Valerie Karnes

Senior Director of Product Design · Upstream Studios · GitLab

About

A high school career assessment once told me my ideal job was farming. I ended up in product design. The further I get into this work, the more I think those two things aren't as different as they sound. Farming is patient, seasonal, systems-level work. You invest in conditions, not outcomes. You don't force the harvest. Design leadership, done well, works the same way.

I lead the Product Design function within Upstream Studios at GitLab. I've spent my career at the intersection of craft and strategy, most recently building a team and a point of view for what design looks like in an AI-first world.

How I lead

People leave conversations with me feeling clearer than when they came in. That's the standard I hold myself to.

I lead calmly. Not because things aren't hard or high-stakes, but because calm is what creates the conditions for good thinking. When the pressure is highest, my job is to be the steadiest person in the room.

I give context, not just answers. If I tell you what to do without telling you why, I've made you dependent. If I explain the thinking, you can extend it, push back on it, and make better decisions when I'm not in the room.

I am transparent by default. I share what I know, what I don't know, and what I'm uncertain about. People shouldn't have to read between the lines to understand where they stand with me or where the organization is heading.

What I believe about design

Figma is not design. Design is thinking, framing, connecting, and deciding. The tools are just where some of that thinking gets expressed.

Designers are not here to build tools for AI. We are here to build tools for humans who are using AI. That distinction matters enormously and it will determine whether our discipline grows or shrinks in the next decade.

AI frees designers from production and gives us back something more valuable: time for deep thinking. That is an advantage, not a threat, if we claim it. I believe strongly that designers are the right people to steward this transition. We should hold the line on human-centered design when the pressure to optimize for the machine is everywhere.

Design owns the intent layer. We are upstream of execution, not downstream of it.

At Upstream Studios, this isn't abstract. We are actively defining what design ownership looks like in an AI-first product development model. We define outcomes before anyone writes a spec or ships a line of code.

What I believe about remote work

Remote work is a superpower for design, specifically. Not despite the distance but because of it. Async communication forces clarity. Written decisions create organizational memory. The absence of a shared office means you have to be intentional about culture, documentation, and trust. When you get those things right, you have a design practice that scales.

During the Covid years I coached larger organizations on how to run design remotely. That experience sharpened my convictions considerably. I saw what broke first, what took the longest to fix, and what the teams who got it right had in common. I bring that perspective directly into how I build and run my team.

What it's like to work with me

I will give you clear direction and I will tell you why. I will be honest with you about where you stand and what I see in your work. Withholding feedback is not kindness. I will not manage you into a corner. I believe people do their best work when they understand the problem and have room to solve it.

I listen before I respond. I ask questions when I'm uncertain rather than filling the gap with assumptions. When I do have a strong point of view, I'll say so directly and explain my reasoning. I don't expect agreement, I expect engagement.

I care deeply about the people on my team. Not in a performative way. I track what matters to them, I remember what they told me last quarter, and I take their growth seriously as part of my job.

What I'm building toward

A seat at the table does not actually get you anything. I want to be in the room before the table is set.

A design organization that operates upstream, shaping problems before they become briefs, influencing product direction before scope is set, and recognized across the company as the function that holds the human perspective when everything else is moving fast.

A team that is not afraid of AI and is not naive about it either. Designers who understand that our value in this era is judgment, not production. Who can hold the intent layer and defend it.

A practice that treats async-first, remote work as a genuine design philosophy, not a constraint to manage but a competitive advantage to build on.

Outside work

• Started a cut flower garden. It became a pollinator habitat. Couldn't bring myself to cut them.
• My dog Jaxi is an Aussiedoodle who has had health issues her whole life. I built her a park in the backyard.
• I have several birdhouses and a hummingbird-friendly yard. Favorite resident is the tree swallow, which unfortunately eats bees. I have made peace with this.
• Growing apple, nectarine, and peach trees. Turns out I am patient when the thing is worth waiting for.
• Lifelong Duke basketball fan. Changed the channel to Duke as a toddler. My parents still bring it up. I travel to games when I can, will miss important family events to do it, and have no regrets.
• I have a dedicated music room with a record player and a small vinyl collection. Physical music only. I collect Hatch Show prints from the oldest working letterpress shop in Nashville. Most of the art in my house is music-related.
• Got lost in Paris with a good friend and nearly missed the bus home. One of the best days I can remember.
• Still watch Bob Ross. I have a theory this is where the calm leadership instinct comes from.
• With a job that lives on screens, I protect time outdoors. No notifications.