# Michael Cobra > Design Leader | Al for Design • Design Systems • Product Strategy | Drove +6% revenue at Meta through design system transformation | Ex- Agency Owner Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/michaelcobra I am a design leader that helps brands and products disrupt, scale, and rethink how they work in the digital and physical worlds. I lead Al-for-design and design systems strategy at scale. At Meta, I've led the Geodesic(Ads & Business) Design Systems team-the largest design system serving Meta's advertising products, used by millions of advertisers worldwide. My work sits at the intersection of Al tooling, design systems, product strategy, and organizational change. I don't just ship components, I build the conditions for them to succeed: repairing cross-functional trust, educational programs, and connecting design investment to measurable business outcomes. Some recent results: * Led Ads Manager Geo 2.0 migration delivering +6% sustained revenue uplift * Drove Al tool adoption from 7% to 78% across Meta's design org through custom tooling and change management * Orchestrated Meta.com redesign: +4.7% conversion, exceeding store team goals by 120% * Built Al readiness and maturity framework across 6 largest Meta design systems, reducing documentation maintenance costs by 80% * Built the foundations for Meta.com redesign — scalable navigation system, global components, and self-service CMS — enabling +4.7% conversion, exceeding sales goals by 120% Before Meta, I spent 14 years running Cobra Creative, my own agency, partnering with brands on digital experiences, product design, and creative strategy. That entrepreneurial background shapes how I approach every problem: with ownership, resourcefulness, and a bias toward action. I'm passionate about the role design systems play as the foundation for Al-powered design, and I believe the next generation of design leadership requires equal fluency in systems thinking, change management, and technical craft. Specialties: Al for Design, Design Systems, Design Operations, Product Strategy, Cross-Functional Leadership, Change Management, Design Quality, Revenue-Driven Design, Team Building ## Work Experience ### Design Leadership (Meta Communications Platform(Meta.com) and Cross Meta Design Tooling) @ Meta Jan 2024 – Present Lead the Experience Products Group — spanning design systems, design tooling, communications, and AI initiatives — driving AI adoption and workflow integration across Meta’s design organization. Al for Design: * Drove designer Al tool adoption from 7.1% to 78% (target: 60%) through custom tooling, change management strategy, and phased content rollout * Built Al readiness assessment framework across 6 largest Meta design systems, created improvement playbooks, and shipped Al-powered search reducing documentation costs by 80% * Established PD Heuristics Council with VPs/Directors to define 8 cross-org design quality standards for Al model training Product Strategy & Revenue: * Led platform design for Meta.com redesign: built scalable navigation system and global component architecture across two waves, enabled self-service 1P CMS publishing (21 SEO articles in 3 days), driving +4.7% conversion and +6.7% add-to-cart Leadership & Community: * Programming lead for Meta Design Systems Summit (210 attendees, 40 speakers). ### Design Leadership - Design Systems @ Meta Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Remote Lead Meta's largest design system (Geodesic) serving the Ads business for millions of advertisers. Design Systems & Migration: * Led phased Geo 2.0 migration of Ads Manager (5% → 100% rollout), delivering +6% sustained iRev uplift and -2.8% torso bounce rate, saving 25 engineering-years of effort * Deprecated 180+ legacy components and increased coverage by 27% across Leadership & Community: * Maintained zero FTE attrition through 3 director departures, org-wide layoffs, and 6-month EM vacancy. 100% manager effectiveness score * Built Geodesic Education program: 59.3% completion (vs. 30-35% target), 86% favorability, -8.45% support inquiries ### Product Design Lead @ Meta Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 | Menlo Park, CA Defined and drove vision for the future of Business Messaging, Business Support and Advertising Programming. ### Principal + Creative Director @ Cobra Creative Jan 2005 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco, CA. Cobra Creative was an independent boutique agency focused on creating creative solutions for global clients. My role as one of two principal founders and executive creative director varied from hands on design to business development. As ECD I lead teams and individuals creating marketing communications, applications, video, print, branding, copy-writing, motion graphics, and video. Creative roles: Creative direction, design, strategy, film and motion graphics direction. Business roles: Talent scouting, budgeting, planning and business development. Select Clients: Clif Bar, Luna Bar, Live Nation, TicketMaster, GlaxoSmithKlein, Method, YouTube, Google, Asics, UCSF, Beats By Dre, Guittard Chocolate, Basecamp Fitness, Walmart, STP ### Creative Director @ Freelance Jan 2001 – Jan 2005 | San Francisco Bay Area & Los Angeles Select Agency Clients: Juxt Interactive, Odopod, EVB, MRM McCann, DNA Studio, Mostasa, Mondo Media, Thunk Design, Hill & Knowlton, Meat & Potatoes ### Sr. Designer @ Extension 11 Jan 2001 – Jan 2001 ### Sr. Designer @ Mondo Media Jan 2000 – Jan 2001 ### Designer @ Learn2.com Jan 1998 – Jan 1999 ### Motion Graphics & Editing @ Music Link Productions Jan 1996 – Jan 1997 | Denver, CO. ## Education ### Associates Degree in Computer Animation + Digital Media Art Institute of Colorado Jan 1995 – Jan 1997 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrcobra - Website: http://www.michaelcobra.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/michaelcobra JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/michaelcobra/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-07