# Maria Dumitrescu

> Product Design Apprentice @ Sony | User Experience Design & CS @ Minerva University | Campus Leader @ Figma

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

🌟 Through my University program, I am living in 7 countries over the course of 4 years. I joined this program for the same reason I like to design: to understand all of the views, opinions, and experiences our world holds and use this understanding to make at least one person's day better.

💻 Technical Expertise:
            - Proficient in HTML, CSS (and Tailwind CSS), JavaScript (and Typescript), and Python.
            - Skilled in wireframing, prototyping, and user testing
            - Experienced with Adobe Creative Suite, Figma.

🎨 Artistic Background:
            - Professional experience in digital marketing and book publishing
            - Leadership roles in digital and fine arts projects
            - Entrepreneurial experience in the arts industry

🌍 Global Perspective:
            - Traveled to 7 different countries through my academic program
            - Constantly seeking new cultural experiences and inspiration through travel

🚀 Career Highlights:
            - Successfully led multiple UI/UX design projects with a focus on user-centered design principles
            - Contributed to the design and development of user interfaces for web and mobile applications
            - Adept at balancing aesthetic appeal with functional design

## Work Experience
### Product Design Apprentice (Civic Project) @ Sony
Jan 2026 – Present | Tokyo, Japan
- Designing Arc & Beyond platform for African animation creators; shifting users from viewers to makers.
– Leading UX strategy & WordPress implementation for social impact nonprofit (TAIDO project).
– Partnering with international studios (Ghana, Nigeria) to build creator economy infrastructure.

### Design Lead @ Global Brand Studio
Jan 2025 – Present
Led branding and design; Conducted audience research, branding, design and marketing strategy for Anthropic and AI Consensus events in Buenos Aires

### Founder and Product Designer @ nuuko.app
Jan 2025 – Present

### User Experience (UI/UX) Design Intern @ Minerva University
Jan 2023 – Present | United States
Minerva’s app helps students apply to one of the most innovative universities in the world—but it had a high drop-off rate. I redesigned that experience.

### User Experience Design Civic Intern @ Virtual Sense S.A.
Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 | Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

### Product Designer & Project Manager Intern @ The Nippon Foundation
Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 | Tokyo, Japan
Designed end-to-end flows for AI UGC platform; built wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.
Conducted 25+ interviews; created personas, user journeys, and usability tests to guide product direction.
Collaborated with PMs & engineers; design work shaped MVP and supported securing ¥2.3M pre-seed funding.

### Head of Marketing and Design @ Let's Uni
Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | European Union
I’m building a platform that helps students across Europe apply to international universities more easily—especially those who feel overwhelmed or don’t know where to start.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:
🔁 Redesigned the entire site to simplify the user journey—after testing 3 versions through A/B testing, we boosted student leads by 200%
📈 Increased student engagement by 70% by redesigning core flows and improving how we explain programs, deadlines, and scholarships
🎯 Created a reusable design system with 100+ UI components and 50+ templates for LMS, making the platform faster to update and easier to scale
📲 Boosted social reach by 60% through UI-focused content and consistent branding on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook

### ASPR and WARP 25’ Participant @ Center for Applied Rationality
Jan 2025 – Jan 2025

### Founder of Digital Planner Company @ Marie Lee Shop
Jan 2021 – Jan 2025
Built a small e-commerce brand from scratch that turned into a top seller on Pinterest.

My proudest stats:
🧵 Designed 57 custom products and scaled sales to 1,300+
📌 Reached 485K monthly views on Pinterest through organic content
📊 Used feedback loops to improve product-market fit, boosting conversion by 70%

### Neuroscience and Data Science Research Asistant @ National Taiwan University
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Taipei, Taipei City, Taiwan
- Conducted research on Applied Event-Related Potential (ERP) to process neurophysiological data.
- Focused on signal processing, data visualization, and cognitive components like P300 and N400.
- Created literature review presentations

### Product Designer Intern @ BEARVFX
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Taipei, Taipei City, Taiwan
I worked at a VFX studio where I helped design AI tools to speed up educational video production.

Impact:
🤖 Built tools that automated voiceovers, subtitles, and slide syncing using AI
⚡ Cut production time by 50% and manual effort by 30%
🎥 Designed UIs for internal teams to easily preview, edit, and finalize videos

This role mixed AI, UX, and real-world media workflows—and made me rethink how design and automation can work together.

### Data Analyst @ Vincent Gao
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024
Worked with a creator with 5M+ followers to understand audience behavior and optimize content across platforms.

Highlights:
📈 Designed dashboards with Python to track engagement and user trends
📹 Informed creative direction with insights from TikTok, YouTube, and IG analytics
🎯 Helped shape visual and content strategies that improved retention and follower growth

### User Experience Designer & Front End Developer @ RiverProject.io
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | New Jersey, United States
River Project needed a visual and functional redesign for their site—and I took it from MVP to launch.

What I did:
🔧 Rebuilt the frontend using Vue, TypeScript, and Tailwind, boosting engagement by 25%
🎨 Designed 50+ UI assets to guide users through the site in a more intuitive way
🌗 Implemented dark mode and micro-interactions to improve accessibility and UX satisfaction

### Layout Artist @ Napkins
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Video Editor Intern @ Citizens Cinema
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Berkeley, California, United States
- Collaborated with Rob Nilsson, an award-winning filmmaker from Berkeley, to develop advanced industry-level skills in video editing, sound design, and color correction. 🎥🏆
- Executed high-quality video editing and production using tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, ensuring professional standards and creativity. 🎞️💻
- Designed and implemented sound design and color correction techniques to enhance the visual and auditory appeal of video content. 🎨🔊
- Worked on the movie "The Stroke", contributing to various aspects of its production and post-production processes. 📽️🏅

### Graphic Designer @ Empowered Futures
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Experience and Curriculum Designer @ San Francisco Art & Film for Teenagers
Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States
- Designed an innovative, one-month film course for San Francisco public school students, aiming to enhance creative and technical skills in filmmaking. 🎬🎓
- Developed comprehensive curriculum materials, including lesson plans, instructional videos, and project guidelines, to ensure an engaging and educational experience for students. 📚🎥
- Collaborated with local educators and industry professionals to align course content with educational standards and real-world filmmaking practices. 🎞️🤝
- Incorporated user feedback and iterative testing to continuously improve course content and delivery methods. 🔄📝
- Organized and facilitated workshops and hands-on activities to provide students with practical experience and foster a passion for the arts. 🏫🎨

### Marketing Manager @ Google
Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco, California, United States
- Boosted website clicks and views for the NGO MenHealing through the Nonprofit Marketing Immersion program, achieving a 45% increase in online engagement. 🌐📊
- Passed the Google Ads Search Certification and Measurement Certification exams, demonstrating proficiency in digital marketing and analytics. 🎓📈
- Developed and executed targeted marketing campaigns, utilizing data-driven strategies to optimize ad performance and ROI. 🎯💼
-Collaborated with cross-functional teams, including product, design, and engineering, to align marketing initiatives with business objectives. 🤝📢
- Analyzed and reported on campaign performance, providing actionable insights to improve future marketing efforts. 📊🔍

### Published Author @ Amazon
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023
-Published Author, Editor & Cover Designer for "Letters in the Dark", a contemporary fiction book written under the pen name Marie Lee sold on Amazon. 
- Self-published a 70k-word novel raising awareness about dissociative identity disorder and asexuality in the entertainment industry.

### Product Designer @ Vreau să Studiez în America
Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | Bucharest, Romania
Worked with the Graphic design and marketing team to design a hoodie based on the needs of the students

### High School Recruiter @ Aspire Romania
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | Romania

### Freelance Illustrator @ Unknown
Jan 2021 – Jan 2023
- Created 50+ social media promotion posts & flyers for 30+ charity events and fundraisers
- Designed 2 websites. 
- Designed costum art pieces (paintings, cover art, concept art) for costumers.

### Co-Founder @ XPress Dance Crew
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Romania
Founded an organization offering a place of expression for kids unable to afford dance class. Taught and studied choreographies across all dance styles; encouraged students to develop freedom of expression; taught kids from 5 orphanages.

### Alumna @ Aspire Romania
Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Romania
Attended the Aspire Academy High School Program (the only leadership program in Eastern Europe where Harvard and Stanford professors teach). The program has a 9% acceptance rate.

### Professional Dancer @ The Mission Dance Crew
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Bucharest, Romania

### Art Director & Brand Manager @ LZR Magazine
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Bucharest, Romania
Led the creation of the digital and physical editions of the magazine covering topics like mental health & high-school advice. 
Enhanced the art skills of 50 artists from 3 art departments (Digital art, Videography, and Photography).
Held 14 workshops for illustrators, videographers, graphic designers, and photographers.
Doubled sales from the previous year.

### Graphic Designer and Illustrator @ Psihototem Magazine
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Bucharest, Romania

### Creation Department Leader/Mental Toughness Model @ Willtitude
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Bucharest, Romania
Led the creative department of the neuroscience club based on weekly challenges created to push students' limits.
Shared my story through speeches and articles for 200 members; created the marketing campaign; attended mental toughness summer camp.

### Graphic Designer @ Rotary International
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Bucharest, Romania


## Education
### Bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Design
Minerva University

### buildspace

### High School Diploma in General Studies
School Whitmore School

### High School Diploma in Visual Arts
Lycee Jean Piaget Neuchâtel

### Mathematics and Computer Science
Colegiul National Gheorghe Lazar


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mariadumitrescusf
- Portfolio: https://mariadumitrescu.com

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