Yankun Zhao

Lead designer for Vault product, the most trusted secrets management tool by Fortune 500. Owned the ecosystem and developer experience for Vault, shipping design solutions that expanded platform capabilities and integrations.

• Designed opinionated UI and API workflows that simplified complex security operations for both platform admin and developers, improving overall NPS score by 35%
• Conducted in-depth user research to identify pain points and opportunities within the secrets management space, translating insights into actionable product improvements
• Facilitated ideation workshops and design reviews with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to align product vision with business objectives
• Mentored junior designers, providing guidance on security UX best practices and fostering professional growth within the design team

Owned end-to-end design process for industry-leading, cloud-based enterprise advertising platform trusted by Fortune 500 companies including Walmart, Walgreens, and Microsoft to manage complex programmatic and self-service advertising operations.

• Designed complex enterprise workflows for managing multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns across programmatic and direct channels
• Created comprehensive design system from scratch in resource-constrained startup environment, establishing design foundations for rapid scaling
• Built high-fidelity prototypes and interactive demos for C-level executives and external enterprise stakeholders
• Conducted user research and usability testing with enterprise customers to inform product strategy and design decisions
• Excelled in fast-paced startup environment with high ambiguity, consistently delivering quality work that achieved high G2 ratings

Embedded within Microsoft's Cloud + AI division to improve enterprise customer applications built on Power Apps and Dynamics 365 platforms. Focused on designing scalable business solutions for global enterprise customers.

• Designed 8 enterprise business applications across diverse industries using systematic design approach and enterprise-grade standards
• Collaborated directly with global enterprise customers to understand complex business requirements and technical constraints
• Led customer demos and education sessions on UX best practices for enterprise application development
• Created reusable design frameworks that enabled customers to independently build reliable, user-friendly business applications

Provided comprehensive product design and strategy consulting for B2B and B2C startups, focusing on creating scalable design solutions and go-to-market strategies.

• Designed and shipped large-scale SaaS platform for wedding photographers, collaborating with founders on product strategy and successful seed funding
• Conducted comprehensive user research for AI-powered cosmetics recommendation, gathering requirements and defining user experience strategy
• Created end-to-end design solutions including user flows, interaction design, and visual systems for a mobile app that helps caregivers

Developed and implemented machine learning algorithms for safety-critical autonomous driving systems, focusing on computer vision applications and real-time recognition.

• Developed computer vision algorithms using CNNs for traffic sign detection and classification in production autonomous systems
• Implemented real-time ML algorithms in C/C++ for camera-based detection systems requiring millisecond response times
• Led cross-functional team of 5 engineers in data collection, model training, and validation for safety-critical ADAS products.
• Managed end-to-end ML pipeline from data collection and labeling to model deployment using specialized automotive software