What is design like at Airbnb, especially after the layoffs last year?

Intuit
GsIl60

Go to company page Intuit

GsIl60
Sep 12, 2021 5 Comments

Are people more specialists vs generalists?

How are design managers? WLB?

Are there teams that are considered “better” to work for? If so, which ones and why?

How is the company feeling overall after the big layoffs last year?

What are your favorite things about working there?

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TOP 5 Comments
  • Facebook
    6153

    Go to company page Facebook

    PRE
    Airbnb
    6153
    I can speak to pre-pandemic Airbnb. More people are generalists, and they place a very high emphasis on visual design craft for everyone. Some teams are under more pressure and leadership scrutiny than others; we used to call it “the eye of Sauron” if Brian Chesky has interest in the project. By now, my favorite design managers have all left the company.
    Sep 14, 2021 4
    • Wayfair
      nora morse

      Go to company page Wayfair

      nora morse
      Curious if you’d be willing to compare how the bar is defined/enforced between Airbnb and instagram, at least in terms of visual/interaction design?
      Sep 14, 2021
    • Facebook
      6153

      Go to company page Facebook

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      Airbnb
      6153
      I think the bar for visual craft is still a little higher at Airbnb. When I used to interview product designers at Airbnb, seeing mock errors or pixels being off in their portfolio was called out as a negative. Facebook cares more about the impact that you made, but the culture at Instagram is more design-led than the rest of FB.

      You’re still evaluated on your visual/interaction design skills at IG, and you’re expected to drive design quality. There’s literally 10+ designers from Airbnb who migrated to IG in the past couple years, so I see a lot of similarities between the two companies.
      Sep 14, 2021