Seattle E-Commerce Design Reorg: Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the official restructuring guide for our Seattle e-commerce design department. We wrote this document to answer all your pressing questions about our upcoming studio reorg and our transition to product-aligned squads.

Why are we changing our structure right now? For the past year, we experienced a fragmented experience across our web app, inconsistent UI components in our main design system, and duplicated effort across multiple pods.

Who reports to whom under this new model? Every product designer will report directly to their designated chapter lead, while maintaining a dotted line to their squad's product manager for daily delivery work.

What actually changes in our day-to-day workflow? We are consolidating teams around specific customer funnels, which will eliminate late feedback and reduce the span of control for each design manager in our Seattle office.

What stays exactly the same during this transition? Your current salary, your remote work benefits, your access to Figma and Jira licenses, and your core design responsibilities will not change at all.

How will we communicate the reorg to stakeholders? Abigail and Scott are preparing a town hall presentation for next Tuesday, where they will share the updated team topology and answer live questions from the chat.

How do we handle transition anxiety and change fatigue? We know that any executive change or redrawing of lines brings stress, so we scheduled three weeks of buffer time before we launch the new structure.

What about role clarity and our career impact? Each designer will have a one-on-one meeting with Kyle on Thursday to discuss their new responsibilities and ensure long-term stability and growth.

When will we finally settle into our new roles? We expect everyone to complete the onboarding workshops by the end of next month, provided that all team leads finish their scheduling by Friday.

What if I absolutely hate the new setup? If anyone feels miserable or completely blocked by the new topology, leadership promises to review the entire structure in six months and make adjustments.

Read again and choose the right answer

Why is the company restructuring the design team?

• To fix fragmented experiences, inconsistent UI, and duplicated effort
• To reduce the number of design managers in Seattle
• To replace all Figma licenses with new software

Who will product designers report to directly?

• To their designated chapter lead
• To the chief executive officer
• To the external clients

What is staying exactly the same during the transition?

• Salary, benefits, tool licenses, and core responsibilities
• The old matrix structure and messy workflows
• The team seating arrangements in the office

What is leadership's promise if someone hates the new setup?

• They will review the entire structure in six months
• They will fire the designer immediately
• They will force everyone to stay in the same role forever

Sources: photo by Kampus Production on Pexels