# Atharva Nikam > HF Researcher at  | MS UX (HCI) ASU grad Location: Milpitas, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/atharvanikam I’m a UX Researcher and Product Designer with three years of experience designing and evaluating intuitive, human-centered solutions across AI, fintech, ed-tech, and enterprise products. My work bridges business goals and user needs whether through prototyping and interaction design or usability testing, interviews, surveys, and eye-tracking studies, to deliver seamless, impactful digital experiences.I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to organizations like Veritas and Adidas-ASU, and lead projects with Tonal, Kotak, and Tata, where I crafted scalable designs and research insights that improved engagement and usability at scale. Recognized with awards for sustainability and innovation, I bring curiosity, adaptability, and a data-driven mindset to every challenge.Passionate about pushing design boundaries, I leverage AI and emerging technologies to create solutions that not only enhance usability but also shape the future of digital experiences. ## Work Experience ### HF Researcher at  @ Apple Jan 2026 – Present | Cupertino, California, United States Conducting human factors research on wide range of Apple’s products. • Recruit study participants, create research protocols, run user study sessions, conduct human factors tasks, analyze study results, communicate with cross functional partners. • Design and conduct generative and evaluative research across hardware and software experiences, particularly leveraging AI technologies. Assess and shape AI system behaviors through human-centered evaluation frameworks. • Collaborate with design, engineering, and our own research team to prototype and iterate on AI-driven interfaces and emerging interaction paradigms. ### Senior Design Researcher @ Tata Elxsi Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 | Santa Clara, CA • Led nationwide qualitative user studies across 50+ commercial and 50+ residential sites, training 10+ moderators on hardware/software, Python scripts, and protocol compliance, ensuring study-compliant insights, validated data accuracy, and improving participant engagement and retention by 15% through empathetic onboarding and clear communication. • Delivered a data set of 1500+ verified hours of field research, directly influencing the client’s AI model training and product strategy decisions. • Diagnosed and resolved hardware, software, and Python script issues during data collection, ensuring uninterrupted workflows, minimal downtime, and compliance with strict project quality standards. ### UX Researcher/Designer @ Arizona State University Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | Tempe, AZ • Coded 50+ interview data to understand what people think about water conservation in Arizona. Collaborating as a UI designer/QA for interactive games, testing generative AI chatbot called Blu. • Contributing toward examining the heuristics of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, ADEQ website to help boost website engagement metric by 60%. I applied user-centered design processes and methodologies such as interviews, 70+ surveys, 30 usability tests, data analysis, persona, storytelling, and four user flows. • I work primarily as a UX researcher for the water conservation museum exhibit in Arizona. A part of my job is to analyze interview data and code them to understand what people say about water conservation in the state of AZ. I also work as a UI designer by designing interactive widgets, freebies, and an AI chatbot called Blu! ### UI/UX Designer - CRUX Lab ASU @ College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Tempe, Arizona, United States Created CRUX Lab's social media content and designed 15+ posts to drive engagement and followers. I collaborated on an eye-tracking research project on public park signages and wayfinding with my manager, partnering with Project Cities - City of Clarkdale and other volunteers. We created a research plan, recruited participants, and scheduled a moderated eye-tracking usability test with 20 participants. Analyzed quantitative data in MS Excel and Tobii Pro Lab to understand eye fixations and saccades. Co-authored a publication on "Tracking visual patterns and interaction with public park signage using eye-tracking technology." Equipment used: Tobii Glasses 3 for gaze data, Tobii Pro Screen reader for testing digital park signage. ### UI/UX Designer at Adidas - ASU Center for Engagement Science @ adidas Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | Arizona, United States • Analyzed Tonal Inc.’s home gym equipment with software such as iMotions and Tobii Pro Lab. Measured EDA (Electrodermal Activity) with the Empatica E4 watch and eye-tracking gaze data with Tobii Glasses 3. • Conducted a usability test with 24 participants covering 100% of Tonal’s UI, evaluated usability test data, and suggested improvements in a report of physical and UI interaction to enhance Tonal’s learning and navigational experience by 30%. Completed the CITI program's IRB - Biomedical research mandatory training certification. RCR - Responsible Conduct of Research certification. Worked at Adidas - ASU a corporate partner to • Research equipment used: Tobii Glasses 3 and Empatica E4 watch. Used Tobii Glasses for eye tracking and analyzing how gaze and pupil dilation trends are associated with emotions and decision-making. Empatica E4, a medical-grade watch was used to analyze EDA (Electrodermal activity) that measures skin electrical conductance changes. • Research software used: Worked on home gym equipment by Tonal Inc. with software such as iMotions and Tobii Pro Lab. Used MS Excel to analyze the exported data by creating pivot tables. • Process: Recruited 24 participants with specific demographics provided by Tonal. Participants were given 7 tasks that covered high-priority testing pages in Tonal’s UI and physical arms. Task success rates, errors, and time were recorded. Conducted a usability test with at least 24 participants, analyzed the testing data, and suggested improvements in the product's physical and UI interaction. Collected data by observation and think-a-loud exercise to confirm the research findings. Finally, participants were given a post-test questionnaire to understand their overall experience, best task, feature, unpleasant experiences, and suggestions. Used a Likert scale from 1-5. Mapped a valence scale that showed participants positive and negative experiences from -5 being the worst to +5 being the best. ### UI/UX Design Innovator @ Digital Impact Square, A TCS Foundation Initiative Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 • Proposed an app-based smart and sustainable farming solution for an Agri-tech startup – Finno AQ. • Targeted the research and design featuring innovative farming features like climate-smart agriculture and farm monitoring. • Followed the design thinking process and agile development for qualitative and quantitative research, persona, contextual inquiry, focus groups, card sorting, information architecture, wireframes, and high fidelity design. The usability test score of 82% helped farmers increase farming efficiency by 60%. I introduced an app-based solution for smart and sustainable farming for an Agri-food Tech startup. Primarily targeted the research and design featuring innovative farming features like climate-smart agriculture, farm monitoring, and closed environment farming. Followed the design thinking process, worked on qualitative and quantitative research, persona, contextual inquiry, focus groups, card sorting, information architecture, wireframes, and high-fidelity design, and tested it with usability tests like A/B testing, and formative and summative testing. ### UI/UX Design Intern @ Veritas Technologies LLC Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 • Conducted analysis of the NetBackup Web UI, to generate system reports for electronic engineering binaries. • Redesigned consumer dashboard UI, using Sketch, ProtoPie and Miro adding essential options and feedback messages by creating low, mid, and high-fidelity designs, improving features' usage by 43%. Introduced guidelines for SaaS UI services. Generated insights from competitor analysis. ### Head Of International Relations Cell at student council @ Symbiosis Institute Of Design Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 Managed the International Relations Cell with a team of 22 people under me. Covered 8 events throughout the year, which added some amazing experience for the students at the campus. We had webinars, cultural events in online mode by giving students some exciting opportunities to volunteer and have an amazing time throughout the Covid pandemic. Had 3 big cultural exchange programs with Chiba University, Japan where Japanese buddies and Indian buddies worked together on exploring and understanding Indian history, art & culture and ancient art forms. This interactive event had a great response by the students and loved the interaction with their Japanese buddies. ### UI Designer @ Kala Raksha Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 • Led and managed a team of 5 members where we had to redesign Kala Raksha’s website into an e-commerce platform. Effectively implemented UX research with qualitative and quantitative data and used them to understand users' wants and needs. The e-commerce website resulted in 68% conversions and reduced bounce rate by 56%. About: Kala Raksha, as the name suggests, “Art preservation,” is focused on preserving and making artisans' unique handcrafted work available globally. The NGO supports woman empowerment and hands a stable source of income to its workers. ## Education ### Master of Science - MS in Human Computer Interaction Arizona State University ### B.Des User Experience Design in UX Symbiosis Institute Of Design ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/atharva-nikam-9aa5591ab - Portfolio: https://uxatharva.com/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/atharvanikam JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/atharvanikam/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13