Head of Design

Ryan Mahoney

Ryan Mahoney

Director of Product, FirstWho

“It is rare to find someone who owns the product vision while staying grounded in what users actually need. Most candidates are great at polishing interfaces but struggle to connect design decisions to business metrics. We need a leader who admits when data proves their gut wrong and pivots without ego. This requires blending strategic planning with deep research skills that rarely show up together in one portfolio. The hard part is spotting the difference between someone who just manages stakeholders and someone who influences outcomes through clear communication.”

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Competency Questions

1 of 14

Design Leadership & Execution

Encompasses project-level strategic leadership, operational management, and end-to-end design execution including systems, research, and compliance for autonomous project owners.

Design Systems & Architecture

Contributes new components and maintains system documentation.

Interview round: Hiring Manager Design Review

Tell me about a time you introduced a new design component or pattern to an existing workflow.

Positive indicators

  • Thinks about scalability and reuse
  • Plans for adoption not just creation
  • Partners with engineering on feasibility

Negative indicators

  • Creates components without clear need
  • No plan for team adoption
  • Ignores technical implementation costs

Attitude Questions

1 of 14

Accountability Mindset

The consistent ownership of decisions, outcomes, and team performance, characterized by transparency in challenges and commitment to delivering on promises without shifting blame.

Interview round: Hiring Manager Design Review

How do you handle it when a design decision you made negatively impacts a business metric?

Positive indicators

  • Looks at data objectively
  • Proposes a fix quickly
  • Shares the lesson learned

Negative indicators

  • Questions the metric validity first
  • Defends the design despite data
  • Blames implementation quality

Progression Framework

This table shows how competencies evolve across experience levels. Each cell shows competency at that level.

Design Leadership & Execution

6 competencies

CompetencyJuniorMidSeniorPrincipal
Design Systems & Architecture

Uses existing design system components and follows governance rules.

Contributes new components and maintains system documentation.

Owns the design system roadmap and ensures cross-platform consistency.

Defines the architectural vision for design infrastructure and scalability enabling consistent experiences across platforms and teams.

Operational Quality & Compliance

Follows quality checklists and compliance guidelines.

Conducts quality audits and ensures accessibility standards.

Defines quality metrics and manages compliance risks.

Sets organizational quality standards and governance frameworks ensuring accessibility, security, and regulatory compliance at scale.

Product Design Delivery

Creates visual designs and prototypes under supervision.

Delivers complete feature designs and manages handoff processes.

Oversees design quality across multiple releases and optimizes workflows.

Defines delivery standards and integrates design into development pipelines ensuring quality and efficiency at organizational scale.

Strategic Design Planning

Assists in documenting design plans and follows established strategic guidelines.

Develops project-specific design strategies and aligns tactics with broader goals.

Owns the design strategy for multiple product lines and ensures business alignment.

Sets the organizational design vision and drives long-term strategic innovation aligned with business objectives and market positioning.

Team & Stakeholder Leadership

Collaborates within the team and communicates status updates.

Leads small projects and manages stakeholder expectations.

Manages design teams and aligns stakeholders across departments.

Builds design culture and influences executive leadership while managing talent architecture and cross-functional partnerships.

User Research & Analysis

Executes predefined research tasks and synthesizes basic findings.

Plans and conducts independent research studies and analyzes complex data.

Defines research strategy and integrates insights across product portfolios.

Establishes organizational research standards and drives insight-led innovation across product portfolios and business units.