O hai, Etsy!
As you may know, I recently decided to end my time at SoundCloud. My next role is in a completely different industry: online marketplaces.
Tomorrow, I will become one of Etsy’s newest Product Designers. More specifically, I will be working to improve the buyer experience of paying for goods as well as the seller experience of accepting payments. I can’t wait to apply my design knowledge and experience to their challenges.
I am excited to learn and grow at Etsy for lots of reasons. Here are just a few:
- It’s the perfect place for a designer who codes!
- Amazing people like Vanessa Hurst and Lara Hogan work there!
- They’ve taken huge steps to increase company-wide diversity over the past five years!
- Openness matters a lot to them – just look at their release of diversity and transparency reports!
- The company heavily values its culture as well as employees’ success and happiness – things I’ve written about a few times!
Additionally, their HQ is in Brooklyn, where I live, so I can commute via bike again. I haven’t done that in at least a year! The new Etsy office is also absolutely mind-blowing. For example, it has a decked-out maker room, including screen printing equipment!
WHAT THE HECK! (Photo credit: Emily Andrews)
All in all, Etsy is an honest, transparent company that invests heavily in its employees. Every single Etsy employee I’ve ever met has been ambitious and talented, yet incredibly kind, humble, and positive. It is an honor to become part of such a thoughtful and inclusive company that has cultivated such a great workplace culture.
Wish me luck!
Upcoming talks
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Grow, Influence, and Lead as an Individual Contributor
At some point in your career, you'll likely have to choose between Senior Individual Contributor (IC) and Design Management roles. But what if you don't want to manage others? What if you'd rather continue as an expert contributor? Will you get bored and find your career stalling out? In this talk, we'll take a deep dive into Staff / Principal Designer roles — a combination of team leadership and in-the-pixels design work — all without any direct people management. Learn how you can advocate for, grow into, and succeed in such IC leadership roles.
Want to talk?
Got feedback, looking to suggest a future writing topic, or want to invite me to speak at your organization? Send me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!