How curiosity and purpose changed my career direction

In this article, Staff Product Designer Luana Moura writes honestly about moving from management back into an IC (Individual Contributor) role, and why it might be the most forward-looking decision she ever made.

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What would you do if curiosity knocked so loud you couldn’t ignore it anymore?

A few months ago, I moved from Senior Manager of Supply UX at GetYourGuide back to an Individual Contributor role as a Staff Designer. And yes, before you ask: I chose this. On purpose. With excitement.

“But isn’t that... backward?”

Honestly? I don’t get the question. The idea that ‘becoming a manager’ should be everyone’s ultimate goal has always felt a bit off to me. Luckily, the industry is catching up. Roles have evolved to accommodate different people, strengths, and kinds of impact. And I’m genuinely happy that GetYourGuide gives people the opportunity to make a horizontal move like this. Not every company does, and it takes real trust.

A quick origin story

I started working at 15, in my stepfather’s tech lab in Atibaia. From there, I went on to work for some of the world’s largest banks, consultancies, and marketplaces as a self-taught designer. Structured learning was never really my thing. But problems? Problems I could not stop thinking about.

I spent years moving through web design, graphic design, and UX. Eventually, I landed at Fjord (Accenture) before making the wildly surreal move from São Paulo to Berlin to join Zalando. I was the only designer on the payments team. I loved it. Figuring out how different cultures relate to money, how to make complex financial systems feel human, how to design for trust when the stakes are high. From there, I stepped into management, leading the Payments design team, and eventually came to GetYourGuide as Senior Manager of Supply UX.

Three years of exciting strategic B2B problems, growing people, leading multiple teams, and watching a design culture take shape step by step. That last part is something I’m extremely proud of.

And here’s what I want to be very clear about: being a manager was not a detour. I became a better thinker, a more patient collaborator, a more grounded human. The skills I built (authentic leadership, strategic attitude, the belief that people are always the work) didn’t stay in the job description when I moved on; they came with me.

So... why the move?

Here’s the honest answer: curiosity.

I’m wired a specific way. Autodidact, neurodivergent, someone who learns by going deep and staying there. Following curiosity isn’t a nice-to-have for me. It’s the whole operating system.

As I delved deeper into GetYourGuide’s strategy, I kept finding myself drawn to specific problem spaces: supplier optimization, pricing, availability, and the beautiful and complex B2B system that sits behind every booking and experience creator makes. These are systems that affect the livelihoods of thousands of businesses. Tour operators, local guides, people who love what they do, who create unforgettable experiences for travelers, and who deserve tools that don’t require an MBA to use.

I wanted to dig in, not just oversee. I wanted to roll up my sleeves and go deep, with craft, with time, with the kind of focus that management couldn’t give me. Not because management is lesser, but because attention is finite, and mine was split.

A few other things clicked at the same time.

The team reached a level of seniority that made me really proud. I was also incredibly lucky to work directly with Amber Cartwritght, Head of UX, someone who helped me see things in myself I wasn’t fully seeing yet. But it was also clear that Supply UX deserved dedicated, strong UX leadership, someone who could guide the team and me more deeply. And that’s exactly what we got: Taniya Varshney joined as Director of UX, and the team is in incredible hands.

And then AI arrived.

Right as I was sitting with this decision, GetYourGuide was becoming an AI-first company. Suddenly, the question wasn’t just “do I go back to IC?” It was “What does IC even mean now?” I had no idea. But that uncertainty didn’t scare me; it lit me up.

What it looks like seven months in

I’m now a Staff Designer on the Inventory Group (Pricing, Availability, and Connectivity team), working to make complex supplier systems understandable for suppliers, internal teams, and everyone whose decisions affect them.

And AI? I use it every single day. Vibe prototyping, accelerating workshops, going deeper in research, and most importantly, sharpening how I communicate ideas. It makes my curiosity go further. The role of a designer is genuinely changing, and there’s no stable map for it yet.

The management years show up constantly, in how I collaborate, how I connect design decisions to business context, and how I show up for the people around me. You don’t stop leading when you change titles. I just lead differently now.

If you’re thinking about a similar move

My advice: don’t rush it. The industry is volatile, and not everyone has the conditions to make this kind of move. Be honest with yourself about that.

But if you’re circling the question, plant seeds early. Have the honest conversation with your leads before you’re ready to act. I wasn’t ashamed to say, “Hey, is this even a possibility here someday?” 

Lastly, don’t let anyone make you feel like a non-linear path is a lesser one. Mine has never been linear, and that’s exactly why it’s mine.

Coaching: the thing nobody talks about enough

Getting a coach is one of the most impactful things you can do for your career.

As a manager, I had access to coaching and learned to coach my own team. That work meant doing exercises I used to roll my eyes at: mapping my life, naming my purpose, getting really honest about my vision, and what makes me tick. Spoiler: Do those exercises properly, and things get very clear, very fast. Sometimes uncomfortably so.

My purpose became undeniable. This career move, the way I want to lead and grow, and bringing more music making and craft into my personal life all connect. Coaching helped me see the thread.

If you’re considering any big career change, finding a good coach is my number one recommendation. Not to be told what to do, but to finally figure out what you actually want, and then have the courage to go after it.

Life isn’t one-dimensional, and neither are you

You cannot grow just one dimension of yourself and then expect everything else to fall into place.

Around the same time I made this move, I also started to think more intentionally about my life outside of work. About what keeps me creative, present, and purposeful when I’m not in front of a screen, I found my answer in music. So I’m back to being a musician and performer in my spare time.

I say “back” because music was always part of me, long before design was. And what I didn’t expect was how much performing on stage is teaching me about how I show up at work. Stage performance demands presence, reading the room, managing nerves, holding attention, and adapting in real time. Sound familiar? Every presentation, every workshop, every time I need to bring a room with me, I’m using the same muscles.

Creativity doesn’t live in one box. For me, it lives in design and in music, in curiosity and in craft, in solving complex B2B problems and in playing a chord that finally sounds right. They feed into each other, and they always have.

If you’re building a career you’re proud of, I’d ask you: what are you doing outside of it that keeps you alive? What makes you a fuller, more interesting, more present version of yourself? Don’t just treat it as a hobby you’ll get to someday. That thing matters just as much, so lean in.

Thank you, GetYourGuide. Thank you, Amber and Taniya, for supporting my move, and to all my colleagues who believe in me. 

Same kid. Better tools. Louder music. Let’s go!