Who is a product designer?

Question

Project management

Recently, the wording is often found - Product Designer.
Who is it? Designer, programmer, marketer, manager, analyst? Together?
What basic skills should he have?
What is included in the scope of its tasks?
What place does it occupy in the hierarchy of a conditional startup?

Answer 1

Again, nonsense in the comments.
A product designer is a person who works on a single product. In extreme cases, above the product line. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's actually a very specific job when compared to an "in-line" studio or freelance designer. A person who works for a long time on one project, immerses himself in it 100%, knows and understands it almost better than anyone, knows how people use the product, knows all the jambs and bugs, perfectly understands where the project is heading.
A product designer is always faced with quite measurable tasks - to solve a ux-problem, increase conversion, gracefully add a new feature to the project, simplify some well-established but inconvenient flow. Product designers never talk about design in terms of "beautiful/ugly". This is bullshit. Does the project make money - that's the main question. And this is already being solved through convenience / features / retention / emotions / benefits.
Of course, the skills of a product dither must go beyond drawing pixels. You also need to be a good UX designer and product manager. Understand how the product works and how it can become more popular/more convenient/bring more money.
In the food chain, he is in the same place as ordinary designers. Just a little more freedom, if not a fool. In large companies, he always works in tandem with a product manager. In startups, there is usually no product manager, everyone plays his role there - CEO, developers, designers. But the essence is the same - one project that will become your son for the next year or two.

Answer 2

Well, this is like a new fashionable understanding of what a development manager (project manager) should be like.
although they can work in pairs.
In a startup, he formulates what the product should be based on the analysis and research of the target audience.
he is a bit of a designer, programmer, but mostly a marketer, manager, analyst.
his task is to understand exactly where and how to develop the product, what it should be, based on his research, and not just say that I want to do it like this. . .

Answer 3

What place does it occupy in the hierarchy of a conditional startup?

Like a full stack. Startups need universal soldiers to launch a prototype.

Answer 4

https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2011/10/what-exactl...
https://www.aha.io/roadmapping/guide/product-manag...

Answer 5

I think it's the Product Manager. It means that he has a vision of the product, and is able to "create" it, like a designer.