# Mukul Chakravarthi

> Design @ Ascend

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/mukulchakravarthi

A first-principles thinker, leading design to simplify financial operations for insurance at Ascend. 

My product design practice is informed by my training as an art director, unifying product, brand, and voice across touch points.

Write to me at mc@mukul.work

## Work Experience
### Product Design Lead @ Ascend
Jan 2025 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area
Leading the design function at Ascend across all core product pillars: accounting, reconciliation, financing, and payables.

### Product Designer @ Ascend
Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco, California, United States
Early employee leading product design efforts at Ascend, a modern financial operations platform purpose-built for insurance.

We’re backed by First Round Capital, Index Ventures, Susa Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Box Group, and an ambitious group of of Angel Investors. We’re hiring across engineering and GTM functions.

Please email me at mukul@useascend.com if you’re interested in learning more.

### Design Director @ South Asian Avant-Garde (SAAG)
Jan 2024 – Present | San Francisco, California, United States

### Designer @ South Asian Avant-Garde (SAAG)
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

### Principal Product Designer @ Fidelity Investments
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Product design for an AI co-pilot purpose-built for retail trading experiences, helping young investors make better decisions.

### Senior Product Designer @ Fidelity Investments
Jan 2021 – Jan 2024 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Lead design for 0 → 1 digital asset ventures at Fidelity Labs—Fidelity’s startup incubator.

### Adjunct Faculty @ Rhode Island School of Design
Jan 2021 – Jan 2021 | Providence, Rhode Island, United States

### Interaction Designer @ BD
Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | San Diego, California, United States

### Graduate Teaching Assistant @ Rhode Island School of Design
Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Providence, Rhode Island Area
• Spring 2020: Exhibit Design with Prof. Douglass Scott
• Fall 2019: History of Graphic Design with Prof. Douglass Scott
• Spring 2019: Design Studio 4 with Prof. John Caserta
• Fall 2018: Typography 1 with Prof. Ernesto Aparicio

### Graduate Instructor: Typography @ Rhode Island School of Design
Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | Providence, Rhode Island Area
Taught a Winter-Session class an Introduction to Typography for freshmen and students from other departments at RISD.

### Graphic Designer @ Rhode Island School of Design
Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Providence, Rhode Island Area
Designed the 10th Edition of INTAR, a yearly publication covering articles on architecture, restoration, adaptive reuse, and philosophy released by RISD's Interior Architecture department, and published by Birkhäuser. 

The journal will soon be available on Amazon for purchase.

### User Experience Designer @ BD
Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Greater San Diego Area

### Design Strategy Intern @ Fidelity Investments
Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Greater Boston Area

### Research Analyst @ Multi Dimensions Research India Pvt Ltd
Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | Bangalore
Branding, research, package design

### Architectural Intern @ Mathew & Ghosh Architects pvt. ltd
Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Bangalore

### Architectural Intern @ Chandavarkar and Thacker Architects pvt ltd
Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Bengaluru Area, India

### Architectural Intern @ Gensler
Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Boston


## Education
### Master of Fine Arts - MFA in Graphic Design
Rhode Island School of Design

### Non-degree coursework in UX and Service Design for Healthcare Systems
Brown University

### Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) in Architecture
RV College Of Engineering


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mukul-chakravarthi-designer
- Portfolio: https://mukul.work/

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