Design Drift / Trends / Skills vs seniority What skills get you promoted? The biggest Senior → Staff jump is craft — mentioned in 51% of Senior Product Designer postings but 73% of Staff ones.
Cell color = share of that role's active listings mentioning the skill. Darker = higher.
Skill mention share by role Associate Junior UX PD Senior Staff Principal Lead Director Head leadershipslope = +6.1 pp/level leadership × Associate: 17% (n=6) 17 leadership × Junior: 13% (n=6) 13 leadership × UX: 23% (n=83) 23 leadership × PD: 14% (n=102) 14 leadership × Senior: 26% (n=436) 26 leadership × Staff: 43% (n=294) 43 leadership × Principal: 66% (n=126) 66 leadership × Lead: 39% (n=99) 39 leadership × Director: 82% (n=47) 82 leadership × Head: 47% (n=8) 47 strategyslope = +4.8 pp/level strategy × Associate: 9% (n=3) 9 strategy × Junior: 20% (n=9) 20 strategy × UX: 23% (n=82) 23 strategy × PD: 28% (n=195) 28 strategy × Senior: 40% (n=666) 40 strategy × Staff: 58% (n=399) 58 strategy × Principal: 61% (n=118) 61 strategy × Lead: 45% (n=114) 45 strategy × Director: 58% (n=33) 58 strategy × Head: 41% (n=7) 41 craftslope = +4.5 pp/level craft × Associate: 20% (n=7) 20 craft × Junior: 20% (n=9) 20 craft × UX: 25% (n=90) 25 craft × PD: 41% (n=291) 41 craft × Senior: 51% (n=852) 51 craft × Staff: 73% (n=499) 73 craft × Principal: 71% (n=136) 71 craft × Lead: 57% (n=146) 57 craft × Director: 68% (n=39) 68 craft × Head: 35% (n=6) 35 aislope = +2.6 pp/level ai × Associate: 43% (n=15) 43 ai × Junior: 42% (n=19) 42 ai × UX: 49% (n=174) 49 ai × PD: 71% (n=499) 71 ai × Senior: 70% (n=1168) 70 ai × Staff: 83% (n=568) 83 ai × Principal: 83% (n=159) 83 ai × Lead: 71% (n=182) 71 ai × Director: 53% (n=30) 53 ai × Head: 65% (n=11) 65 hiringslope = +1.9 pp/level hiring × Associate: 49% (n=17) 49 hiring × Junior: 33% (n=15) 33 hiring × UX: 22% (n=77) 22 hiring × PD: 36% (n=251) 36 hiring × Senior: 40% (n=664) 40 hiring × Staff: 48% (n=330) 48 hiring × Principal: 49% (n=94) 49 hiring × Lead: 42% (n=108) 42 hiring × Director: 37% (n=21) 37 hiring × Head: 65% (n=11) 65 engineeringslope = +1.9 pp/level engineering × Associate: 37% (n=13) 37 engineering × Junior: 44% (n=20) 44 engineering × UX: 46% (n=163) 46 engineering × PD: 66% (n=462) 66 engineering × Senior: 72% (n=1195) 72 engineering × Staff: 78% (n=537) 78 engineering × Principal: 86% (n=166) 86 engineering × Lead: 73% (n=188) 73 engineering × Director: 54% (n=31) 54 engineering × Head: 41% (n=7) 41 mentoringslope = +1.8 pp/level mentoring × Associate: 3% (n=1) mentoring × Junior: 7% (n=3) 7 mentoring × UX: 3% (n=10) mentoring × PD: 2% (n=14) mentoring × Senior: 8% (n=138) 8 mentoring × Staff: 15% (n=105) 15 mentoring × Principal: 25% (n=48) 25 mentoring × Lead: 20% (n=52) 20 mentoring × Director: 7% (n=4) 7 mentoring × Head: 18% (n=3) 18 visionslope = +1.8 pp/level vision × Associate: 54% (n=19) 54 vision × Junior: 40% (n=18) 40 vision × UX: 41% (n=145) 41 vision × PD: 50% (n=350) 50 vision × Senior: 57% (n=952) 57 vision × Staff: 71% (n=486) 71 vision × Principal: 83% (n=159) 83 vision × Lead: 61% (n=157) 61 vision × Director: 68% (n=39) 68 vision × Head: 41% (n=7) 41 agentsslope = +1.7 pp/level agents × Associate: 0% (n=0) agents × Junior: 0% (n=0) agents × UX: 3% (n=12) 3 agents × PD: 12% (n=84) 12 agents × Senior: 11% (n=176) 11 agents × Staff: 14% (n=94) 14 agents × Principal: 13% (n=25) 13 agents × Lead: 13% (n=32) 13 agents × Director: 11% (n=6) 11 agents × Head: 18% (n=3) 18 roadmapslope = +1.7 pp/level roadmap × Associate: 0% (n=0) roadmap × Junior: 2% (n=1) roadmap × UX: 6% (n=21) 6 roadmap × PD: 8% (n=59) 8 roadmap × Senior: 10% (n=171) 10 roadmap × Staff: 24% (n=168) 24 roadmap × Principal: 22% (n=43) 22 roadmap × Lead: 11% (n=29) 11 roadmap × Director: 16% (n=9) 16 roadmap × Head: 12% (n=2) 12 systemsslope = +1.7 pp/level systems × Associate: 51% (n=18) 51 systems × Junior: 51% (n=23) 51 systems × UX: 62% (n=219) 62 systems × PD: 58% (n=405) 58 systems × Senior: 64% (n=1064) 64 systems × Staff: 68% (n=466) 68 systems × Principal: 81% (n=155) 81 systems × Lead: 75% (n=191) 75 systems × Director: 61% (n=35) 61 systems × Head: 59% (n=10) 59 partnershipslope = +1.4 pp/level partnership × Associate: 0% (n=0) partnership × Junior: 0% (n=0) partnership × UX: 3% (n=12) 3 partnership × PD: 7% (n=48) 7 partnership × Senior: 9% (n=144) 9 partnership × Staff: 13% (n=88) 13 partnership × Principal: 14% (n=27) 14 partnership × Lead: 6% (n=15) 6 partnership × Director: 12% (n=7) 12 partnership × Head: 12% (n=2) 12 llmslope = +0.8 pp/level llm × Associate: 0% (n=0) llm × Junior: 0% (n=0) llm × UX: 1% (n=4) llm × PD: 3% (n=20) llm × Senior: 3% (n=57) 3 llm × Staff: 3% (n=23) 3 llm × Principal: 3% (n=6) 3 llm × Lead: 2% (n=5) llm × Director: 4% (n=2) 4 llm × Head: 12% (n=2) 12 codeslope = +0.8 pp/level code × Associate: 11% (n=4) 11 code × Junior: 18% (n=8) 18 code × UX: 7% (n=26) 7 code × PD: 25% (n=175) 25 code × Senior: 22% (n=366) 22 code × Staff: 26% (n=180) 26 code × Principal: 21% (n=40) 21 code × Lead: 24% (n=62) 24 code × Director: 11% (n=6) 11 code × Head: 24% (n=4) 24 reactslope = +0.4 pp/level react × Associate: 0% (n=0) react × Junior: 0% (n=0) react × UX: 3% (n=11) 3 react × PD: 6% (n=41) 6 react × Senior: 5% (n=81) 5 react × Staff: 5% (n=35) 5 react × Principal: 6% (n=12) 6 react × Lead: 5% (n=13) 5 react × Director: 0% (n=0) react × Head: 6% (n=1) 6 evalsslope = +0.2 pp/level evals × Associate: 0% (n=0) evals × Junior: 0% (n=0) evals × UX: 0% (n=1) evals × PD: 0% (n=2) evals × Senior: 0% (n=4) evals × Staff: 0% (n=2) evals × Principal: 1% (n=1) evals × Lead: 2% (n=4) evals × Director: 4% (n=2) 4 evals × Head: 0% (n=0) mlslope = +0.0 pp/level ml × Associate: 0% (n=0) ml × Junior: 0% (n=0) ml × UX: 0% (n=0) ml × PD: 2% (n=15) ml × Senior: 2% (n=28) ml × Staff: 4% (n=26) 4 ml × Principal: 2% (n=3) ml × Lead: 1% (n=2) ml × Director: 0% (n=0) ml × Head: 0% (n=0) vectorslope = +0.0 pp/level vector × Associate: 0% (n=0) vector × Junior: 0% (n=0) vector × UX: 0% (n=1) vector × PD: 0% (n=2) vector × Senior: 1% (n=9) vector × Staff: 0% (n=0) vector × Principal: 1% (n=2) vector × Lead: 0% (n=0) vector × Director: 0% (n=0) vector × Head: 0% (n=0) framerslope = -0.1 pp/level framer × Associate: 0% (n=0) framer × Junior: 0% (n=0) framer × UX: 3% (n=11) 3 framer × PD: 3% (n=22) 3 framer × Senior: 2% (n=30) framer × Staff: 1% (n=8) framer × Principal: 2% (n=4) framer × Lead: 2% (n=5) framer × Director: 0% (n=0) framer × Head: 0% (n=0) motionslope = -0.3 pp/level motion × Associate: 17% (n=6) 17 motion × Junior: 24% (n=11) 24 motion × UX: 11% (n=38) 11 motion × PD: 8% (n=59) 8 motion × Senior: 10% (n=162) 10 motion × Staff: 12% (n=85) 12 motion × Principal: 14% (n=26) 14 motion × Lead: 8% (n=21) 8 motion × Director: 25% (n=14) 25 motion × Head: 12% (n=2) 12 visualslope = -1.2 pp/level visual × Associate: 60% (n=21) 60 visual × Junior: 62% (n=28) 62 visual × UX: 60% (n=214) 60 visual × PD: 56% (n=391) 56 visual × Senior: 61% (n=1015) 61 visual × Staff: 62% (n=429) 62 visual × Principal: 59% (n=113) 59 visual × Lead: 55% (n=142) 55 visual × Director: 53% (n=30) 53 visual × Head: 47% (n=8) 47 prototypingslope = -1.7 pp/level prototyping × Associate: 60% (n=21) 60 prototyping × Junior: 53% (n=24) 53 prototyping × UX: 53% (n=189) 53 prototyping × PD: 48% (n=341) 48 prototyping × Senior: 53% (n=879) 53 prototyping × Staff: 43% (n=295) 43 prototyping × Principal: 47% (n=90) 47 prototyping × Lead: 56% (n=143) 56 prototyping × Director: 16% (n=9) 16 prototyping × Head: 59% (n=10) 59 htmlslope = -1.8 pp/level html × Associate: 29% (n=10) 29 html × Junior: 11% (n=5) 11 html × UX: 17% (n=59) 17 html × PD: 4% (n=26) 4 html × Senior: 7% (n=114) 7 html × Staff: 5% (n=32) 5 html × Principal: 3% (n=5) html × Lead: 2% (n=6) html × Director: 2% (n=1) html × Head: 12% (n=2) 12 typographyslope = -1.9 pp/level typography × Associate: 20% (n=7) 20 typography × Junior: 36% (n=16) 36 typography × UX: 15% (n=53) 15 typography × PD: 14% (n=98) 14 typography × Senior: 12% (n=193) 12 typography × Staff: 9% (n=61) 9 typography × Principal: 14% (n=26) 14 typography × Lead: 8% (n=20) 8 typography × Director: 14% (n=8) 14 typography × Head: 6% (n=1) 6 accessibilityslope = -2.2 pp/level accessibility × Associate: 43% (n=15) 43 accessibility × Junior: 33% (n=15) 33 accessibility × UX: 45% (n=159) 45 accessibility × PD: 22% (n=157) 22 accessibility × Senior: 28% (n=457) 28 accessibility × Staff: 19% (n=132) 19 accessibility × Principal: 21% (n=40) 21 accessibility × Lead: 30% (n=77) 30 accessibility × Director: 26% (n=15) 26 accessibility × Head: 18% (n=3) 18 interactionslope = -3.8 pp/level interaction × Associate: 69% (n=24) 69 interaction × Junior: 71% (n=32) 71 interaction × UX: 71% (n=252) 71 interaction × PD: 57% (n=403) 57 interaction × Senior: 70% (n=1155) 70 interaction × Staff: 68% (n=464) 68 interaction × Principal: 66% (n=127) 66 interaction × Lead: 63% (n=161) 63 interaction × Director: 26% (n=15) 26 interaction × Head: 35% (n=6) 35 figmaslope = -3.8 pp/level figma × Associate: 60% (n=21) 60 figma × Junior: 67% (n=30) 67 figma × UX: 67% (n=239) 67 figma × PD: 54% (n=379) 54 figma × Senior: 55% (n=913) 55 figma × Staff: 37% (n=251) 37 figma × Principal: 39% (n=74) 39 figma × Lead: 43% (n=111) 43 figma × Director: 19% (n=11) 19 figma × Head: 47% (n=8) 47 researchslope = -4.3 pp/level research × Associate: 83% (n=29) 83 research × Junior: 69% (n=31) 69 research × UX: 72% (n=258) 72 research × PD: 69% (n=484) 69 research × Senior: 73% (n=1206) 73 research × Staff: 60% (n=411) 60 research × Principal: 64% (n=123) 64 research × Lead: 68% (n=174) 68 research × Director: 37% (n=21) 37 research × Head: 35% (n=6) 35 Each cell shows the percentage of that role's active listings mentioning the skill (rounded). Empty/zero cells stay light. How to read this Rows are sorted by seniority slope — a linear-regression fit of mention-share against the seniority ladder. Skills that climb steeply left→right (top of the chart) are the strongest signals for promotion to Staff/Director. Skills that flatten or fall (bottom) are table-stakes vocabulary that fade as seniority increases. Hover any skill label to see its slope in percentage-points-per-level.
Rows: 28 focus skills. Columns: 10roles ordered by coarse seniority. Color encoding is Viridis (perceptually uniform, color-blind safe). Cell value = share of that role's active listings mentioning the skill.