A few years ago, UX teams had clear swim lanes: researchers did research, designers did interaction flows, content strategists wrote the copy, and accessibility experts kept us honest.

Now? Everyone’s a product designer.

Across startups and enterprises, UX roles are flattening. Specialized titles are being replaced by catch-all labels. Research, writing, facilitation, strategy, accessibility—they’re increasingly treated as competencies, not job descriptions.

In this article, we’ll explore why this flattening is happening, what it means for career growth and team structure, and how to adapt without diluting the craft.

What Does “Flattening” UX Roles Mean?

When we say UX roles are flattening, we mean that traditional UX disciplines (like research, content design, and IA) are being folded into broader roles—often under titles like “Product Designer” or “UX Generalist.”

• Instead of hiring multiple specialists, companies increasingly:
• Expect one person to own multiple phases of the design process
• Combine disciplines into a single team or function
• Prioritize speed and flexibility over depth and domain expertise

The result: fewer distinct roles, and more generalized responsibilities.

Why UX Roles Are Flattening Now

1. Pressure to move faster: Cross-functional teams want designers who can run with an idea from discovery to handoff. Specialists can be seen as blockers.
2. Budget constraints and lean teams: Many orgs are reducing headcount or consolidating roles to cut costs, especially post-layoffs.
3. Ambiguity around what UX “owns”: Without strong UX leadership, teams default to product-led structures where design is a service, not a strategy.
4. Influence of startup culture: In smaller companies, generalists are often the only viable hire. This mindset now extends into larger orgs too.
5. Tool convergence: The rise of platforms like Figma, Notion, and FigJam blurs lines between research, content, and design execution.
6. Misunderstanding the value of specialization: When the nuance of UX disciplines isn’t well understood, it’s easy to assume “one designer can just do it all.”

What We Lose When Roles Flatten

• Depth of craft: Specialists push boundaries. Generalists juggle. When every designer is doing everything, fewer people are going deep.
• Embedded expertise: A content designer can advocate for voice and tone in every ticket. A researcher ensures questions are asked well before decisions are made. Without them, these responsibilities get deprioritized or missed entirely.
• Mentorship and growth: Flat teams make it harder to learn from seasoned specialists. Juniors grow slower without discipline-specific guidance.
• Strategic thinking: When everyone’s shipping, few people are stepping back to ask, “Is this even the right thing to build?”
• Organizational memory: Specialists often document, maintain systems, and connect insights across teams. In flat models, this connective tissue frays.

What We Gain When Roles Flatten

• Speed and flexibility: Generalists can pivot quickly and wear multiple hats in fast-moving teams.
• Collaboration across silos: Fewer role boundaries can reduce handoff friction and improve team cohesion.
• End-to-end ownership: One designer owning discovery through delivery can create more unified, user-centered solutions.
• Broader skill development: Designers learn to stretch, collaborate, and solve problems across domains.
• Adaptability: In evolving orgs, generalist designers are well positioned to shift with business needs.

How to Stay Sharp as Roles Flatten

• Double down on one area of excellence: Be known for something—research chops, systems thinking, accessibility, storytelling. A clear strength keeps you differentiated.
• Speak up about the invisible work: Glue work, facilitation, content thinking, ethical nudges—make them visible. This builds credibility and protects the value of non-visual design work.
• Push for clarity in job descriptions: Advocate for role clarity, especially when expectations include cross-discipline work. Ambiguity helps no one.
• Find or form communities of practice: Specialist craft can survive inside shared rituals: critique, mentoring, themed channels, async shareouts.
• Keep documenting, even when no one asks: Flat teams still need structure. Whether it’s research repositories or design principles, your docs build resilience.

Flat Doesn’t Have to Mean Shallow

The fact that UX roles are flattening doesn’t mean the craft is dying. It means we’re being asked to do more, often with less structure. But that also gives us room to redefine what UX leadership and contribution can look like.

The challenge is making space for depth inside breadth. For rigor inside speed. For systems inside sprints.

Because when everyone’s a designer, our job is to ensure someone is still designing with intention, clarity, and care.