[website] Designer role changes

[danilo-leal]

• I have followed (at least) the PR section of the contributing guide.

This PR consists of changes to the Design role following recent updates!
https://deploy-preview-36528--material-ui.netlify.app/careers/senior-designer/

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[oliviertassinari]

It looks good.

I think that there is an opportunity to retain most of the existing candidates by framing that they will own/lead a lower product scope. I think that the previous role was Design Lead at the size of our product family.

We can play the same card as we did when we hired for the first engineering roles: looking for design leads on their respective products/problem statements (simply not at the overall MUI's scope).

I don't think that we are at a size where we can have designers that aren't leading their product scope, the designer needs to lead the design direction relative to: 1. the design engineers that work on it 2. the engineers and product roles that work on it, and 3. relative to the community & contributors, which can be very demanding.

In terms of level, we say that the minimum level is senior, I think that it's ok. But the key (what should clearly articulate for me to give a green light to hire a given candidate) is that we need the design role to focus on turning design execution into a product differentiator compared to the competing products in their sub-category. Meaning, when we ask users why they use the product of the designer's team, say in 1 year, then their answers should gravitate more toward design than it was before. This aspect is described in one of the cells in https://www.notion.so/mui-org/Design-levels-aa01996ca7e0481e80479ad47c8f28a4#ff35f20d176c413ca9980fce0e51399, on the row of the Staff level, so why not Senior but with a very clear potential toward with.

[mikailaread]

Looks really good so far! A few suggestions:

"We strongly believe designers should code to ensure the level of detail they've wished for is really being implemented. So, if you want to grow in that direction, or are already moving towards that, we're looking for you."

😄 Maybe, "So, our ideal candidate will be someone who is interested in, already-learning, or already-able to code." Is that what we're looking for?

"If you can contribute to the codebase yourself, open pull requests, and tweak documentation or components, that is highly appreciated."

"Being able to contribute to the codebase yourself, open pull requests, and improve documentation or components is very valuable."

Other skills you should possess bullets

1. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. You will communicate both in writing and verbally with our globally-distributed team, community members, and enterprise customers. English is the primary language we interact in.

2a. Experience building and evaluating UI/UX. You can design attractive UIs with well-thought-out interaction patterns that solve practical user problems.

2b. Proven experience as a UX Designer, UI Designer or similar role. You can design attractive UIs with well-thought-out interaction patterns that solve practical user problems.

3. Design systems experience. You have previously worked on or contributed to the creation of a design system. You are meticulous about component APIs, standards, and organization.

Alt. to meticulous: "conscientious," "show a strong attention to detail," "apply a strong attention to detail."

4. Ability to read HTML and CSS is a requirement. Being able to code and contribute to the codebase would be a significant advantage, but isn't required for the role.

5. Past experience with open-source projects. You understand the unique dynamics of products in an open-source environment as well as common challenges that arise.

[oliviertassinari]

One thought I had this morning: How much should we prioritize our hiring bandwidth between Designer vs. Design Engineer?

I was reflecting on this and wondering: with this new designer, would her/his skill be really put to use? I mean, what would the person do as an initiative? I have tried to list all the key initiatives the person could have that would lead to important outcomes (assuming Toopad is out of scope, so more on the scope of Core + X): https://www.notion.so/mui-org/Senior-Designer-3125defff1ff41739de56d47e1a82435?pvs=4#c1f099c4450f41acba0dd4f1e2df35a1

I have also listed them for the Design Engineer https://www.notion.so/mui-org/Design-Engineer-fb5616f2b7c84436af670e1ffd40cfae?pvs=4#3c5ff186694142c1874ec8331b6bf48a

I think that it would be great to complete the list. Now, at first sight, a Design Engineer makes more sense to me in terms of "potential to outcome". Thoughts?

[danilo-leal]

Awesome, thanks for this! Let's keep discussing on Notion 😀