# Chiyomi Akita

> Senior Product Designer | UX Strategy & Design Systems | Driving 15x Growth for Global Products | Ex-Rakuten | L2-S Visa (No Sponsorship Required)

Location: Syosset, New York, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/chiyomi

Senior Product Designer with over 12 years of experience leading UX strategy and design systems for large-scale digital products. I specialize in bridging the gap between complex user needs and ambitious business goals to drive measurable growth.

Key Impact:
- Proven Growth: Spearheaded product design for Rakuten Music within a global ecosystem of 1.9B+ users, achieving a 15x increase in subscribers and 160% user base growth.
- Design Systems: Established and scaled design systems that improved cross-functional consistency and accelerated development cycles for multi-platform products.
- Leadership: Experienced in mentoring junior designers and aligning stakeholders across Engineering, Marketing, and Legal to influence executive-level decisions.

Currently in NYC:
I am currently based in New York, developing a self-initiated, data-driven product focused on the NYC childcare and education space. This project allows me to explore AI-assisted workflows and modern front-end technologies to solve local challenges.

Status & Availability:
- Work Authorization: Authorized to work in the U.S. under an L2-S visa (no sponsorship required).
- Portfolio Note: Currently updating my online portfolio with recent high-impact case studies. I have comprehensive deep-dive presentations ready for live discussion.

## Work Experience
### Lead Product Designer (UX/UI) @ Rakuten
Jan 2017 – Jan 2025 | Tokyo, Japan
Note: Case studies for major product launches are currently being finalized for portfolio; comprehensive deep-dives available for live presentation.

- Led UX strategy for Rakuten Music within a global ecosystem serving 100M+ users in Japan and 1.9B+ globally
- Contributed to subscriber growth by aligning user needs with complex business and subscription models
- Drove new subscription plan launches, increasing user base
- Led end-to-end redesign across web and mobile, improving usability and retention
- Redefined target users and product positioning to improve paid conversion
- Leveraged behavioral data and A/B testing to drive engagement and conversion improvements
- Designed retention mechanisms including a loyalty ranking system to reduce churn
- Built and scaled a design system to improve consistency and team efficiency
- Influenced executive-level decisions through data-informed UX strategy
- Aligned cross-functional stakeholders across Legal, Marketing, and Engineering
- Mentored designers and improved overall team output and design quality

### Web Designer @ Design Agency (Japan)
Jan 2012 – Jan 2016 | Fukuoka, Japan
A Japan-based creative agency specializing in digital promotion and interactive web experiences for consumer products.

Designed and developed promotional websites for new consumer product launches.
Responsible for UI design, page structure, visual production, and front-end implementation using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, collaborating with planners and engineers to deliver engaging web experiences.


## Education
### Visual Design in Web Design
Kyushu Designer Gakuin


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/chiyomi-akita
- Portfolio: https://chiyomi-akita.work/

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Source: https://flows.cv/chiyomi
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/chiyomi/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-14