Pros
• Over my time here I’ve seen the design team mature significantly. It feels like working at an entirely different company as our processes have become rigorous while still remaining fluid just like in the early days. • What this means is that as a designer you have a ton of autonomy. Unlike other companies there are few, if any, gates to pass through to get your design implemented. • The design team has grown rapidly over the past few years with many diverse folks joining from all kinds of companies with different skills. • The design team truly is a team—we have regular critiques and stay in touch frequently albeit remotely in today’s world. • Overall Instacart cares about its designers and invests in their development. We have personal learning budgets, management helps navigate career growth, we have regular workshops, learn new skills and bring on new tools together.
Cons
With autonomy comes responsibility and ability to navigate uncertainty. As a designer working at a hypergrowth company this means being comfortable with ambiguity and shipping design with sometimes less than perfect data. Ultimately there’s leeway here as you’re not expected to get it totally right the first time. We understand and iterate fast, it's learning culture.