Are we entering the era where PMs and Designers are expected to build — not just hand over specs?
I’m seeing a noticeable shift in job descriptions lately.
There’s a growing demand for “Product Engineers” (or Product Builders) — people who can take a feature from spec all the way to shipping.
Sure, a lot of this momentum comes from software engineers using AI to speed up their workflow…
…but I’m convinced PMs and Product Designers are going to step into these roles too.
Strong product sense, design intuition, and prioritization are becoming just as important as deep engineering knowledge.
With tools like Cursor, Claude Code, and Figma Make lowering the barrier to building, “vibe coding” is becoming a real, marketable skill.
So I’m curious:
Have you ever landed a job, contract, or opportunity because you could quickly “vibe code’’ a prototype or MVP?
If you’re hiring: do you actively value “product building” skills for roles like PMs or Product Designers?
Replies
I have crossed over from designer to engineer to product a few times in my career. Sometimes it felt I would have "grown" more if I stayed in one role. Now I feel "blessed" as I context switch between these roles with AI augmenting the plumbing and heavy lifting. I am doing more product work - evaluations, product market fit, feature backlogs... less engineer work - reading code or learning syntax... some architect or senior engineer work - optimizing tech stack, solving nasty bugs together with AI, determining code quality, etc. So it feels more like a spider chart... some of all skills, more of certain skills.
@arkant yeah you can very much focus on the strategy and business value you can provide!
@navam_io very interesting to see how AI "came to the rescue" by putting under the limelight generalist profiles!
Got the same feeling as well tbh!
By the way folks,
I just rolled out Vibe Coding Academy on PH today!
Here's the link to the launch: would truly appreciate your help 👉 https://www.producthunt.com/products/vibe-coding-academy 🙏
The problem is that interviews are not shifting towards vibe coding way. They still ask questions that are traditionally being asked. No one is asking "what can you build?"