Alena Essina
Case studies
Portfolio
About me
Alena Essina
Lead Product Designer specializing in complex SaaS products, UX strategy, product management and delivery
I’m a design-driven strategist who gets things done. 14+ years in design, currently leading design across 3 product teams while driving product strategy, UX execution, and delivery quality.
I care deeply about people, projects, and measurable results—and I advocate strongly for a PDE-focused way of working. While I think strategically, I stay hands-on, tackling UX challenges as logic puzzles and shaping solutions through real user feedback.
I value communication, invite critique, and thrive in collaborative teams.
I care deeply about people, projects, and measurable results—and I advocate strongly for a PDE-focused way of working. While I think strategically, I stay hands-on, tackling UX challenges as logic puzzles and shaping solutions through real user feedback.
I value communication, invite critique, and thrive in collaborative teams.
Combining product thinking, design leadership, and hands-on execution to deliver complex SaaS solutions.
My skills
Design
UX research
UX design
Design systems
UI design
Design concept
Design tokens
Prototyping (Figma, Claude, Lovable )
Data visualization
Design strategy
Technical
Figma
Jira/Trello
Sketch
HTML/CSS
Storybook
Adobe Creative Suite
MS Office
Management
Team leadership
Problem-solving
Design strategy
Roadmapping
Conflict management
Hiring designers
Resource planning
Time management
Project management
Design execution
Cross-functional collaboration
Agile methodologies (Scrum, Shape up)
Key achievements
- Led design across 3 SaaS product teams within a CRM ecosystem serving 10K+ customers.
- Managed and mentored 5 designers, enabling scalable design support across multiple product teams.
- Established design system practices across multiple products, improving consistency and reducing design-to-development friction.
- Partnered directly with engineering and product leadership to align strategy, streamline delivery, and maintain product quality.
- Took ownership of product discovery and delivery processes during organizational transition and after PM departure.
- Progressed from UI Designer → Senior Product Designer → Lead Product Designer → Design Lead across 3 product teams.
Work experience
efficy
2022-Current
Lead product designer
Lead product design (3 SaaS teams serving 10K+ users). Manage and mentor 5 designers, drive UX strategy and design system governance, and collaborate with Product and Engineering leadership. Took ownership of product discovery and delivery during PM absence while remaining hands-on with UX research, prototyping, and complex workflow design.
The Agency.io
2019-2021
Head of design
Website and UX/UI concept development, Art direction for company projects, Marketing project presentations, Design concept creation, SMM visual strategy and design concept development
Fotonota
2014-2020
UX/UI designer, Art director
Brand concept development, App redesign, UX/UI design, Visual event concept creation, Trade show visual concept and execution
EPAM Systems
2014-2018
2D game artist, Animator, Lead game artist
Team leadership, Design project management, Style guide development and oversight, Animation production, 2D design, Isometric visualization
Grizzly Jr.
2011-2014
Art Director, UX/UI designer
Mobile game art, animation, and UI design, Brand concept development, Development of art strategies for game projects, Team leadership
Education
Art Direction and Advertising Production
INSA, Business, Marketing & Communication School
2018-2019
Master Of Design
& Arts
Omsk State Institute Of Service
& Art School
2003-2009
User Experience, Research & Design
University Of Michigan.
Coursera
2021
A Practical Guide To Managing People At Work
University Of London, Birkbeck
Coursera
2020
