Sonos Sacks Top Designers Behind its Premium Speakers

Sonos has just parted ways with some of its heaviest hitters in design, product development, and research. Among those leaving the company is Dana Krieger, a vice president of design who spent 12 years with the brand, according to Bloomberg.

Krieger was a central figure in how Sonos premium hardware took shape. Joining him in the departure is Kate Wojogbe, a senior user experience executive with nearly ten years of tenure, and Scott Fink, a 15-year veteran who fundamentally helped build the home theatre business that gave Sonos its strong living room identity.

The restructuring did not stop at the core audio products. Michelle Enright, a senior design director who oversaw product packaging and sustainability efforts, was let go after 14 years. Sara Lincoln, a hardware product manager, also departed after 11 years. Furthermore, former employees note that the user experience research division took a massive hit.

Rebecca Phillips, a user experience researcher at Sonos, shared online that nearly the entire user experience research team was let go, including department head Kristen Leclerc.

This latest round of workforce reductions accounts for roughly 3% of the total staff. Sonos Chief Executive Officer Tom Conrad, who assumed leadership following a turbulent period for the company, framed these job cuts as a necessity for modern corporate survival. In a staff memo, Conrad noted that he wants a company that operates with more conviction and velocity.

However, current and former insiders do not entirely buy the official narrative of speed over savings. Some veteran staff see the layoffs as an aggressive cost-cutting exercise.

Sonos has spent the last couple of years fighting an uphill battle to restore its premium reputation. A major mobile app overhaul in May 2024 sparked an unprecedented consumer backlash due to unstable connectivity, bugs, and missing legacy features. The fallout severely hurt product sales, damaged customer trust, and ultimately led to the departure of former chief executive Patrick Spence.