# Dan Becker > Builder & Investor Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/danbecker I lead product design across complex consumer and enterprise environments, most recently building AI-driven experiences inside Google Workspace. My focus is translating new technology into practical product value, and doing that in a way that’s grounded in real user needs, usability, and measurable business impact. Earlier in my career, I worked across brand systems, mobile apps, and platform UX at Airbnb, Strava, Instagram, and Square, focused on moments when the product was redefining itself or scaling fast. That taught me how to move between hands-on design, cross-functional alignment, and longer-range product direction without losing the details of the actual user experience. Today I’m focused on work where design meaningfully influences product direction from the beginning, especially in AI-native products, platform growth, and productivity tools. I also invest in early-stage teams through my fun, Ligature. ## Work Experience ### Head of Design, Workspace AI Growth @ Google Jan 2024 – Present | California, United States Product design lead for AI-centric growth and monetization across all of Google Workspace. Focused on bringing AI across the entire suite of apps (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Slides etc.). Responsible for scaling the $XB Workspace business through: - Driving discovery, adoption, and monetization of Gemini - Improving user adoption, habitual use, and retention of Gemini across all Workspace apps. - Driving SMB and consumer revenue growth. ### Founder & Partner @ Ligature Jan 2021 – Present Co-founded Ligature, an early-stage investment fund, with former Square colleague Daniel Scrivner. We've invested in over 75 startups, including Galileo, Bridge, Anything, ZIINA, Kick, Public.com, AtoB, Array, Opal, Dakota, Reforge, and many others. We're focused on embedding design into a startup's DNA from inception. Contrarian by design, optimistic about the future. ### Head of Design @ Pulley Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area Hands on executive design leader. Within the year, rebuilt and launched product, brand, and go-to-market experiences at the intersection of the fintech/legal for token & equity management product. Joined at Series-B stage (backed by Y-Combinator, Stripe, Founders Fund, etc). - Developed new product strategy and guided execution for founder-friendly experiences - Shipped workflow products, brought simplicity to a complex space - Built and scaled world-class product and design teams ### Advisor @ Designer Fund Jan 2019 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area Advisor for Fund II (40M) & Fund III (45M) on design and product to existing and prospective portfolio companies. Actively engaged in building and growing the Designer Fund community in SF/NY. ### Head of Product Design, Creator Ecosystem @ Instagram Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco Bay Area Launched and led an org of teams responsible for incubating new product experiences for Creators. - Formed Artists & Audio team at IG, responsible for all music and audio experiences platform wide (discovery, manipulation, sharing, playback) - Shipped a new trend discovery experience, fueled by a personal recommendations engine. - Developed 0-1 work to showcase Instagram’s potential in VR/Metaverse. ### Head of Product Design, Creators & Discovery @ Instagram Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco, California Built and supported an org of teams focused on: - Creator ecosystems, growth, and creator monetization - Global Search and Discovery experiences for the $XB revenue generating Explore tab - Kickstarting and developing the flywheels for Reels video content to thrive on Instagram ### Senior Manager, Experience Design @ Airbnb Jan 2016 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area Led an org of design teams which built Airbnb's first sub-brand; a tiering and verification platform called Airbnb Plus: - Defined strategy, and drove execution for the end to end guest experience at launch. - Scaled Airbnb Plus host onboarding and growth from 20 to 200 international markets - Drove strategy and execution which accelerated the business from $0 to $XXXM within 3 years ### Director, Head of Design @ Strava Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area Co-Led the design team during hypergrowth, alongside Ryan Noonan, reporting directly to the CMO/CPO: - Scaled the Strava community from 8M to over 45M through rebuilding and improving core aspects of the product experience to serve more athletes. - Grew the subscriber base from 500k to 3M paid subscribers. - United product and brand teams to implement user-centric design processes, resulting in award-winning work that accelerated community growth and unlocked business revenue. ### UX Design Lead, R&D Products @ Airbnb Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco Bay Area Led UX Design for Airbnb’s R&D org (Home to Homes) under co-founder and CPO Joe Gebbia, focusing on piloting new products to complement Airbnb’s core business: - Launched innovative features such as Mobile Guidebooks, Experience Marketplace, Guest Trip Mementos, and Pocket Concierge. - Developed strategic frameworks for the Dynamic Trip Platform. - Advanced entrepreneurial products before the team was restructured to enhance core experiences. ### Senior Product Designer @ Square Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 Contributed to multiple product teams within a small, agile design group of fewer than 15 members: - Conceived and launched Square’s inaugural SaaS products, Feedback and Receipts, transforming digital receipts into opportunities for customer engagement.  - Worked on initiatives including Order 2.0, Caviar, and Market, enhancing Square’s product offerings. - Played a key role in developing tools that enabled merchants to receive and respond to customer feedback directly through digital receipts, improving customer service interactions.  ### Art Director (Contract) @ Huge Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | San Francisco Bay Area Led design and art direction for digital mobile products, e-commerce platforms, and interactive experiences for clients including The Peninsula, Salesforce, Restoration Hardware, and TheFind: - Directed comprehensive 0-1 brand and product design for TheFind, contributing to its acquisition by Facebook. - Developed user-centric designs for The Peninsula’s digital mobile products, enhancing guest engagement. - Led e-commerce platform design for Restoration Hardware, improving user experience and increasing online sales by $XM ### Senior Designer (Contract) @ Manual Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 Design and Art Direction for Apple Music and an SF fashion boutique ### Designer II @ Nurun SF Jan 2010 – Jan 2012 | San Francisco Bay Area Worked at Odopod, Nurun pre-acquisition. Design lead for client work with Apple, Nest, Tesla, Sony, and Ford among others. ### Designer @ Turner Duckworth Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 Created strategic visual identity systems for Coca-Cola, Kraft, Honest, Sprite, and Motorola among others. ### Associate Designer @ Pentagram Jan 2008 – Jan 2008 Worked under the tutelage of partner Michael Bierut on a variety of projects ranging from visual identity systems to posters and editorial concepting. ## Education ### Bachelor of Science in Design University of Cincinnati ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/becker513 --- Source: https://flows.cv/danbecker JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/danbecker/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13