Why We Built Career Frameworks

As our team at Rasa grew, so did the need for clarity around career paths. We kept hearing questions like: “What’s next for my growth?" or “What is expected of me?”.

All those questions sparked a much bigger conversation about clarity, fairness, and motivation. We decided to set Rasa as a place where people feel empowered to grow.

We didn’t just build these frameworks for performance reviews (even though they help a lot with that). We built them to create a better employee experience where they can expect things like:

• You don’t have to guess what’s expected at your level
• Our managers have the tools to support your growth
• You get feedback that really helps you improve
• Promotions feel clear, fair, and earned

At their core, career frameworks are about unlocking employee potential. They add value by reducing bias, aligning compensation, and making hires smoother while giving employees the structure to thrive in their jobs rather than just survive.

What’s Inside the Frameworks

Each framework breaks down what growth looks like at different levels for ownership, collaboration, and impact. Each framework contains:

• Company-wide competencies that apply no matter what team you're on
• Team-specific paths for individual contributors, (i.e., something around technical skills for Engineers)
• Soon, we’ll have a dedicated framework for managers to help them grow into stronger, more supportive leaders

These frameworks reflect how we work and our values. Everyone is expected to take Initiative, collaborate deeply, own our impact, and always think about how we can help our customers win.
It’s not just about being “technically great” but finding ways and growing to make the whole team better.

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How We Use Them

So, how do these frameworks actually show up in your day-to-day life?

• Performance reviews are clearer and more focused
• Hiring is more consistent (we know what level we’re hiring for and why)
• Promotions have a shared language and criteria
• Managers have a tool to coach, not just evaluate

Employees have a reference point for where they are and where they want to go

For example, we were considering promoting a Senior Software Engineer to the Staff level. As part of our process, the manager had to present a case to the promotion committee and outline why the promotion was warranted. Instead of just listing achievements, they used our career framework to map the engineer’s work directly to the expectations of a Staff-level role, across technical leadership, impact, ownership, and collaboration.

The career framework structured and clarified the conversation. It removed subjectivity and made it clear that the engineer was already performing at the next level. The decision was straightforward, and the promotion felt fair, earned, and well-aligned with how we define growth.

Supporting Managers

We’re especially excited about bringing this clarity to our leadership path. Managers often carry a lot (i.e., supporting their teams, making tough calls, and driving outcomes), and it’s easy for their own growth to fall to the bottom.

That’s why we’re building a management framework to help them lead with more confidence and consistency, and to give them the same support they give their teams. When our managers grow, our people grow.

The Bigger Picture

At the end of the day, this is about creating a place where great people can do the best work of their careers and feel seen, supported, and challenged while doing it.

We’re building a culture where feedback is useful, growth is visible, and career conversations happen often, not just once a year. While frameworks are our foundation for making this possible, we know they’re just one part of the bigger picture. Growth is personal, contextual, and ongoing, and the framework is simply there to support it. We’re just getting started.

Want to know more about how we’re approaching this? Contact us or search our open roles. We’re always happy to share and learn.