Raquel Rodrigues
← Go Back ↓ Download PDF

Raquel
Rodrigues

known by Rak

Head of Product Design · Product Strategy · Team Leadership

9 years leading product design across startups, scaleups, and enterprise. Track record of building design functions from scratch, shipping products that move business metrics, and leading teams that do their best work. Comfortable with the blank page and the complex system — and the distance between them.

Contact
Phone
+351 934 179 979
Location
Porto, Portugal
Work Journey
Skills
Wandr Studio — Los Angeles, CA (Remote)

Head of Product Design

02/2025 – Present
  • Own the Product Design function — vision, strategy, principles, and quality standards across all products.
  • Manage and mentor designers across seniority levels, owning growth plans and performance development.
  • Built design governance, processes, and scalable workflows from scratch — improving delivery predictability and design quality.
  • Partner with Founders, Product, and Engineering to connect design strategy to business goals and measurable outcomes.
  • Final decision-maker on design quality and coherence across the full product lifecycle.

Lead Product Designer

02/2022 – 02/2025
  • Led end-to-end product design across client products, from discovery to delivery — research, strategy, systems, and high-fidelity execution.
  • Acted as design and people lead, mentoring designers and interns and running critiques and alignment sessions.
  • Defined UX strategies, product roadmaps, and feature prioritization with stakeholders across multiple client engagements.
  • Ensured high-quality execution through close collaboration with engineering teams.

Sr. Product Designer

02/2020 – 02/2022
Key Outcomes · Wandr Studio
→30% revenue growth — WP Squared / GO54, within 6 months of launch
→40K users migrated — RentRedi redesign, with measurable drop in support tickets
→Investment secured — Brücke, 0→MVP delivered through research-led design

Additional products and outcomes available on request

View case studies → uxraquel.com
Mercedes Benz.io — Germany (Remote)

Sr. Product Designer Contract

08/2021 – 11/2021
  • Owned end-to-end design execution within a large-scale enterprise product ecosystem, translating business and user requirements into clear UX direction.
  • Partnered with Product and Engineering in Agile environments to deliver complex user flows and high-fidelity UI.
  • Ensured design quality, consistency, and feasibility across multi-stakeholder products.
Bliss Applications – TD Insurance — Lisbon / Canada (Remote)

Sr. UX Designer

08/2020 – 08/2021
  • Led UX improvements for conversion-critical user journeys, informed by research, analytics, and performance data.
  • Used A/B testing, heatmaps, and behavioral insights to identify friction and guide decisions.
  • Collaborated with Product, Engineering, and Business teams in a distributed Agile environment.
Hexangulo Advertising and Freelance — Lisbon / London (Remote)

UX/UI Designer

01/2018 – 08/2020
  • Owned UX/UI design for multiple digital products and websites, translating business objectives and user needs into scalable design solutions.
  • Led UX research and strategic design decisions, informing structure, flows, and interaction patterns.
  • Managed end-to-end delivery across multiple stakeholders, ensuring consistency, quality, and on-time execution.
In Belém Hostel — Lisbon

Digital Marketing Manager

05/2015 – 03/2019
  • Owned digital growth strategy, combining SEO, paid acquisition, email, and on-site UX optimization.
  • Led conversion-focused improvements across website and booking flows, aligning UX decisions with revenue and growth goals.
  • Tracked and analyzed performance metrics and KPIs to continuously optimize acquisition and retention.
IMT – Instituto de Medicina Tradicional — Lisbon

Marketing Manager

09/2013 – 10/2015
  • Defined and executed marketing and communication strategy aligned with business objectives.
  • Owned digital presence and content strategy, ensuring brand consistency and lead generation performance.
  • Analyzed campaign performance to inform strategic planning and prioritization.
Building
ORIS
Design Intelligence System

AI-powered design tool I built and use in my workflow. 40 specialized agents — from ticket to production-ready designs. Strategy, design, validation, and handoff, automated.

AI Agents End-to-End In Use
Design Leadership Stakeholder Management Design Operations Hiring & Talent Development Roadmap Planning Product Strategy People Management Team Leadership Cross-functional Collaboration Product Vision Performance Development End-to-End Product Design Usability Testing Business KPIs OKR Setting UX Strategy UX Research Design Systems Data-Informed Design Design Critique & Mentorship
Technical Skills
Design

Figma / Sketch / Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Photoshop

AI Tools

Midjourney / Dalle / Figma Make / V0 / Lovable / Claude

Research & Testing

Maze / Hotjar / UserTesting / Miro / FigJam

Product Analytics

Mixpanel / Amplitude / Google Analytics / Adobe Analytics

Dev Skills

HTML / CSS

Motion & Video

After Effects / Adobe Premiere

Education
10/2018 – 08/2020 · Lisbon
BSc. Computer Science
UAL – Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
10/2008 – 06/2010 · Barcelona
Television & Cinema Production
UACE – Universidad de las Artes Escénicas
10/2003 – 07/2006 · Lisbon
BA Marketing & Corporate Communication
ISCEM
Languages
Portuguese
●●●●●
English
●●●●○
Spanish
●●●●○
Certificates
IBM – Enterprise Design Thinking Co-Creator
IBM · 01/2021
IBM – Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner
IBM · 01/2021
Mobile User Experience (UX) Design
04/2020 – 05/2020
Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success
Coursera · Imperial College London · 05/2020
Design Thinking
04/2020
SFC – Scrum Fundamentals Certified
SCRUMstudy · 07/2019
6 Sigma Yellow Belt
6sigmastudy · 07/2019
Hubspot Marketing Software
Hubspot · 03/2019