# Rajan A. > M-shaped design leader with a strategic product owner mindset • I transform ambiguous, ambitious visions into tangible, successful products and human experiences Location: New York City Metropolitan Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/rajana As an "m-shaped" design leader, I bring a unique 360° blend of design expertise, a strategic product owner mindset, engineering acumen, designops experience, and a data-driven approach to transform ambiguous, ambitious visions into tangible, successful products and human experiences. I'm passionate about merging human aspirations, technological possibilities, art, and data insights to craft experiences using affective design, storytelling, and strategy. I've led people and projects for over 14 years across a spectrum of companies in different growth stages — big-tech (Amazon), midsize (Amplify), agency (Firstborn), and startup (Kinnek). I’ve been directly responsible for creating product experiences used by 1M+ users and generating over $1B+ in revenue in the fintech, AI & ML, enterprise, medical, e-commerce, and education domains. Skills Management Servant Leadership, Leadership Principles, Planning, Goal Setting, OKRs, Performance Management, Coaching, Mentoring, Project Management, Process Improvements, Cross-Team Collaboration Design Design Strategy, Design Thinking, System Design, Design Systems, Design Operations, Workshops, Generative User Research, User Testing, Behavioral Economics, Lean/Agile UX, Storytelling, Information Architecture, UX/UI Design, AI UX, ML UX Design Tools Paper, Sharpies, Stickies, Figma, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Framer Technologies Web Development, HTML, CSS, Sass, JavaScript, jQuery, React (familiar), Git, iOS, Android #opentowork ## Work Experience ### Staff Product Designer (Sr. Manager) @ Capital One Jan 2024 – Present | New York, New York, United States ### Senior UX Designer @ Amazon Jan 2019 – Jan 2024 | New York, New York, United States #AI • #ML • #Big data • #Fintech • #Enterprise SaaS I led several company-wide initiatives and projects related to strategy, planning, negotiations, and analytics for Amazon's retail and third-party business and financials. ### Director Of User Experience @ Firstborn Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Greater New York City Area #Medical • #Enterprise • #Design Leadership I was hired to establish the UX team and head UX projects for high-profile medical and tech clients. - Led design strategy and managed cross-functional teams (UX designers, design strategists, art directors, and project managers) on projects for high-profile medical and tech clients, leading to 100% client retention. - Improved design operations (in collaboration with the CEO and CCO) via new design processes and tools, resulting in a ≈33% improvement in end-end design delivery timelines. - Up-skilled junior designers via a UX mentorship program, leading to a 400% increase in project UX design support. ### Lead Experience Designer @ Kinnek Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 #E-commerce • #ML I led design initiatives (as defacto Head of Design) for Kinnek’s small business marketplace to transform discovery and purchases of equipment and supplies. - Led a cross-functional team of product managers, designers, and engineers to rebrand and redesign the buyer-supplier experiences. - Developed a new design system and collaborated with the front-end team on system integration, leading to overall product consistency and reduction in front-end development timelines. Implemented agile design methodologies and streamlined design processes (in collaboration with the CEO and PMs), improving end-end design delivery timelines. - Recruited, managed, and mentored the design team, fostering a collaborative and high-performing design environment. ### Senior Design Director @ Amplify Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 #Education • #ML I managed a high-performance, collaborative team of UX Designers and UX Researchers in Amplify’s Insights division. - Led design strategy, management, and implementation for a $XX million revenue-generating product portfolio that 2500 school districts across America use to assess ≈2.5 million students in critical early learning skills. Led end-to-end designs and strategy for early literacy software, which resulted in a 200% revenue increase in its first year. - Led design strategy for three internal strategic projects that secured a two-year contract in Indiana. - Founding member and front-end developer for Amplify’s design system that reduced front-end implementation time and increased product design consistency. - Implemented a new process for delivering designs as functional front-end layouts that reduced design and project delivery times. ### Lead UX Designer @ Amplify Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 ### Senior User Experience Designer | UX Design Lead @ Amplify Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 ### Product Designer | UX Design Lead @ Amplify Jan 2010 – Jan 2013 ### Interaction Designer and Game Developer @ Bridge Multimedia Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 ### Graphic/Web Designer and Administrator @ New York University Television Center Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 ### Graduate Student @ New York University Television Center Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 ### Research Assistant, Department of Computer Science @ University of Toronto, Canada Jan 2008 – Jan 2008 ### Visiting Student, Innovation Engineering Group @ Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) Jan 2007 – Jan 2007 ### Visiting Student, Asia Center for Interaction Design @ Microsoft Reseach Asia (MSRA) Jan 2006 – Jan 2006 ### Graphic Designer @ Maxicom Multimedia Services Jan 2003 – Jan 2004 ## Education ### M.P.S. in Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) New York University ### M.Des in Software & User Interface Design National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad ### B.E. in Computers Savitribai Phule Pune University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ardrajan --- Source: https://flows.cv/rajana JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/rajana/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-30