Scaling Design at Panorama
In 2021, the design team at Panorama Education was at a pivotal point—we needed to scale rapidly to support the company's accelerated growth across our product lines.
My vision was to thoughtfully expand our capabilities while fostering a unified, high-performing culture.
My approach
The first step was developing a future-proof organizational structure and staffing plan tailored to our needs. I created an expanded org design with newly defined roles including our first Design Managers, UXR Leads, and Design Leads. This strategic framework allowed us to hire the right skills at the right levels to optimally support our squads and overall product zones.
Hiring push
With the org plan solidified, I spearheaded an extensive hiring effort to grow the team from 10 to 23 designers in 2022. I built out streamlined and rigorous hiring processes tailored for design roles:
Created compelling job descriptions and interview guides
Leveraged my professional network and design communities to increase visibility
Adapted the process for speed while maintaining quality
Despite a highly competitive market, my strategic approach paid off:
Extended 20 total offers with an impressive 85% acceptance rate
Most candidates had competing offers, including higher compensations
This success was critical for scaling our capabilities at the required pace.
Scaling our team’s processes
As our team rapidly expanded, I prioritized establishing consistent design practices, standards and enablement including:
"How Design Operates" playbook defining our processes and operating models
Comprehensive career levels guidance tailored for Product Designers and Managers
Collaborated with operations to determine team tooling needs for 2023
Led tooling migration plan to consolidate the full team on Figma
These initiatives allowed our growing team to ramp and operate effectively using unified, scalable methods.
