# Alicia Kawamura

> Design Program & Operations Leader | Cross-Functional Product Execution | Portfolio & Roadmap Planning | 10M–100M+ User Platforms

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/aliciakawamura

I lead design and product programs that bring structure to complex, cross-functional environments.

Over the past 15+ years, I’ve partnered with product, engineering, and executive teams to deliver multi-quarter initiatives across mobile, web, console, and connected TV platforms serving 10M–100M+ users. My experiences have incorporated design, execution, and operations: integrating design into product development lifecycles, running quarterly planning and capacity modeling, managing cross-team dependencies, and improving delivery predictability at scale.

At TextNow, I supported company-wide initiatives across a 10M+ MAU platform, leading quarterly roadmap planning and forecasting while building operational foundations such as the company’s first design system governance model. Previously at Sony PlayStation, I owned roadmap execution and executive reporting for global features serving 100M+ users.

I’m currently exploring Design Program and Operations leadership roles where I can help teams scale execution, align stakeholders, and deliver complex initiatives with clarity.

## Work Experience
### Product Design Manager (Design Program & Operations Lead) @ TextNow
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco, CA
• Managed a team of 4 product designers supporting company-wide initiatives across the full product portfolio (10M+ MAU platform).
• Led quarterly roadmap planning, capacity modeling, and sprint execution in partnership with program management, product, and engineering leadership.
• Oversaw design delivery across all product workstreams, managing cross-team dependencies, delivery forecasting, and risk mitigation for multi-quarter initiatives.
• Integrated design into the Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC), improving alignment, reducing scope churn, and increasing sprint delivery predictability.
• Launched and operationalized the company’s first design system, establishing governance standards adopted across all product surfaces.
• Defined Product Experience 5-year strategy, aligning design and product strategy with company OKRs, increasing user growth by 20% and revenue by 17% across a base of 10M MAU.

### Lead Product Designer (Cross-Platform Experience & Program Lead) @ Crunchyroll
Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco, CA
• Led design execution across 10+ connected TV platforms in the U.S., coordinating concurrent release timelines and cross-functional dependencies with product and engineering teams.
• Managed multi-stream delivery timelines including Nintendo Switch app launch (10% MAU growth via mobile optimization for 10-foot interfaces).
• Facilitated cross-functional planning and release readiness reviews to align delivery sequencing across TV platforms.
• Reduced operational overhead by 5-10 hours/week per designer through workflow automation and tooling optimization.

### Product Manager @ PlayStation
Jan 2016 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco, CA
• Led end-to-end product lifecycle and cross-functional execution for Feeds and What’s New across PS4, Web, and Mobile platforms serving 100M+ users.
• Owned roadmap planning, KPI definition, delivery forecasting, and quarterly executive reporting for global social and discovery features.
• Drove 16% increase in sharing activity and 3% MAU lift by launching a new social graph feature (Follow), generating 1.6M follows and 1.2M connections within the first 30 days.
• Delivered AI-powered discovery and feed optimization initiatives improving engagement and content relevance at a global scale.

### Lead Product Designer @ PlayStation
Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco, CA
• Led cross-functional execution for PlayStation Video, Vue, and Core across mobile, web, console, and OTT platforms.
• Launched PlayStation’s first iOS video streaming app with full feature set including content discovery, playback, downloads, casting, and offline viewing, earning a 4.5 star App Store rating from a 40M+ user base.
• Scoped and prioritized design initiatives in partnership with product and engineering, aligning UX execution with business goals, technical constraints, and user needs across global platforms.

### Senior Designer @ AKQA
Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco, California, United States
• Won the Netflix LATAM account by leading UX vision and pitch execution.
• Improved cross-team efficiency through workflow and tool optimization.

### Advertising Solutions Manager @ Yahoo!
Jan 2011 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco, California, United States
• Designed custom ad products that grew a $5k pilot into a $4M account.
• Partnered with Product to build monetization tools in mobile apps.


## Education
### MFA in Art Direction
Academy of Art University

### BA in Journalism
University of Washington


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/aliciakawamura
- Portfolio: https://aliciakawamura.squarespace.com/

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Source: https://flows.cv/aliciakawamura
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/aliciakawamura/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-13