With over 20 million customers and a valuation of $1.6 billion, Neon is one of the world’s largest banking fintechs, focused on providing access to unique financial services and education to the underserved and unbanked population in Brazil.

As a Director of Product Design and Research, I supported a multicultural team of 22 people, including Senior Managers, Product Designers, Content Designers, Design Ops, and User Experience Researchers.

I led several teams, including Studio — redesigning the entire product from scratch; a Business Unit — focused on onboarding and engagement; and the Design System team — overseeing the strategy and execution of Neon’s design system, M&A integration and a key driver for accessibility and quality across our product.

I worked directly with the executive staff and the CEO, influencing various areas and helping craft a vision for Neon’s next chapter. Additionally, I partnered with the Chief Design Officer to scale and manage our design organization, which includes 62 people. This involved organizational design, enhancing the quality of both talent and output across our team and the company, and transforming our culture and work processes.

More than a billion people trust Messenger to connect and share in the moment. Messenger is both a communication service that enables people to message on Facebook and Instagram, and a standalone app for those who want quick access to meaningful conversations with friends, family, communities, or creators they want to be closer to.

During my time there, I supported teams ranging from 8 to 14 people, including Senior Managers, Managers, and Product Designers. I worked across several pillars on Messenger, Messenger for Business, Facebook Shops, and Instagram.

I led the Messenger for Business team, focusing on helping businesses and customers create meaningful connections.

I also led the Remote Presence team, with the mission of being together when apart, working on both Instagram and Messenger voice and video calls.

I led the RCS team to build a world-class, RCS-enabled messaging experience for Android.

Additionally, I spearheaded an accessibility and product equity practice within Messenger to identify and address gaps in our product quality, specifically focusing on inclusion.

Splunk is a software platform for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data. It collects and indexes data from various sources, including applications, servers, networks, and devices, in real time. Their mission is to make machine data available, meaningful, and accessible to everyone.

As a Director of Product Design & Research, I lead teams focused on experimentation, transformation, and quality at scale. I supported 16 people across 5 teams, including Product Design and Research Managers, Product Designers, Design Technologists, User Researchers, Motion Designers, and Engineers. These teams worked on Data Visualization, Studio, Design System, Accessibility, and Prototyping.

I co-led a company transformation, elevating design to a central role across the company and products, putting users at the forefront. Partnering with the Head of Design and two other directors, we scaled the team, recruited top talent, and built a strong design culture.

I also worked directly with the CTO, our team’s biggest sponsor, and executive leadership.