Design Horizons: What We're Seeing in Product Design Hiring

At Good Maven, we hire and coach the world's designers. We're excited to launch Design Horizons, a new blog series that shares what we're seeing on the frontlines of design recruitment. Each installment focuses on a different role we specialize in, combining market insights from our work: meeting, hiring and coaching hundreds of designers every week.

We’re kicking things off with a look at one of the most in-demand roles we hire for: Product Designer.

What’s Changed Since the Layoffs

Since the major industry layoffs of recent years, the design and tech recruitment landscape has shifted dramatically. Unlike the early 2000s, when it was difficult to find enough designers at all, today the market is saturated with talent, especially in the U.S. and European markets, where we do most of our hiring.

And the layoffs continue in 2025 with both Amazon and Microsoft announcing big cuts to their workforces this month.

What’s particularly notable is the gap between the abundance of available talent and the scarcity of available roles:

• Fewer openings exist for mid-level designers or mid/senior managers.

• In contrast, we’re seeing a spike in roles at the staff, principal, or founding product designer level.

These are full-stack roles: they require deep product thinking, novel interaction design, and a high level of visual execution. Many of these openings are in AI-focused companies racing to differentiate their products through innovative design. Unlike past hiring trends that split UX and UI, most of these roles expect end-to-end ownership.

​​See our latest opportunities.

How Senior Talent Is Adapting

Many senior designers and design leaders have never faced this kind of prolonged downturn. Just a few years ago, people could leave a job on Friday and start a new one the following week (especially in the US where there are shorter notice periods). Now, we see talented professionals spending 6 to 18 months on the job market.

In response, we’re seeing a wave of creativity and reinvention in terms of how people approach the idea of work:

• Fractional leadership roles: sitting side-by-side with the senior leaders but on a contract or per project basis.

• Freelance or contract work: picking up short term projects but with little or no momentum, certainty or sustainability.

• Coaching or mentorship offerings: turning expertise into teaching others.

• Intentional down-leveling: to regain balance between work and life.

Many are prioritizing well-being over title or salary. They've experienced the burnout of recent years and are making thoughtful trade-offs in exchange for greater work-life balance.

Top designers are seeking out companies that can provide challenges while recognising the need for life outside of work and many are looking for meaning within their work or looking for employers that have human and planetary well-being baked-in to their business practices.

So firms that need to attract top talent must adapt too; it’s no longer about the salary (though, employers, please post the salary up front) it’s about how the workplace makes the team feel and in turn, how they perform.

What Companies Want: Proven Playbooks

The third major trend? Extreme specificity in hiring.

In a more risk-averse economy, companies are often looking for someone who has done the job before. This means:

• if a company builds developer tools, they want someone with prior dev tools experience;

• plus a consumer-facing mindset;

• plus high-level visual polish and interaction craft.

This makes it harder for designers to pivot industries or shift disciplines without an airtight narrative and portfolio.

Therefore, if you’re looking for change, make sure to showcase your work in ways that demonstrate your transferable skills. Make your portfolio and resume work for that industry, that role; it’s no longer so easy to get away with a generic slide deck. 

How We Help

At Good Maven, we work across the spectrum, from pre-seed startups to post-IPO tech companies. But our sweet spot is senior-level hiring:

• Staff & Principal Designers solving complex, AI-driven product problems.

• Design Executives & VPs leading global, matrixed design organizations.

• Legacy-to-Product-Led Transitions for mature enterprises.

As recruiters, we:

• Offer bespoke, high-touch support.

• Take the burden off hiring managers by vetting portfolios and matching the right designers to the right roles.

• Have one of the highest interview-to-offer ratios in the business due to our deep domain expertise.

• Never ghost our candidates.

As coaches, we provide:

• narrative coaching and positioning;

• portfolio reviews and strategy;

• interview preparation;

• negotiation support; and

• guidance from industry experts like Melissa Hajj (Apple, Instagram) and Timothy Achumba (Microsoft, Meta).

What’s Next

The market is tough, but it’s evolving. Senior designers who stay adaptive, tell their story well, and focus their positioning will have an edge.

And we are working with employers who are ready to meet this challenge too.

Follow Design Horizons for more role-specific insights in the weeks ahead. Sign up below 👇

In the meantime, check out these resources which may help you to adapt to the shifting design recruitment landscape:

• A Designer’s Portfolio Review with Timothy Achumba: see behind the scenes to learn how designer Arthur Petrillo built their portfolio to stand out.

• Your Online Presence: A Design Recruiter's Perspective: Learn how important it is to create an engaging LinkedIn profile to encourage recruiters to click through to a nicely designed and easy to navigate online portfolio. 

• Crafting a Standout Design Portfolio: Ultimate Checklist: our ultimate play-book. Follow this checklist to make your portfolio stand out to recruiters and hiring managers, and increase your chances of getting interviews.