# Rich Tom

> Product Designer @ Handshake

Location: Oakland, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/richtom

Hello! I'm Rich, a Product Designer based in Oakland, CA.

I'm currently the Product Design Lead at Handshake, a mission-driven company with the goal of democratizing access to opportunity: to help every student find the right job, no matter where they’re from or who they know. Before Handshake, I led Product Design at Wonolo, helping frontline workers find their next gig with a single tap. Prior to Wonolo, I worked in fintech and the agency world.

When I'm not designing, I enjoy working on small home improvement projects and reading fiction.

Feel free to say hello or drop me a line at hello@richardtom.com

## Work Experience
### Staff Product Designer @ Handshake
Jan 2022 – Present
Handshake is the #1 place to launch a career with no connections, experience, or luck required. Handshake’s community includes 20 million students and young alumni around the world from 1,400 educational institutions, including four-year colleges, community colleges, boot camps, and 290+ minority-serving institutions. The platform connects up-and-coming talent with 650,000+ employers - from Fortune 500 companies like Google, Nike, and Target to thousands of public school districts, healthcare systems, nonprofits, and even sports teams like the LA Dodgers. Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Denver, New York, and London and teammates working globally.

### Director Of Product Design @ Wonolo
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Senior Product Design Manager @ Wonolo
Jan 2019 – Jan 2021
- Develop and shepherd team of Product Designers and UX Researchers.
- Oversee the strategy and process of all design initiatives.
- Lead product teams in solving projects of large and/or ambiguous scope.
- Deliver improvements to activation and retention.
- Execute mission-critical work to help Wonolo move upmarket.
- Evangelize users-first culture.

### Product Design Lead @ Wonolo
Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area
- Manage design initiatives for both mobile and web-based platforms.
- Facilitate design studios, critiques, and company-wide communications.
- Drive research, user journeys, personas, flows, mocks, and specs.

### Senior Product Designer @ Index (acquired by Stripe)
Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area
Key leader managing the creative and technical process for all design initiatives. 

- Deliver end-to-end product development of Index's Payment Software including visual design, interaction design, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
- Work closely with CEO, Product Manager, Engineering and Partners to establish consensus on product goals, timelines and deliverables.
- Ongoing design of new features and improvements to SAAS product, including the design system.
- Define visual and interaction specifications to ensure quality implementation.
- Facilitate design reviews, sprints and assist with QA.

### Product Designer @ Index (acquired by Stripe)
Jan 2013 – Jan 2017 | San Francisco Bay Area
- Design mobile app for both iOS and Android devices for Cako Bakery.
- Create storyboards, customer journeys, sketches, flows, wireframes, and mocks.
- Conduct quantitative and qualitative research on end users.
- Redesign responsive brand website from the ground up; collaborate with Marketing and Sales teams to increase business leads, measure conversions, and improve SEO.
- Execute strategic marketing campaigns for web, print, video and exhibits.
- Own exhibit design and schematics for Index at NRF (National Retail Federation).
- Ongoing refinement of brand guidelines and application across all visual touch points.

### Senior Interaction Designer @ createthe group
Jan 2010 – Jan 2013 | Greater New York City Area
Lead creative development and prototyping at New York-based agency, working prestigious companies such as Burberry, H&M, David Yurman, Tom Ford, The New York Times, Armani, Tory Burch, and more.

- Collaborate with Burberry and H&M in their native headquarters in London and Stockholm for final front-end development on Bespoke and 70's Chic.
- Work closely with PMs and engineering to establish project timelines, deliverables, and facilitate designs within technology constraints.
- Manage and mentor team of two creative front-end developers.

### Interaction Designer @ createthe group
Jan 2007 – Jan 2010 | Greater New York City Area
- Develop interactivity and animations for websites, newsletters and banners.
- Create high-fidelity prototypes for user-testing, proof of concepts, and pitches.
- Perform content updates, maintenance, and hand-off.

### Visual Designer @ American Apparel
Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 | Greater New York City Area
Designed web banners and print ads to promote local musicians on Viva Radio, an online radio company based out of Brooklyn, NY.


## Education
### Bachelor of Design in Communication Design
Emily Carr University of Art and Design


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/richardtomprofile
- Portfolio: http://www.richardtom.com

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