---
title: "Bala - Independent Product Design Consultant in Greater Bengaluru Area | Tal"
description: "Meet Bala, Driving UX Strategy, Design Excellence & Scalable Product Experiences Across AI, SaaS & Enterprise Platforms | Team Builder | Design Systems | Research & Innovation | Rakuten | ex-ThoughtWorks based in Greater Bengaluru Area. AI stack includes claude, gemini, and lovable. Explore public..."
image: "https://tal.club/meet/balamurugan-k/share-image"
---

# Bala on Tal

## Headline

Driving UX Strategy, Design Excellence & Scalable Product Experiences Across AI, SaaS & Enterprise Platforms \| Team Builder \| Design Systems \| Research & Innovation \| Rakuten \| ex\-ThoughtWorks

## About

I am a UX Design Leader with 20\+ years of experience building products, platforms, and digital experiences that simplify complexity and create measurable business impact\. My journey spans advertising, branding, enterprise software, SaaS products, and AI\-driven platforms, giving me a unique perspective on how design connects business strategy, technology, and human behavior\. Currently at Rakuten, I lead product design initiatives across AI\-powered observability platforms, employee experience products, and enterprise\-scale design systems\. I have led end\-to\-end UX programs—from discovery and research through strategy, design execution, validation, and optimization—while mentoring and growing high\-performing design teams\. My expertise includes: • UX Strategy & Experience Vision • Product Design Leadership • User Research & Usability Testing • AI & Enterprise Platform Design • Design Systems & Scalable UX • Design Thinking, Lean UX & Agile Practices • Cross\-Functional Collaboration • Team Building, Mentorship & Design Excellence Throughout my career, I have partnered closely with Product, Engineering, Business, and Executive Leadership teams to shape product direction, improve customer experiences, and deliver solutions that scale\. I am passionate about building design cultures, elevating design quality, mentoring future leaders, and creating products that solve meaningful problems\. Specialties: Product Design Leadership • UX Strategy • Enterprise UX • AI Products • SaaS Platforms • Design Systems • User Research • Interaction Design • Accessibility • Team Leadership • Design Operations

## Location

Greater Bengaluru Area

## AI stack

claude

gemini

lovable

Adobe Firefly

ChatGPT

Figma Make

## Work experience

Independent Product Design Consultant at Independent Consultant, Jun 2026 \- Present · 5 mo, Bengaluru, Following my tenure leading design initiatives at Rakuten, I am currently available for consulting, advisory, and fractional design leadership engagements while exploring my next full\-time Product Design Leadership opportunity\. I partner with organizations to scale design practices, build design systems, shape product strategy, and create AI\-powered experiences that balance business goals with user needs\. If you’re building the next generation of SaaS, AI, or enterprise products, let’s connect\.

Staff Product Designer at Rakuten, Apr 2023 \- May 2026 · 3 yrs 2 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, As Staff Product Designer and Head of Design for Rakuten SixthSense, I drive UX strategy, design systems, and product execution across AI\-powered observability, enterprise SaaS, HR technology, and internal platforms used by global teams\. I lead a team of designers in transforming complex observability challenges into intuitive, AI\-powered experiences\. My role combines strategic vision with hands\-on leadership—establishing design excellence practices, scaling operations, implementing AI\-assisted workflows, and championing human\-centered design across products and teams\. Beyond product ownership, I drive Design Excellence initiatives across the organization, establish scalable design practices, review frameworks, and collaboration models that strengthen design quality and delivery\. Key Responsibilities & Impact • Lead and mentor a team of 5–7 designers through coaching, structured feedback, hiring support, and career development\. • Define UX vision, experience strategy, and long\-term design direction for Rakuten SixthSense, an AI\-powered observability platform\. • Partner with Product, Engineering, and Business leaders to influence platform strategy, product roadmaps, and design\-led initiatives\. • Drive end\-to\-end design across multiple enterprise products, including SixthSense, LMS, 360° Feedback Platform, Workforce Analytics Dashboard, WFO Governance Platform, and Employee Experience tools\. • Built and scaled the SixthSense Design System into a shared source of truth, improving consistency, efficiency, and scalability across products\. • Led major redesign initiatives that improved navigation, task discoverability, workflow clarity, and user experience\. • Strengthened design\-engineering collaboration through scalable component frameworks, documentation standards, and streamlined handoff processes\. • Contributed to global Rakuten initiatives, including RTC, delivering event websites, digital experiences, branding systems, and communication for international audiences\.

Senior Lead UX Designer at Rakuten, Jan 2022 \- Apr 2023 · 1 yr 4 mos, India, \- Led complex UX initiatives across enterprise and internal platforms\. \- Owned end\-to\-end design execution for multi\-module products\. \- Partnered closely with Product, Engineering, and Leadership on roadmap delivery\. \- Mentored designers and contributed to hiring and design quality standards\.

Lead UX Designer at Rakuten, Aug 2020 \- Jan 2022 · 1 yr 6 mos, India, \- Drove UX design for core product workflows and internal tools\. \- Collaborated with cross\-functional teams to translate requirements into scalable solutions\. \- Contributed to early design system foundations and UX best practices\. \- Supported junior designers through reviews and feedback\.

Lead Designer at BORN Group, Oct 2018 \- Jul 2020 · 1 yr 10 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, \- Experience design for projects starting from discovery, delivery and design evolution\. \- Designing user\-friendly, aesthetic and elegant interfaces with keen eye for detail and color concepts \- Close collaboration with technical program managers, software and front\-end engineers during the product ideation and implementation phase

Independent Design Consultant at Open for new challenges, Apr 2017 \- Oct 2018 · 1 yr 7 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Head Of Design at Platify\.co, Jan 2017 \- Mar 2017 · 3 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Building an app that behaves like a platform, with deep commerce and location aware services embedded or integrated\.

## Education

Master of Science \(M\.Sc\.\), Information Technology, Annamalai university

Bachelor of Business Administration \(B\.B\.A\.\), Business Administration and Management, General, University of Madras

## Public links

- behance\.net: https://www\.behance\.net/baladeziner

[View the original profile](https://tal.club/meet/balamurugan-k)

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