Saroj
Currently · Design Architect & Manager, Leapfrog Technology

Design leadership that ships.

Product designer and design leader with 15+ years. I design, lead a team of designers, and ship complex enterprise SaaS products.

Projects shipped
60+
Designers mentored
100+
Companies
6+

Work, process, and highlights

Practice

I build the systems I lead: design, people, and direction.

  • Architect

    The Work

    I design and architect enterprise SaaS platforms and design systems.

  • Manager

    The People

    I lead 20+ designers at Leapfrog. Practitioner-first: I mentor from active experience, remove bottlenecks, and grow careers.

  • Strategist

    The Direction

    I advise on design strategy and how teams work, then speak on both at ADPList and community events.

Principles

Four operating notes from my working notebook.

  1. Lead with evidence, not claims.

    Every section, deliverable, and meeting should prove capability rather than assert it.

  2. Outcomes over output.

    Shipped behaviour change beats pixel volume. I measure design teams on the decisions they unlock.

  3. Practitioner-first management.

    I lead the way I wish I had been led: direct, kind, and accountable to the work. Strategy and craft read as one system.

  4. AI accelerates, judgement decides.

    Generative tools compress the cost of exploration. Taste, ethics, and the choice of what to ship stay human.

Process

Human-led product design, in five phases.

Each phase follows design thinking and ends in concrete deliverables.

  1. Empathize

    Listen first, then map the field

    Interviews and observation to surface what people actually need.

    • Interviews
    • Journey maps
    • Field notes
  2. Define

    Frame the problem, name the win

    Pin down scope, success criteria, and who we're solving for.

    • Problem statement
    • Success metrics
    • Alignment doc
  3. Ideate

    Generate widely, decide deliberately

    Explore directions under shared constraints, then commit to the strongest.

    • Concept sketches
    • Trade-off matrix
    • Decision rationale
  4. Prototype

    Build something people can react to

    From quick probes to production-ready flows, at the fidelity the moment needs.

    • Wireframes
    • Interactive flows
    • Spec hand-off
  5. Test

    Put it in front of real users

    Gather evidence, synthesize, and decide the next move with confidence.

    • Usability findings
    • Synthesis
    • Next-step plan

    If evidence points elsewhere, loop back to Ideate.

  • Design Operations (DesignOps)
  • Cross-functional Leadership
  • Team Building
  • Agile Management
  • Stakeholder Strategy
  • Product Strategy
  • UX Strategy
  • Design Mentoring
  • Design Systems
  • Information Architecture
  • Interaction Design
  • Complex Prototyping
  • Accessibility (WCAG)
  • Visual Design
  • Enterprise SaaS
  • User Research
  • Usability Testing
  • Generative AI Workflows
  • Large Language Models (LLMs) for Research
  • Service Design
  • Journey Mapping
  • Data-driven Design
  • Component Libraries
  • Brand Integrations
  • Design Critique
  • Figma (Advanced)
  • Framer
  • Miro
  • Atlassian Tools
  • Adobe Creative Suite

Career

Roles I've held and the work that shipped.

Dec 2017 – Present

Design Architect & Design Manager

Leapfrog Technology, Inc.

Led a 20+ designer team to shape product strategy and ship complex client solutions.

Apr 2017 – Nov 2017

Graphic Web Designer Consultant

Alpha Lion Holdings, Inc

Delivered remote web and brand design for major e-commerce platforms.

Voices

What collaborators say about working together.

During a six-month expansion project for Laudio, Saroj proved to be an outstanding designer, leader, and teammate. He took on multiple roles, from crafting designs and conducting competitive analysis to refining team processes and recruiting talent for Leapfrog. His leadership and approach to work left a strong impression, making him a highly valued colleague. Working with him again would be a welcome opportunity.
Brett Bergstrom
Brett Bergstrom
Senior Product Manager, Laudio

Articles

Recent thoughts on design, leadership, and AI.

Person taking the steering wheel, a metaphor for owning your career direction

Take the Wheel: Why You Cannot Wait for Someone Else to Plan Your Career

Nobody is coming to plan your career for you. Here is how to stop waiting for permission and start driving your own growth.

A man sitting at a desk with a computer, displaying a lightbulb and cloud icon, against a backdrop of stylized clouds and futuristic buildings.

What AI is Really Teaching Designers About Being Human

Good conversational AI asks questions, takes time to think, offers options, stays patient, takes feedback, and anticipates needs. Designers can learn the same habits.

A manager sits at his desk, visibly stressed, surrounded by crumpled papers, while two employees argue in the background

Why Some Managers Are Afraid to Be the 'Bad Guy', and It Hurts the Team

Many managers avoid being the “bad guy” to stay likable. The cost is unclear expectations, high performers carrying the slack, and small problems that grow.

Read all articles