Scaling DesignOps to Power Team Growth & Product Delivery
Built scalable design systems and rituals to unify 5 product squads—enabling faster delivery, 7% time reduction, and 66% YoY business growth.
Built scalable design systems and rituals to unify 5 product squads—enabling faster delivery, 7% time reduction, and 66% YoY business growth.
My Role
Product Design Lead / Design Team Lead
Responsibility
Company Product Strategy, DesignOps, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration and workflow, Mentorship and Career Ladder, Team Growth, Design Culture, Hiring, Perfomance Review
Duration
16 months
Company
iCHEF
Scaling DesignOps to Power Team Growth & Product Delivery
Built scalable design systems and rituals to unify 5 product squads—enabling faster delivery, 7% time reduction, and 66% YoY business growth.
My Role
Product Design Lead / Design Team Lead
Responsibility
Company Product Strategy, DesignOps, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration and workflow, Mentorship and Career Ladder, Team Growth, Design Culture, Hiring, Perfomance Review
Duration
16 months
Company
iCHEF
Mindset Behind the Leadership
I believe a healthy design team is built through trust, shared clarity, and thoughtful rituals. My approach centers on reducing ambiguity, listening deeply, and designing scalable ways of working that empower people—not just process. Leading, to me, is about building systems with care and humans in mind.
My Approach to Team Leadership
Design Thinking
Through continuous touch-points (1-on-1s, design reviews, weekly meetings, stand-ups, etc.), I collected team pain-points, prioritized them based on business goals and resource constraints, and focused on solving the most impactful issues—balancing empathy and scalability. I applied the design thinking process not only to product but to team operations.
Design Thinking
Through continuous touch-points (1-on-1s, design reviews, weekly meetings, stand-ups, etc.), I collected team pain-points, prioritized them based on business goals and resource constraints, and focused on solving the most impactful issues—balancing empathy and scalability. I applied the design thinking process not only to product but to team operations.
Design Thinking
Through continuous touch-points (1-on-1s, design reviews, weekly meetings, stand-ups, etc.), I collected team pain-points, prioritized them based on business goals and resource constraints, and focused on solving the most impactful issues—balancing empathy and scalability. I applied the design thinking process not only to product but to team operations.
OKR & Strategic Loop
Based on company OKRs, I guided designers to define aligned team and personal goals. I also translated the annual strategy loop into team-level planning—defining headcount needs, tools, and execution priorities across the year.
OKR & Strategic Loop
Based on company OKRs, I guided designers to define aligned team and personal goals. I also translated the annual strategy loop into team-level planning—defining headcount needs, tools, and execution priorities across the year.
OKR & Strategic Loop
Based on company OKRs, I guided designers to define aligned team and personal goals. I also translated the annual strategy loop into team-level planning—defining headcount needs, tools, and execution priorities across the year.
Phase 1
Phase 1
Phase 1
Foundation: Scale team, Building Team Trust and Role Clarity
The Problem
The team had diverse backgrounds and lacked shared design values, collaboration habits, and a clear growth path. Mid-level designers were unsure how to level up, and team-wide trust was fragile.
My Strategy
Establish team rituals, clarify career progression, and build a cultural foundation to create psychological safety and shared expectations.
Key Actions
Regular Team Rituals
Built and iterated daily stand-ups and weekly design meeting framework to foster trust, facilitate fast alignment, and improve design delivery visibility.
Regular Team Rituals
Built and iterated daily stand-ups and weekly design meeting framework to foster trust, facilitate fast alignment, and improve design delivery visibility.
Regular Team Rituals
Built and iterated daily stand-ups and weekly design meeting framework to foster trust, facilitate fast alignment, and improve design delivery visibility.
Designer Career Ladder
Launched and refined the Designer Career Ladder with clearer role definitions and promotion pathways to support fair growth expectations.
Designer Career Ladder
Launched and refined the Designer Career Ladder with clearer role definitions and promotion pathways to support fair growth expectations.
Designer Career Ladder
Launched and refined the Designer Career Ladder with clearer role definitions and promotion pathways to support fair growth expectations.
Hiring Flow & Standard
Redesigned the hiring process by defining fair, consistent evaluation criteria, streamlining candidate workflows, and reducing time-to-hire for junior and mid-level roles—enabling faster, more confident hiring decisions.
Hiring Flow & Standard
Redesigned the hiring process by defining fair, consistent evaluation criteria, streamlining candidate workflows, and reducing time-to-hire for junior and mid-level roles—enabling faster, more confident hiring decisions.
Hiring Flow & Standard
Redesigned the hiring process by defining fair, consistent evaluation criteria, streamlining candidate workflows, and reducing time-to-hire for junior and mid-level roles—enabling faster, more confident hiring decisions.
Mentorship & Supports
Created a scalable onboarding, 1-on-1, and mentorship system, including onboarding guides, study groups, and designer days to support learning and connection.
Mentorship & Supports
Created a scalable onboarding, 1-on-1, and mentorship system, including onboarding guides, study groups, and designer days to support learning and connection.
Mentorship & Supports
Created a scalable onboarding, 1-on-1, and mentorship system, including onboarding guides, study groups, and designer days to support learning and connection.
Mentorship & Supports
Created a scalable onboarding, 1-on-1, and mentorship system, including onboarding guides, study groups, and designer days to support learning and connection.
Phase 2
Phase 2
Phase 2
Systemization: Operationalizing Workflow and Design Quality
The Problem
Design processes were inconsistent across squads. PMs and RDs were often misaligned with DSNs on scope, timing, and expectations. Handoff quality and estimation lacked structure.
My Strategy
Build scalable, documented workflows and QA frameworks to align collaboration and reduce ambiguity across functions.
Key Actions
Cross-functional Workflow
Defined cross-functional delivery phases and milestone checkpoints with PMs and engineers to improve alignment—aiming to increase delivery predictability, establish design standards, and balance stakeholder perspectives.
Cross-functional Workflow
Defined cross-functional delivery phases and milestone checkpoints with PMs and engineers to improve alignment—aiming to increase delivery predictability, establish design standards, and balance stakeholder perspectives.
Cross-functional Workflow
Defined cross-functional delivery phases and milestone checkpoints with PMs and engineers to improve alignment—aiming to increase delivery predictability, establish design standards, and balance stakeholder perspectives.
Work Estimation Benchmark
Introduced estimation benchmarks to improve planning accuracy—reduced design timeline variance to ±9%.
Work Estimation Benchmark
Introduced estimation benchmarks to improve planning accuracy—reduced design timeline variance to ±9%.
Work Estimation Benchmark
Introduced estimation benchmarks to improve planning accuracy—reduced design timeline variance to ±9%.
UX writer Integration
Integrated UX Writer into the workflow—100% of designers reported increased efficiency, 85% felt more focused on design experience, and projects moved faster by saving up to two weeks on content creation.
UX writer Integration
Integrated UX Writer into the workflow—100% of designers reported increased efficiency, 85% felt more focused on design experience, and projects moved faster by saving up to two weeks on content creation.
UX writer Integration
Integrated UX Writer into the workflow—100% of designers reported increased efficiency, 85% felt more focused on design experience, and projects moved faster by saving up to two weeks on content creation.
Design Principle & Standard
Documented product- and user-facing design principles to align decision-making and reduce ambiguity during critiques and handoffs.
Design Principle & Standard
Documented product- and user-facing design principles to align decision-making and reduce ambiguity during critiques and handoffs.
Design Principle & Standard
Documented product- and user-facing design principles to align decision-making and reduce ambiguity during critiques and handoffs.
Design Review Iteration
Optimized the design review structure by shifting from fixed review groups to open, cross-functional sessions—improving transparency, alignment, and overall efficiency across the team.
Design Review Iteration
Optimized the design review structure by shifting from fixed review groups to open, cross-functional sessions—improving transparency, alignment, and overall efficiency across the team.
Design Review Iteration
Optimized the design review structure by shifting from fixed review groups to open, cross-functional sessions—improving transparency, alignment, and overall efficiency across the team.
Design Sign-off Checklist
Created a Design QA Checklist and sign-off flow to improve handoff clarity and reduce revision loops.
Design Sign-off Checklist
Created a Design QA Checklist and sign-off flow to improve handoff clarity and reduce revision loops.
Design Sign-off Checklist
Created a Design QA Checklist and sign-off flow to improve handoff clarity and reduce revision loops.
Phase 3
Phase 3
Phase 3
Governance & Influence: Scaling Systems and Culture
The Problem
As the product scaled, the legacy design system became increasingly difficult to maintain—leading to inconsistent, outdated user experiences and duplicated design efforts. Components lacked standardization, making collaboration and implementation inefficient across teams.
My Strategy
Rebuild the design system with governance structure, and amplify team voice to attract talent and increase strategic influence.
Key Actions
Scalable Design System
Led the design system team (Sauce UI), achieving 80% component implementation, reducing individual design time by 10%, and shortening project delivery time by 7%.
Scalable Design System
Led the design system team (Sauce UI), achieving 80% component implementation, reducing individual design time by 10%, and shortening project delivery time by 7%.
Scalable Design System
Led the design system team (Sauce UI), achieving 80% component implementation, reducing individual design time by 10%, and shortening project delivery time by 7%.
Design System Governance
Established cross-functional governance to reduce ambiguity in the design system—defining consistent naming conventions, ownership responsibilities, and a shared review process between designers and engineers.
Design System Governance
Established cross-functional governance to reduce ambiguity in the design system—defining consistent naming conventions, ownership responsibilities, and a shared review process between designers and engineers.
Design System Governance
Established cross-functional governance to reduce ambiguity in the design system—defining consistent naming conventions, ownership responsibilities, and a shared review process between designers and engineers.
Design Team Visibility
Amplified team visibility by publishing 2 public articles, speaking on 1 podcast, and presenting in 2 external showcases—strengthening iCHEF’s design reputation and attracting new talent.
Design Team Visibility
Amplified team visibility by publishing 2 public articles, speaking on 1 podcast, and presenting in 2 external showcases—strengthening iCHEF’s design reputation and attracting new talent.
Design Team Visibility
Amplified team visibility by publishing 2 public articles, speaking on 1 podcast, and presenting in 2 external showcases—strengthening iCHEF’s design reputation and attracting new talent.
Learnings
❶ Fewer Rules, Clearer Values: How Culture Drives Ownership
During my time as a lead, my core belief was to set fewer rigid rules and instead focus on shared values and co-created culture. I aimed to create an open, flexible environment that encouraged ownership and initiative under a shared vision.
Reducing the team’s cognitive load was a top priority—so I continuously iterated workflows, gathered feedback, and removed unnecessary boundaries as goals evolved. For example, our design review mechanism was refined three times—from fixed group reviews, to squad-based formats, and finally into open-slot sessions that offered more flexibility and participation.❷ Letting Go of the Wrong Fit Is Not Failure
Having tough conversations with underperforming team members was one of the hardest parts of being a lead. I once struggled with whether to give someone another chance or to let them go. Through experience, I learned the importance of honest 1-on-1 conversations—revisiting standards, aligning on current expectations, and co-creating a plan. Sometimes, even after doing our best, we realize that parting ways is the most respectful and effective decision—for both the individual and the team.❶ Fewer Rules, Clearer Values: How Culture Drives Ownership
During my time as a lead, my core belief was to set fewer rigid rules and instead focus on shared values and co-created culture. I aimed to create an open, flexible environment that encouraged ownership and initiative under a shared vision.
Reducing the team’s cognitive load was a top priority—so I continuously iterated workflows, gathered feedback, and removed unnecessary boundaries as goals evolved. For example, our design review mechanism was refined three times—from fixed group reviews, to squad-based formats, and finally into open-slot sessions that offered more flexibility and participation.❷ Letting Go of the Wrong Fit Is Not Failure
Having tough conversations with underperforming team members was one of the hardest parts of being a lead. I once struggled with whether to give someone another chance or to let them go. Through experience, I learned the importance of honest 1-on-1 conversations—revisiting standards, aligning on current expectations, and co-creating a plan. Sometimes, even after doing our best, we realize that parting ways is the most respectful and effective decision—for both the individual and the team.❶ Fewer Rules, Clearer Values: How Culture Drives Ownership
During my time as a lead, my core belief was to set fewer rigid rules and instead focus on shared values and co-created culture. I aimed to create an open, flexible environment that encouraged ownership and initiative under a shared vision.
Reducing the team’s cognitive load was a top priority—so I continuously iterated workflows, gathered feedback, and removed unnecessary boundaries as goals evolved. For example, our design review mechanism was refined three times—from fixed group reviews, to squad-based formats, and finally into open-slot sessions that offered more flexibility and participation.❷ Letting Go of the Wrong Fit Is Not Failure
Having tough conversations with underperforming team members was one of the hardest parts of being a lead. I once struggled with whether to give someone another chance or to let them go. Through experience, I learned the importance of honest 1-on-1 conversations—revisiting standards, aligning on current expectations, and co-creating a plan. Sometimes, even after doing our best, we realize that parting ways is the most respectful and effective decision—for both the individual and the team.❶ Fewer Rules, Clearer Values: How Culture Drives Ownership
During my time as a lead, my core belief was to set fewer rigid rules and instead focus on shared values and co-created culture. I aimed to create an open, flexible environment that encouraged ownership and initiative under a shared vision.
Reducing the team’s cognitive load was a top priority—so I continuously iterated workflows, gathered feedback, and removed unnecessary boundaries as goals evolved. For example, our design review mechanism was refined three times—from fixed group reviews, to squad-based formats, and finally into open-slot sessions that offered more flexibility and participation.❷ Letting Go of the Wrong Fit Is Not Failure
Having tough conversations with underperforming team members was one of the hardest parts of being a lead. I once struggled with whether to give someone another chance or to let them go. Through experience, I learned the importance of honest 1-on-1 conversations—revisiting standards, aligning on current expectations, and co-creating a plan. Sometimes, even after doing our best, we realize that parting ways is the most respectful and effective decision—for both the individual and the team.