Kathmandu, NepalDesigning since 2011
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.
- Years in design
- 15+
- Designers I lead
- 20+
- Designers mentored
- 100+
- Projects shipped
- 60+
Two altitudes, one system.
I work at the level of the org and at the level of the pixel. Client work stays private, so the pixel view uses this site. It's built to the same standard.
The org view
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Architect
The work
I design and architect enterprise SaaS platforms and design systems.
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Manager
The people
I lead 20+ designers at Leapfrog. Practitioner-first: I mentor from active experience, remove bottlenecks, and grow careers.
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Strategist
The direction
I advise on design strategy and how teams work, then speak on both at ADPList and community events.
The pixel view
Live component. Hover it, or tab to it.
- Padding
- 8 · 16 · 8 · 20
--space-2/4/5 - Radius
- 8px
--radius-sm - Type
- Manrope 600
--text-body-sm - Border
- 1px white at 16%
--white-a16 - Focus
- 2px amber ring
--focus-ring - Hover
- 0.42s ease-out
no overshoot
How I lead a design team.
The notes I work by, and the lessons I learned moving from designer to design team leader.
Operating notes
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Lead with evidence, not claims.
Every section, deliverable, and meeting should prove capability rather than assert it.
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Outcomes over output.
Shipped behaviour change beats pixel volume. I measure design teams on the decisions they unlock.
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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.
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AI accelerates, judgement decides.
Generative tools compress the cost of exploration. Taste, ethics, and the choice of what to ship stay human.
Lessons from the job
- Team's success
- Thoughtful communication
- Keeping promises
- Celebrate and correct
- Building trust
- Lead by example
- Protecting the team
- Balancing friendliness and professionalism
- Connecting on a personal level
- Regular check-ins
Human-led product design, in five phases.
Each phase follows design thinking and ends in concrete deliverables. If the evidence points elsewhere, I loop back to ideation.
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Empathize
Listen first, then map the field
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Define
Frame the problem, name the win
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Ideate
Generate widely, decide deliberately
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Prototype
Build something people can react to
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Test
Put it in front of real users
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.
Saroj drove the transition from Sketch to Figma and built the foundation of a scalable design system across our projects. What stood out most was his ability to design on the fly with customers; I really enjoyed watching client ideas come to life in real time.
Over a year and a half at Laudio, Saroj played a key role in building a complex healthcare application. He is a meticulous designer who thoughtfully balances user and development needs, consistently showing initiative and guiding major design system transitions. His leadership potential is clear, and working with him again would be a privilege.
Saroj is a talented and experienced UI/UX designer. He is honest, hard-working, research-oriented, and a great team player. I could always trust him blindly for the design work and beyond. He is a great asset to any team he joins. Wish you all the best.
Saroj is a talented designer and a great colleague. I've worked with him on several projects and always felt confident when he was handling the design aspects. I hope we get a chance to work together again one day.
Saroj is an exceptionally proactive Design Team Manager, skillfully leading a large, diverse team. He sets clear goals, closely tracks progress, and offers invaluable support, helping his team grow and overcome challenges. Beyond his leadership, Saroj is a talented designer with a keen eye for detail, consistently producing pixel-perfect work that reflects his deep passion for design.
Articles
Recent thoughts on design, leadership, and AI.
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.
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.
- Why some managers are afraid to be the 'bad guy', and it hurts the team
- Getting hired as a designer: a hiring manager’s perspective
- Maximizing efficiency in email, Slack, and calendar management
Career
From web designer to design architect.
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Web Designer
Gambit IT Group
Led end-to-end creative for e-commerce clients, from web and branding to HTML/CSS and print execution.
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Creative Designer
View 9
Designed UI/UX for web and mobile products and handled developer handoff and brand consistency.
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Senior UI/UX Designer
Introcept Nepal
Led end-to-end design for an agency-management SaaS product through alpha launch with close cross-functional collaboration.
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Graphic Web Designer Consultant
Alpha Lion Holdings, Inc
Delivered remote web and brand design for major e-commerce platforms.
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Now
Design Architect & Design Manager
Leapfrog Technology, Inc.
Led a 20+ designer team to shape product strategy and ship complex client solutions.
