Three Designer Hiring Archetypes
Hire for one of three profiles — block-shaped generalist, deep-T specialist, or the crack new grad.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 88%
As the design role stretches to span PM and engineering work, Jenny Wen screens candidates against three archetypes rather than a single ideal. Two are hard-to-find extremes of the T-shaped model (a 'block' of many strong skills, or an unusually deep single spike), and the third is an overlooked early-career profile whose lack of baked-in process is an asset. All three sit on top of a base requirement of resilience and willingness to adapt.
Origin
Shared by Jenny Wen on Lenny's Podcast; extends the classic T-shaped talent model and Marc Andreessen's 'F-shaped'/'E-shaped' (multiple T) framing referenced in the conversation.
Core principles
- 01Baseline hire trait now is resilience and willingness to roll with constant change
- 02Strong generalists flex easily as the role stretches toward PM and engineering
- 03Deep specialists differentiate output in a world where anyone can make anything
- 04Early-career 'crack new grads' are unburdened by outdated rituals and learn fast
- 05Most companies over-index on senior talent and overlook the new-grad archetype
How to run it
- 1
Screen the baseline: resilience and adaptability
Before archetype fit, check that the person can roll with constant change, try new tools and methods, and learn rather than stay stuck in old processes.
Pro tip Ask for evidence they've adopted new tools and workflows recently, not just past craft.
- 2
Look for the block-shaped strong generalist
Seek people who are ~80th percentile good across several core skills (not merely okay at many things) so they can flex into PM-shaped and engineering-shaped work as the role expands.
Pro tip Picture their skill set as a block, not a single T; breadth-with-depth is what enables role stretch.
Watch out This profile is rare and hard to hire for; don't lower the bar to 'good at a lot of things' generic generalist.
- 3
Or the deep-T specialist
Seek someone whose single spike goes far deeper than most — e.g. top ~10% technically (near-software-engineer) or in visual/icon craft — to differentiate work.
Pro tip Deep engineering craft is especially valuable now because designers work directly with the model.
Watch out Also very hard to find; usually only affordable at well-resourced frontier labs.
- 4
Or the crack new grad
Seek early-career people who feel wise beyond their years yet stay humble and eager, with a near-blank slate free of ossified processes.
Pro tip Prioritize people who build and share real things and feel 'anything is possible' over polished theoretical portfolios.
Watch out Don't default to only senior hires; the changing role makes the unburdened fast learner unusually valuable.
In the wild
Jenny points to Socratica, a build-and-showcase community where early folks assembled Claude-powered robots or put googly eyes on a Boston bus, exemplifying agency and a build-and-share culture.
→ That build-real-things instinct is exactly what makes early-career candidates stand out to her regardless of school.
Common mistakes
Only hiring senior, experienced talent
Over-indexing on people who've 'done things before' overlooks the crack-new-grad archetype whose lack of baked-in rituals is an advantage as the role rapidly changes.
Confusing a generalist with a block-shaped generalist
A person merely 'kind of good at a lot of things' isn't the target; the archetype requires genuine ~80th-percentile depth in several buckets, which is far rarer.
Is it for you?
Best for
Design managers and hiring leads staffing teams at fast-changing, AI-native product organizations
Not ideal for
Stable teams with narrowly-scoped, unchanging design roles where a single specialist profile is all that's needed
From the transcript
“there's probably three archetypes of folks that are really interesting to me right now”
“like almost like block shaped, you know, in that T-shaped framework”
“which is what I call the craft newrad”
“most companies are just hiring like senior talent”
From the episode
The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it.
Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude)