More About Me

I’m a Senior Product Designer, Certified Usability Analyst and Full Stack Designer with years of experience in Aviation, Health Care, CRM and IT Services. I'm based in Boston, MA and currently designing mobile applications for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I did masters in UX from Maryland Institute College of Arts (MICA).

I love to bring simplicity to complexity through design. Currently solving exciting and meaningful problems and growing everyday at KBR as a Senior Product Designer. I am passionate about delivering innovative designs that improve user experiences, utilizing my skills in Product Design, Human Centered Design, User Research, Usability testing, Accessibility and HTML/SCSS.

My Learnings

  • The strength of a mindset that is both open and adaptable
  • Maintain humility, yet stand firm in championing user needs. Flexibility is crucial when collaborating with stakeholders to craft optimal user experiences.

  • The significance of fostering meaningful relationships
  • Proactively engaging with engineers deepened my grasp of technical constraints shaping design decisions. Building relationships with stakeholders is crucial; it fosters trust and offers valuable insights. Connect with seasoned professionals for guidance in navigating corporate intricacies and combating imposter syndrome.

  • Strategic Design: Navigating Beyond MVP to a North Star Vision
  • In product design, resisting MVP focus, I value a north star vision. Prioritizing scalable design ensures a strong user experience, enabling agile scaling. Balancing rapid iteration with a long-term view is crucial, anticipating future needs and preventing scope creep.

  • Cultivating Curiosity: A Catalyst for Innovation in Product Design
  • Emphasizing the significance of curiosity in your career, it's the spark for innovation and key to growth in the dynamic realm of product design. Through diverse experiences and complex challenges, curiosity has consistently shaped my perspective, driving continuous improvement as a staple in my process.

  • Embracing Continuous Learning and Adaptation
  • As a designer, like a product is never truly done, your adaptability to technologies and processes should also be ongoing. In a rapidly evolving landscape, my decade-long journey has involved constant learning and adaptation to new technologies, processes, and ways of working. The learning journey continues.

Passionate runner, accomplished Karate Black Belt with a distinguished record of representing my country in multiple international tournaments, securing a commendable silver medal. Eager to embrace the next challenge, I am not only dedicated to my personal pursuits but also committed to giving back through volunteering and engaging in inspiring speaking opportunities.

In my next job, I'm looking for an opportunity to learn and grow. I'm sure that together we can bring a smile to our customers.

Get in touch!

Have a peek at my learning journal, where I jot down what I've learned from projects, books and anything else!

Education and Present work experience

EXPERIENCE

PRODUCT DESIGNER

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – through KBR (Kellogg Brown & Root) | Formerly Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (SGT)

Dec 2011 - Present

EDUCATION

Master of Professional Studies (UX)

Maryland Institute College of Art

2020 – 2021 | GPA: 3.979/4.0

Certified Usability Analyst

Human Factors International, 2010

Download Resume to check out entire work experience.

Sam - Work experience

References (via LinkedIn)

Sam - Work experience

Juanita White

CEO, Connect & Serve

Sam is a professional volunteer with a not for profit volunteer organization that matches professionals with other organizations that need capacity building in various areas. I posted a project for someone to do an audit analysis on my organization;s website. I selected her for the project and it was the best decision I have made concerning our website in several months. Sam knows what she is doing and offered to help me beyond the scope of the project. If you need a professional consultation on branding aesthetics, digital storytelling, She is your person! I will work with her again and she is worth every penny of what it would have cost to hire her!

Sam - Work experience

Sara Levy

Senior Programmer at Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (SGT)

I’ve worked with Sampada for over 5 years now and I am still amazed by her combination of technical, design and leadership skills. She is consistently able to find the best solution to conflicting issues and present them in a neutral way that all sides end up preferring.

Both her design and technical skills are superb, and she is constantly on top of new trends and technology. Her contributions have played a critical role in the success of the projects she is on.

Moreover, Sampada is an excellent communicator who can discuss complex technical issues with both developers and end users.

She is a joy to work with and a huge asset to the team.

Sam - Work experience

Bala K Thillainathan

Technical Delivery, Product & Project Management | Value Stream Management - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

I had the opportunity to work with Sampada while leading the IT/Operations & Maintenance Support related initiatives of a project for one of the respected US Federal agencies. The initiative that I collaborated with Sampada was about ensuring our Enterprise Application is fully compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities.

Sampada led this initiative by engaging with the Federal Agency's technical team in identifying and defining the requirements, ensuring those requirements are documented well to be disseminated to the development team, testing the work done by the developers and keeping internal and external stakeholders up to date.

I have always admired and respected what Sampada brought to the team as a UX Solution Architect, here are few I like to highlight:

Sampada had been a pleasure to work with and if given an opportunity, I would not hesitate to have her on my team.

Sam - Work experience

Jenni Nunes

KForce

Sampada is a very talented UI developer. She has worked on multiple projects for some of Kforce's top clients, and the managers inevitably ask for her back for next projects that come through, because of her quality of work. She has a great attitude, and even better personality, not to mention very professional and reliable. I will continue to place Sampada on as many projects as possible!

Sam - Work experience

Eli Wylen

Technical Program Manager, Google

Sampada took our visual design and captured it as a Dojo Dijit Theme. We had never done this. She had never done this. But she learned the technology, applied her expert CSS and HTML skills, worked well with our CTO, and delivered the results on time and well tested. She is a professional and I would not hesitate to hire her again.

Sam - Work experience

Sagnik Dey

Lead UI/UX Designer, DoctorOnCall

Hardworking, diligent & knowledgeable colleague I've ever had. She knows what she does & very good at it. She has solved some of the most complex CSS issues that even her peers weren't able to. Her HTML & CSS skills are impeccable. Would love to work with her again.

Sam - Work experience

Aman Sheriff

Managing Director, Intivon Technologies

Sampada has designed quite a few quality websites for my clients. Having worked with Sampada for more than 4 years now, I would surely vouch for her sincerity and dedicated support. She has a good understanding of the web designing skills required for a world class website.

Achievements & Courses

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

OneKBR Award

For the most distinguished technical leader 2023

Sam - OneKBR Award 2023

ADPList

Ranked as a Top 1% ADPList Design Mentor for September, October, November 2023, and March 2024.

Sam - Top 1% ADPList Mentor in Design for the month of September 2023

Adobe Creative Jam challenge 2021

Finalist of Adobe Creative Jam challenge for professionals for mobile app design out of 155 competitors

Sam - Finalist of Adobe Creative Jam challenge for
                                    professionals

COMMUNITY IMPACT

Catchafire Volunteer

Catchafire volunteer since 9/23, with total impact of over $25,000 to date.

My Profile >
Sam - Volunteer at Catchafire since 9/23, with total impact of $19645 to date

ADPList Mentor

Sharing my experiences with other designers to help them achieve their goals

Over 3000 minutes of mentorship on ADPList.

Top 100 mentors in Branding and Identity Design on ADPList

My Profile >
Sam on ADPList

Brandeis University - UX Industry Mentor

Sharing my experiences with other designers to help them achieve their goals

Industry mentor in Brandeis University

RECENT COURSES

Scaling Design Systems

Dan Mall's course packed with in-depth knowledge of design systems

Course Details >
Scaling Design Systems, ongoing course