refine in Figma or code until the work is ready for engineering to ship.
We take responsibility for the experience customers actually use. Every interaction, every pattern, every detail that shapes how people feel when they use Karbon.
Craft is built from four skills, run iteratively. Every designer learns them. Seniority shows up in how well you run them, how fast, and how well you coach others to run them too.
Use AI to understand the problem, pressure-test assumptions, spot edge cases, and draft briefs. Get sharp on what we're solving before anything else.
Use AI prototyping to turn abstract problems into tangible artefacts the team can react to. Prototyping is how we create shared understanding.
Talk directly with customers and teammates. Run quick tests. Treat research as a velocity tool, not a gate.
Take validated concepts to ship-ready in Figma or code. Complete state coverage, system alignment, accessibility.
Five levels. The first three are shared. After Senior, the path splits into Individual Contributor and Manager tracks. Both reach the same level of seniority, with different shapes of impact.
The framework is structured around six pillars. Each pillar is made up of skills that scale across the levels.
Understanding the problem space and bringing Design's perspective on what's worth making.
AI-native design. Frame, Build, Validate, Refine.
Direct customer contact, research, and intuition.
Painting the future and rallying the team around a direction.
How we show up. Drive, collaboration, mentoring, hiring.
Knowing what success looks like and owning what happens after launch.
L1 to L5. The first three levels are shared. After Senior, the path splits into Individual Contributor and Manager tracks. Both reach the same level of seniority, with different shapes of impact.
Six pillars, each made up of skills that designers grow through their career. Together, the skills define what good design work looks like at every level.
Six pillars, seven levels. Read across a row to see how a pillar scales. Read down a column to see what's expected at a level. Use this for calibration, promotion, and growth conversations.
The full expectations per role across all six pillars. Use these for interviewing, calibration, growth conversations, and self-assessment.
Learning the craft, with support from seniors.
An Associate Product Designer is just getting started in their craft at Karbon. The expectation is to build foundational skills, contribute to squad work with curiosity and energy, and develop fluency in AI-native design under guidance from the Triad and senior Design members. The work happens with support, but ownership of growth is on you.
Owning features end to end.
A Product Designer owns features end to end with growing autonomy. The expectation is to run the full design loop on well-scoped work, bring AI fluency into every step, and start forming opinions on what the product needs. Senior Design members are still your fallback on the harder calls, but you're moving toward independence.
Running the full loop with the Triad as a peer.
A Senior Product Designer is mastering the craft. The expectation is to run the full design loop independently, partner deeply with the Triad on shaping the product, and bring conviction to what's worth making and what isn't. Senior is where the design loop becomes second nature. It's also where designers start influencing direction beyond their immediate work.
Setting patterns for product areas.
A Staff Product Designer leads through depth, not direct reports. The expectation is to set patterns that scale across the team, encode design judgment into systems, and protect the team from building the wrong thing. Staff is where craft starts to compound. You go first, you set direction, others build on it.
Setting patterns and growing the team.
A Lead Product Designer leads through people. The expectation is to do everything a Staff designer does on craft and strategy, plus take direct accountability for designers' growth, hiring, and the team's culture. Lead is the entry point into design management at Karbon. You're a player-coach: still hands-on with craft, but increasingly responsible for building a high-performing team around you.
Shaping the practice across multiple teams.
A Principal Product Designer shapes Karbon's design direction. The expectation is to spot what others miss, build systems that compound craft and culture, and influence across the company through judgment that's been earned. Principal is the most senior IC role in Design. The patterns you set become the patterns Karbon evolves with.
Owning the design function.
A Product Design Manager owns the design function's health. The expectation is to hire, retain, and grow the team, hold them to outcomes, and partner with Principal-level ICs to evolve the practice. Manager is the most senior management role at the team level. The role isn't about being the deepest practitioner; it's about creating the conditions for excellent design work to happen, and holding the team accountable for it.
External-facing job postings, derived from the framework. Use these for hiring, recruiter briefings, and candidate outreach.
Learning the craft, with support from seniors.
We're looking for an Associate Product Designer to join Karbon and start their career building AI-native design experiences. As an emerging designer, you'll learn the craft alongside experienced designers, contribute to the product through hands-on work, and develop the foundations to grow into a strong product designer.
You'll work closely with senior designers, the Triad of Product, Engineering, and Design, and the customers we serve. The work happens with support, but ownership of your growth is on you.
Owning features end to end.
We're looking for a Product Designer to join Karbon and own the design of features end to end. With growing autonomy, you'll run the full design loop on well-scoped features, partner with the Triad on shaping problems, and start forming opinions on what the product needs.
You'll bring AI fluency into every step of your work, from framing problems to shipping production-ready designs. Senior Design members are still your fallback on the harder calls, but you're moving toward independence.
Running the full loop with the Triad as a peer.
We're looking for a Senior Product Designer to lead complex design initiatives and play a critical role in shaping high-quality, customer-centered experiences across Karbon's product.
As a senior individual contributor, you'll operate with a high degree of autonomy: defining problems, exploring solutions, and delivering well-crafted designs end to end. You'll partner deeply with Product and Engineering as a core member of the Triad, influence standards and quality beyond your own work, and help elevate the overall design practice through mentorship and example.
Setting patterns for product areas.
We're looking for a Staff Product Designer to lead through depth and influence. As a senior individual contributor, you'll set patterns that scale across the team, encode design judgment into systems, and help protect the team from building the wrong thing.
Staff is where craft starts to compound at Karbon. You go first, you set direction, others build on it. You'll partner closely with Product and Design leadership, shape strategy across multiple product areas, and raise the bar for Karbon's design craft through your own work and through the systems you build around it.
Setting patterns and growing the team.
We're looking for a Lead Product Designer to lead through people. As Karbon's first-line design management role, you'll do everything a Staff designer does on craft and strategy, plus take direct accountability for designers' growth, hiring, and the team's culture.
You're a player-coach: still hands-on with craft, but increasingly responsible for building a high-performing team around you. You'll lead the design work for one or more product areas, coach and grow the designers on your team, and hold the bar for Karbon's craft and culture in your area.
Shaping the practice across multiple teams.
We're looking for a Principal Product Designer to shape Karbon's design direction. As our most senior individual contributor in Design, you'll spot what others miss, build systems that compound craft and culture, and influence across the company through judgment that's been earned.
The patterns you set become the patterns Karbon evolves with. You'll lead the way on AI-native design practice, author vision for major product pillars, and have standing to say no to major initiatives on behalf of customers or craft.
Owning the design function.
We're looking for a Product Design Manager to own the design function's health at Karbon. The role is to hire, retain, and grow the team, hold them to outcomes, and partner with Principal-level individual contributors to evolve our practice.
You're the most senior management role in Karbon Design at the team level. The role isn't about being the deepest practitioner. It's about creating the conditions for excellent design work to happen, and holding the team accountable for it.
Reflect on your current strengths and growth edges across the framework. The rating avoids numbers on purpose. What matters is the honest reflection in the notes: your evidence, your examples, where you want to grow.
Understanding the problem space and bringing Design's perspective on what's worth making.
What you understand about customer, business, market, and product.
How you shape problems and opportunities. Briefs, problem statements, scope, risk maps.
The judgment to push for what's worth making, and against what isn't.
AI-native design. Frame, Build, Validate, Refine. Using prototypes to turn abstract problems into tangible artefacts.
Use AI to understand the problem, pressure-test assumptions, spot edge cases, and draft briefs.
Use AI prototyping to turn problems into tangible artefacts. Prototyping is how we create shared understanding.
Talk directly with customers, run quick tests. Treat research as a velocity tool, not a gate.
Take validated concepts into Figma or code. Complete state coverage, system alignment, ready to ship.
Direct customer contact, research, and intuition. Grounded in real customer signal.
How you engage with customers directly. Conversations, observation, research participation.
How you make sense of what you hear. Pattern recognition, theme extraction, building the mental model of who Karbon serves.
How you carry that understanding into design decisions and team conversations.
Painting the future. Showing what the product could become and rallying the team around a direction.
How you sense where the product, market, and customer are heading.
How you make that future tangible through prototypes, narratives, and storytelling.
How you bring the team and the broader org along with you, including cross-functional influence.
How we show up. Drive, collaboration, feedback, mentoring, hiring, and the habits that make the team stronger.
How you contribute to team culture personally. Approachability, growth mindset, feedback in critique.
How you carry work forward. Owning what you've taken on, closing loops without being chased. Caring about the outcome, not chasing volume.
How you mentor, coach, and develop other designers, including their design judgment and AI-native workflow.
How you contribute to hiring, rituals, and programs that scale design culture across the team.
Knowing what success looks like before you ship. Owning what happens after.
How you set targets and success measures before shipping. Leading indicators, target outcomes.
How you read signal after launch. Pattern extraction across customer feedback, usage analysis, signal-from-noise.
How you stay accountable for outcomes, not just delivery. Iteration after ship. Killing what isn't landing.
Set five goals for the year using the framework. Pillar Goals tie to specific skills or roadmap work. Stretch is your moonshot. Growth is the career arc. Culture is how you make the team stronger. Use the GROW model in 1:1s to pressure-test each one before committing.
Setting goals can feel daunting. It's easy to be filled with fears of imposter syndrome, worried about being over-ambitious, or tempted to take the easy route of goals you cannot fail. But true progress is uncomfortable. It requires reflection, and great goals contain a small amount of revelation.
The GROW Model is a practical guide for getting there. Whether you're working through this on your own or being coached by your manager, the four phases below help cut through the noise and find a path forward.