HELLO, I'M NIKA
What I build
I design AI-native digital products, from early-stage startups to enterprise platforms—turning ambitious ideas into products people adopt and businesses grow.
Experience
8+ years designing products across Enterprise SaaS, AI, FinTech, MedTech, EdTech, Web3, and consumer platforms with teams across the US, UK, and Europe.
How I lead
I take ownership beyond design: shaping product strategy, facilitating discovery, hiring designers, building teams, and aligning business, engineering, and UX around a shared vision.
How I work
From MVPs to global products, I combine product thinking, rapid experimentation, UX research, and scalable design systems to move ideas from concept to launch.
Leadership
I've worked as a product partner, startup co-founder, design lead, and hiring manager—helping organizations build both products and the teams behind them.
GLOBAL DESIGN JOURNEY / 2015 — NOW
UKRAINE
MARKETING
USA
INTERACTIVE DESIGN
PORTUGAL
PRODUCT DESIGN
POLAND
LEADERSHIP
4 MARKETS · 8+ YEARS
Experience
2024—NOW / Lead Product Designer, Exadel Poland for Oliver Wyman, Marsh, Mercer, HP, Adobe.
2022—2024 / Senior Product Designer, Transcenda — US medical innovations enterprise.
2019—2022 / Product Designer, IntellectEU & SWIFT — fintech and blockchain products.
2017—2019 / Product Designer, Panenco — SaaS, edtech, and medtech.
2015—2017 / Interactive Designer, Deloitte Ukraine.
2015—2017 / Interactive Designer, PetSmart USA.
2014—2015 / Head of Marketing & Site Administrator, Charity Fund Social Partnership.
Education & learning
2024 / Developing Innovative Ideas for Product Leaders — University of Maryland, online.
2018 / Mobile App Design — Projector School of Design & Development.
2017 / Web Design — Kyiv Academy of Media Arts.
2010—2012 / Master’s Program in Economics, Innovation Strategy — National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.
Practice
Research · Product strategy · UX leadership · Workshops · Systems thinking · Wireframing · Prototyping · Design Systems · Atomic Design · Team Management
FUN FACTS: LOW FIDELITY, HIGH PERSONALITY
Beyond the Design System
01 / MY US WORK EXPERIENCE AT PETSMART
My Colorado chapter 🐶🇺🇸
A DESIGN JOB THAT CHANGED MORE THAN MY PORTFOLIO. Not every design project happens behind a screen. One memorable adventure involved supporting a marketing campaign with The Dogist (Elias Weiss Friedman) and Only Natural Pet.
I created the visual and digital experience for a three-stop NYC dog park tour that celebrated dogs, photography, and the power of community. Thanks to social media and pet influencers, the campaign reached more than 2.5 million people—proving that great design (and great dogs) attract a crowd.
Fun fact: When I joined the company, I was genuinely afraid of dogs. But our office was filled with the friendliest four-legged coworkers imaginable, and spending time with them every day completely changed my perspective. Now I'm the person who stops to pet every cute dog I meet!
02 / STARTUP LIFE — TO BE A CO-FOUNDER
Shooting content for yoga online platform in the woods 🌳👀
As a co-founder, I wore many hats — from product strategy and UX design to business development and operations. Together with a UK-based team, we built a digital yoga platform featuring curated programs from leading Ukrainian instructors and a seamless user experience with personalized content discovery.
I led product design while also recruiting instructors, preparing investor materials, managing video production, coordinating developers, and launching the platform end-to-end.
Whether pitching stakeholders or filming yoga classes in the middle of the woods, every challenge became part of building a product—and a company—from scratch.
Check out my projects
Selected case studies across AI, enterprise systems, startups and product platforms.