About
I’m a Senior Product Designer & Product Strategist based in Pittsburgh, USA, passionate about crafting seamless UX/UI experiences for software products. My journey began in Architecture, but I found my true calling in Digital Design—where creativity meets functionality. While architecture shapes the physical world, UX design builds intuitive digital experiences that connect people and technology.
I’m deeply passionate about design and committed to improving lives through thoughtful, user-centered experiences. I’m always eager to learn something new every day. Creating engaging, meaningful experiences is what truly drives me.
Senior Product Designer & Product Strategist
"Imbuing empathy and perspective through experience and interaction design."
I am a Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) and Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) UX Designer and Product Owner with expertise in UX design, product strategy, and requirement analysis. I drive end-to-end product development, aligning business goals with user needs while collaborating across teams to define roadmaps and prioritize features.
With a process-driven approach, I bridge design, development, and business, ensuring seamless execution from ideation to launch. My experience spans Business Intelligence, Hi-Tech, Manufacturing, Telecom, Healthcare, Banking, Automotive, Education, Government, and Enterprise applications.
- Phone:+1 732 209 0713
- eMail:iamrahulmadhekar@gmail.com
Specialities
Product Strategy & VisionAgile/Scrum MethodsUser Research and AnalyticsBusiness AnalysisUX/UI DesignInclusive DesignWireframing & Interactive PrototypingVisual Design Design SystemUsability TestingHeuristic EvaluationAccessibility AuditFront-End Development Design Documentation
Skills
I specialize in user research, prototyping, and product strategy. I excel in Agile methodologies, managing sprints, prioritizing features, and collaborating with teams to deliver impactful products. I leverage data analytics, A/B testing, and AI-driven design tools to drive continuous improvement and scalability. My leadership and communication skills ensure seamless collaboration and alignment with stakeholders to create exceptional user experiences.
Resume
I am an architect by qualification and designer by choice. I am focused on creating meaningful experiences through design.
Summary
Rahul Madhekar
My Values : Passion is everything, Always be learning, Embrace your creativity, Stay humble.
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- (732) 209 0713
- iamrahulmadhekar@gmail.com
Education
Master in Design for Interactive Media
September 2002 - December 2003
Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
Throughout my master's degree program, I acquired a comprehensive understanding of the interactive media industries, their scope, and the significance of interactivity. I learned how to effectively implement concepts into practical application and leverage existing research to modify and create digital resources for interactive media projects. Additionally, I gained proficiency in evaluating interactive media artifacts using a diverse range of tools, including standard usability evaluation methods.
Bachelor of Architecture
June 1994 - June 1999
MIT, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India.
My bachelor's degree in architecture provided me with a strong foundation for my career in UX design. I firmly believe that my architectural training has made me a more competent UX designer. During my studies, I acquired a solid understanding of fundamental theories and practical applications, with a strong emphasis on empathy, user needs, conceptualization, design, aesthetics, planning, construction, and communication.
Certifications
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
From Scrum Alliance
[Credential ID Member # 1629773]
Certified Usability Analyst™ (CUA)
From Human Factors International
[Credential ID - 2012-3554]
Professional Experience
Senior Product Designer & Product Strategist
June 2021 - Till Date
Excellerent Technology Solutions Inc, Pittsburgh, PA
- Led UX/UI design and product development for multiple client projects, delivering user-centric digital solutions aligned with business objectives.
- Collaborate with stakeholders, developers, and designers to define product roadmaps and prioritize features.
- Drive MVP development, defining UX strategy, UI frameworks, and design execution while collaborating with cross-functional teams for seamless delivery.
- Conduct user research, persona development, and usability testing to validate design decisions.
- Development of wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity UI designs for web and mobile platforms.
- Establish and maintain scalable design systems and documentation to ensure consistency and cross-functional alignment.
- Manage the product design process, ensuring deadlines are met and quality standards are maintained.
- Mentor and provide feedback to junior designers, fostering a culture of learning and growth within the design team.
- Continuously measure and evaluate the success of design solutions through user testing and analytics, and make data-driven design decisions to improve the user experience.
Senior UX Design Consultant
October 2017 - May 2021
Softpath Systems Inc, New York, NY
- Responsible for the research, planning, design and documentation of user interfaces for web-based, hand-held, and desktop applications.
- Worked with domain experts to solicit and identify business requirements, address usability concerns, and document solutions.
- Participate in business requirements gathering sessions and design walkthrough.
- Provide documentation support for requirements gathering, process analysis, gap analysis, design of new functionality, and product testing.
- Create information architecture, high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototypes, user flows, process flows, interactive click through mockups, and visual design.
- Develop frontend code and design for Agile projects, collaborating with cross-functional teams to integrate the code with the application.
- Client projects: The city of New York - Human Resources Administration
Senior UX Design Consultant
December 2015 - September 2017
PSCube Data System LLC, New Jersey
- Analyzing the feasibility of, and develops requirements for, new systems and enhancements to existing systems; ensures the system design fits the needs of the users.
- Acts as a liaison between departmental end-users, technical analysts, information technology analysts, consultants and other governmental organizations in the analysis, design, configuration, testing and maintenance of case management systems to ensure optimal operational performance.
- Translate business goals into user flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes for intuitive experiences.
- Develop frontend code using HTML/CSS, collaborating with the development team to integrate designs and ensure smooth functionality within the application.
- Client projects: The city of New York - Human Resources Administration
UX Design - Principal Consultant
October 2012 - December 2015
Wipro Limited, USA
- I was associated with the Wipro Digital Group and was involved in creating interaction design concepts for various domains and projects.
- I was actively involved in requirement gathering workshop sessions. I interacted with product members to evangelize User Centered Design process on various UX deliverables such as conducting product research, strategy, information architecture, and interaction design to engage people.
- Develop functional test plans and user acceptance test plans and scenarios.
- Producing pixel perfection design.
- Client projects:The Bank of New York Mellon Corp.,Volkswagen Group of America, Electrolux, Intel Corporation, Partners Healthcare System
UX/UI Consultant
September 2008 - October 2012
Symphony Teleca (know as harman connected services), Bangalore, India
- Work closely with product teams to uncover business needs, user profiles, context of use and develop design strategies.
- Translate business and product requirements into an engaging and appealing user experience.
- Designed engaging, user-friendly interfaces for web, mobile, and desktop apps, aligning with design best practices.
- Define and maintain a user interface patterns and guidelines library.
- Demo UI to end users/clients, gather feedback and apply it back to requirements upfront in the project life cycle.
- Collaborate with visual designers, product developers and software developers to derive the most optimal solution.
- Analyze qualitative research data and quantitative usage statistics data to initiate changes that drive usage and enhance user experience.
- Create interaction design deliverables such as process flows, wireframes, prototypes and design specifications documents.
- Client projects: Sonus Networks, Sanare, Avaya, Redknee, Altus, Offerpal Media, iRise
Portfolio
Thanks for taking time to visit my portfolio. I have worked on a number of projects with iRise, Avaya, Sonus Networks, Partners Healthcare System, Electrolux, Intel, Volkswagen Group of America, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, NYC Department of Social Services.
Detailed case-studies are available upon request (I cannot publicly post these legally). Please get in touch with me at iamrahulmadhekar@gmail.com for portfolio access.
User Experience (UX) Process and Methodology
I strongly believe in the user-centered design process and always follow the design process for every project delivery.
User Research
I always start with User Research. Research helps to define the crucial bits: Who are we designing for? What problem do users have? What is the context of this problem? Below are some of the most commonly used research methods in UX: User Interview, Survey, Focus Group Discussion, Card Sorting, Sales Analytics or Web Analytics, Competitor Analysis.
Design
I start designing with user inputs. This stage I slowly define what I could do to solve business problem. After gaining more understanding of users from research, first create a set of personas, storyboards, task flows, user journey map.
Wireframing
Once I know what we’re doing and who we’re doing it for, comes the fun part: ideation. This is where i get to play around and see how design ideas play out. Quick wireframing of the initial bones – where we can appreciate the information architecture (IA) and general primary navigation design. Both the IA and the navigation will form the backbone of product.
Prototype
A prototype is the version 1.0 of website or product. It resembles the closet version of final product outcome. A prototype allows the UX team to examine and identify any flaws, errors or inconsistencies in overall design and experience before it is converted to the actual version by the development team. Few prototyping tools that I use for high-fidelity and low-fidelity are Axure RP Pro, Adobe XD, Figma.
Testing
Once High fidelity prototype is ready, I start comparing the prototype to the requirements that we gathered with the stakeholders i.e; in short testing solution against requirements. User testing allows UX team to improve upon the original product or site design and to see if the changes we made during the ‘design’ phase stand up to scrutiny. Test solution : Check Requirements (check if the problems raised in the requirements are resolved), Efforts Invested (identify how much effort the experience involves for users), Error evaluation (find out if the users can complete tasks without error).
Implementation and Launch
After user testing, the validated prototype can finally be converted into actual product for UAT Testing before an official launch. However, the role of a UX team does not end here. Research activities should continue to monitor the user experience performance of website or product through suitable key performance indicators (KPI) or metrics, identify the area of improvements through user testing, propose new features to be implemented taking into account user recommendations, observe the industry trends, as well as benchmark against the competitors.
Recommendations
Commendations by my previous clients, manager, lead and co-workers.
It was my pleasure to work with Rahul on multiple initiatives for several years. He has an ability to understand complex user requirements and deliver designs to both facilitate better shared understanding, as well as produce final products for development teams. He was critical in moving projects forward with his contributions in UXD, as well as requirements elucidation, and was able to navigate a complex, highly-matrixed organization smoothly. On a personal level, I always appreciated his wit, patience and care shown in all assignments, meetings and interactions with customers and team members.
Jose Breton
Product Manager - CGI Jose managed Rahul directly
Rahul is an extremely talented UI Designer. His vision and ability to grasp the concepts of the business needs and BA designs make is possible for him to create the screens that meet the agencies needs. In his tenure with NYC DSS his work made it possible to completely redesign an outdated system for SNAP and benefits. This systems in used by over 3000 staff on a daily basis. I look forward to the opportunity to work with Rahul again in the future.
Glen Ohringer
Program Manager - CMA Consulting Glen managed Rahul directly
Rahul is very creative, keeps up with new technologies, design trends and UX, which makes him a valuable asset. He understands the clients requirements and delivers web designs and leaves customer satisfied.
Switi Thakkar
Director of Operations at Electronic Information Services, Inc. rahul worked with Switi in the same group
Rahul provided excellent service to us as a User Experience Consultant. He brought a wealth of experience to our project and was able to combine ideas from several users into a product that the entire team was thrilled with. He was patient with listening to the users and developed the wire-frames in a professional manner. He was truly an asset to our project.
Kim Siess
Parts Operations Support Manager at Volkswagen Group of America Kim was a client of rahul’s
Rahul is a very diligent and passionate about his role and is a customer centric thinker. Working with Rahul has really help to develop and design our new portal. I would recommend Rahul for projects for user centric design applications.
Stephen Smith
New Propositions at AXA Health Stephen was a client of rahul’s
Rahul is an excellent technical and design resource. The hard work and the passion he shows towards the work is great. He is very flexible and easily going with others.
Angara Srinivas
UI / UX Designer at GREENSILL CAPITAL (UK) LIMITED rahul worked with Angara in the same group
Rahul is a UX Designer with several qualities that set him apart. His understanding of interaction design and expertise in UI development make him a great asset to any UX team. He has always been rigorous in following through any design problem, even if it means endlessly tinkering with wireframes or code to get it just right. And with all this, he's also one of the nicest people, I've ever worked with.
Shami Raj
Head of Product and Design at Loop Health Shami managed rahul directly
It's been a real pleasure working together with rahul madhekar in the past. Excellent, very good, energetic and self motivated team player. Ambitious and independent expert with lots of knowledge in his field. It's a pleasure working with him.
Krishnam Raju SSV
GM-Products and IT Services at Globarena Technologies Pvt. Ltd. rahul worked with Krishnam in the same group
It is a pleasure to recommend Rahul.He has done extensive work in the area of designing and developing Web/graphic design. He is very good in 3D Architectural modeling and visualization. He has good awareness of usability process and industry standards.He has done great work in a timely matter and perfect team player.
Anjan Toguta
User Experience Designer rahul worked with Anjan in the same group
Rahul was my classmate for the bachelors course in architecture. He is extremely industrious and talented person. His most powerful asset is his patience. His designs were always well thought over and engaging. Wish him the best.
Reshma Sathe
Principal Consultant reshma and rahul were students together/h4>
Contact
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line.
Location:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Email:
iamrahulmadhekar@gmail.com
Call:
+1 732 209 0713