Roles and teams
Individual contributor (IC)
Also calledIC
Someone whose job is doing the work themselves rather than managing people. In design, every role below manager is an IC role.
An individual contributor is measured on the work they produce and the decisions they influence, not on the people they manage. Product designers, UX researchers and design systems designers are all ICs.
Most companies run two parallel ladders above senior level: a management track (design manager, head of design) and an IC track (staff designer, principal designer). The IC track exists so that someone can keep getting more senior without having to stop designing.
Common mistake
Treating management as the only promotion. A strong designer pushed into management to get a raise often becomes an average manager and the team loses its best IC.