# Manik Budhiraja > Design Leader @ LinkedIn - Previously at Instagram, Roku, GoDaddy Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/manikbudhiraja A Product Designer & Strategist with a heart enraptured by the art of design and the wonders of technology. With over 12 years of experience in design, I have built some good POVs on design thinking, building products for AI, effectively collaborating with C level executives, running projects that span across many organizations and helping other designers grow. Currently supporting the Premium Design team At LinkedIn. Have also majorly contributed towards the design practice and products at Instagram, GoDaddy, Roku and other smaller startups over the last decade. Beyond the labors of my trade, I find solace in yoga and meditation, I revel the splendor of cinema and storytelling on Netflix and my heart is drawn to gathering fine timepieces and automobiles. ## Work Experience ### Staff Product Designer @ LinkedIn Jan 2025 – Present ### Principal Product Designer @ Flex Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area ### Principal Product Designer @ Roku Inc. Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | San Jose, California, United States As the Design Lead responsible for shaping the future of the Roku Mobile app, I collaborated closely with both the Product and Engineering teams to define a compelling vision for the app. I successfully executed this vision by implementing a series of experiments aimed at enhancing content discovery and boosting user engagement within the app. Furthermore, I played a pivotal role in devising a strategy to effectively monetize the mobile app. This involved the introduction of multiple non-intrusive and engaging ad units, ultimately driving successful monetization efforts. In addition to my design leadership, I took on a mentoring role within the design team. I provided guidance to fellow designers, aiding in the streamlining of UI components and the enhancement of the app's overall information architecture. My aim was to elevate the design quality standards at Roku, fostering a culture of excellence within the team. ### Product Design Lead - Instagram @ Meta Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco Bay Area During my tenure at Instagram, I played a crucial role in bolstering the IG Business division. I spearheaded the conceptualization and development of a comprehensive suite of tools tailored for creators and businesses within the Instagram App. This encompassed an end-to-end system that facilitated content creation, tracked performance metrics (such as Reach and Add to Carts) via an analytics dashboard, and then actively engaged with creators and businesses through in-app education, periodic notifications, and emails. The introduction of these innovative releases not only bolstered our market share but also led to a substantial increase in active users. Additionally, these efforts had a positive impact on advertisers' sentiment regarding the value of ads on the platform. Notably, we observed a marked enhancement in the efficiency of ad creation as a direct result of these initiatives. ### Design Consultant @ Freelance Jan 2014 – Jan 2022 Branding & Product Design (Websites & Mobile Apps) for clients across the world. ### User Experience Lead @ GoDaddy Jan 2015 – Jan 2021 | Cambridge, Massachusetts I played a pivotal role at GoDaddy in contributing to the development of the next-generation suite of products and services focused on facilitating domain buying, selling, and monetization. This endeavor encompassed both responsive web and native mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms. In close partnership with Product and Business leadership, I actively participated in crafting a compelling brand narrative and vision that resonated with our customers. Additionally, I ensured that our efforts were consistently aligned with this vision throughout the UX and Product Roadmap. Moreover, I took charge of steering the product and omni-channel product design strategy, which extended across a spectrum of digital products, email communications, and conferences. This comprehensive approach aimed to create a cohesive and user-centric experience across various touchpoints and channels. ### User Experience Designer @ Toast, Inc. Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Boston Worked on re-designing the point of sale system. Working closely with development teams to design CRM for internal teams. Was also responsible for making sure we give out a good experience to our customers with the new EMV payment system. ### Product Manager @ Videology, Inc. Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Washington DC-Baltimore Area Identifying and analyzing new business requirements related to Digital/TV/Mobile Ad serving and coordinating with the cross functional teams to deliver the final product feature Have worked on both Supply and Demand Side Platform related features. Strategizing and working with Engineering and UX team. Implementing a metrics driven solutions to optimize the user experience. Worked in transitioning the software platform from a managed service model to SAAS (software as a service) model by doing extensive user research Designing prototypes and information architecture analysis for the UX team and conducting usability analysis of the company’s platforms. ### User Experience Designer @ Eye Street Solutions LLC Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Baltimore, Maryland Area Tools: Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks), Axure RP pro Methods: Rapid Prototyping UX design for the company website Graphic design for landing pages, login pages for company's clients Low fidelity to high fidelity prototyping of the the designs Strategizing about how to market the company across various target audiences ### Research Assistant - Human Computer Interaction @ University of Maryland Baltimore County Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | Baltimore, Maryland Area Extensive HCI literature research about adaptive user interfaces To improve website experience for color blind users Working towards website adaptation models according to the type of color blindness Software module to manage user profiles so that users can save their preferred settings Tools: Spring(MVC), MySQL Workbench, Firebug, Pencil Languages: Java(JSP), HTML, JavaScript, PHP Methods: Brainstorming, Use Case Modeling ## Education ### Master of Science (MS) in Human Computer Interaction University of Maryland Baltimore County ### Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Computer Science Maharshi Dayanand University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mbudhiraja --- Source: https://flows.cv/manikbudhiraja JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/manikbudhiraja/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13