# Aparna Unnikrishnan

> Design Leadership @ SoFi | User Experience Design, Product Design

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/aparnaunnikrishnan

Design leader with 15+ years of expertise in Human-Centered Design, specializing in product design, research, and strategy currently in the San Francisco/Bay Area. Currently, I lead teams within Amazon Devices and Services organization focused on multi-modal and LLM/AI experiences. 

Committed to leading with empathy, I excel in guiding teams through complex and ambiguous design phases. I leverage design thinking to create successful design environments, with a track record of launching consumer products and experiences.

## Work Experience
### Sr. Manager of Product Design @ SoFi
Jan 2025 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area

### UX Mentor @ adplist.org
Jan 2024 – Present
In the spirit of continuous growth and learning, I actively engage in mentorship through the ADP platform. I firmly believe that mentorship plays a vital role in fostering growth within the design community, empowering individuals to thrive and excel in their careers. By dedicating 2 to 3 slots per week, I have had the privilege of mentoring numerous aspiring designers.

### Head of UX Design, Fire Tablets, Amazon @ Amazon
Jan 2022 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area
As the Head of Design for Fire Tablets, I lead the strategic vision and design for Generative AI, intelligent agent, enhanced search, personalized "For You Page" experiences, and productivity driven features. 

 In this role, I lead a team of UX designers dedicated to achieving human-centered design by deeply understanding user needs and translating them into intuitive and impactful experiences while seamlessly integrating business objectives, fostering innovation that balances customer satisfaction with strategic growth.

### UX Design Manager - Widgets - Amazon Devices @ Amazon
Jan 2021 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area
Built a talented and diverse team of product designers and spearheaded the development of the Widgets experience across Alexa products. Delivered the V0 widget experience for Echo Show 15, 10 & 8 inch. Championed the development and integration of core CX features for Widgets and Out of Box Experience (OOBE) across the organization's highly matrixed structure.

### Sr. UX Designer - Amazon Grocery @ Amazon
Jan 2021 – Jan 2021 | Sunnyvale, California, United States
Led the CX for Amazon Grocery, including Amazon Fresh and Wholefoods, and used system-level thinking to solve complex process problems within service design. Successfully shipped a new delivery process to positively impact both associates/shoppers and end customers, and re-hauled the UX for shopper tools across various grocery operations, resulting in a seamless experience for customers.

### Design & Research @ Amazon Lab126
Jan 2018 – Jan 2021 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Design & Research @ Amazon Lab126
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Sr. Design Manager - Brand & Product @ SC Johnson
Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | Chicago, Illinois, United States
Managed and led a multi-disciplinary team of designers, researchers and prototypers within Global Glade brand designing for innovation and growth areas. Redefined Glade brand for the new generation through brand activation programs, elevating relevance & perception. Achievements involve launching a new logo and graphics & experiences globally for Glade. Discovered new opportunity areas through research, strategy & roadmaps leading to the development of products from inception to implementation. Launched two new product platforms, Glade Automatics and Glade Melts to the brand each growing the category significantly.

### Product Design Lead @ SC Johnson
Jan 2010 – Jan 2013

### Senior Product Designer @ Whirlpool Corporation
Jan 2006 – Jan 2008

### Product Designer @ LG Electronics
Jan 2005 – Jan 2006


## Education
### Master’s Degree in Design Strategy/ Thinking
Institute of Design (ID)

### Exchange Program in Product & Communication Design
Pforzheim University

### Bachelor’s Degree in Product Design
National Institute of Design


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/aparnaunnikrishnan

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