About Me
About Me
Lead Product Designer | AI, SaaS & Enterprise Systems
Lead Product Designer | AI, SaaS & Enterprise Systems
Zobia Khalid Malik
Zobia Khalid Malik
Zobia Khalid Malik
I am a Lead Product Designer with a Software Engineering background, specialising in AI SaaS, enterprise systems, and complex multi-role products.
I have worked across 25+ products in AI, enterprise SaaS, marketplaces, GovTech, EdTech, fintech, mental health, food delivery, mobility, and event platforms. On many of them I was the sole designer, and on several there was no product manager defining the problem before it reached me.
My engineering degree is not decoration. It changes the way I design. I think about states, system architecture, permissions, data boundaries, APIs, edge cases, and what is going to happen when the screen leaves Figma and becomes a real product.
I am a Lead Product Designer with a Software Engineering background, specialising in AI SaaS, enterprise systems, and complex multi-role products.
I am a Lead Product Designer with a Software Engineering background, specialising in AI SaaS, enterprise systems, and complex multi-role products.
I have worked across 25+ products in AI, enterprise SaaS, marketplaces, GovTech, EdTech, fintech, mental health, food delivery, mobility, and event platforms. On many of them I was the sole designer, and on several there was no product manager defining the problem before it reached me.
My engineering degree is not decoration. It changes the way I design. I think about states, system architecture, permissions, data boundaries, APIs, edge cases, and what is going to happen when the screen leaves Figma and becomes a real product.
I have taken products from zero to production and rebuilt live products that were already being used. My work moves between research, information architecture, product architecture, interaction and visual design, design systems, component libraries, prototyping, and developer handoff.
I have taken products from zero to production and rebuilt live products that were already being used. My work moves between research, information architecture, product architecture, interaction and visual design, design systems, component libraries, prototyping, and developer handoff.
I also cannot stop observing products outside work. A strange WhatsApp state. A security flow that does not match the user's level of concern. A marketplace forcing a decision before the user is ready to make it. Once I notice something, I usually end up taking it apart.
I also work directly with leadership on product direction, not only execution. On Cortech Talent, when the idea came up to place an administrator inside every client-talent conversation, I challenged the approach and brought back an alternative that preserved direct conversation while still giving the platform the oversight it needed. The alternative was accepted.
At Cortechsols, I created a structured handoff system spanning 12 module-level documents with SQL models, API contracts, ASCII wireframes, UI states, edge cases, and acceptance criteria. It came from a very simple frustration: I did not want the design to become something different by the time it reached development.
At Cortechsols, I created a structured handoff system spanning 12 module-level documents with SQL models, API contracts, ASCII wireframes, UI states, edge cases, and acceptance criteria. It came from a very simple frustration: I did not want the design to become something different by the time it reached development.
I also work directly with leadership on product direction, not only execution. On Cortech Talent, when the idea came up to place an administrator inside every client-talent conversation, I challenged the approach and brought back an alternative that preserved direct conversation while still giving the platform the oversight it needed. The alternative was accepted.
I also cannot stop observing products outside work. A strange WhatsApp state. A security flow that does not match the user's level of concern. A marketplace forcing a decision before the user is ready to make it. Once I notice something, I usually end up taking it apart.
"Design rules are my second priority. The user is my first. Everything I put on screen has one job: to not create confusion in the mind of the person looking at it."
"Design rules are my second priority. The user is my first. Everything I put on screen has one job: to not create confusion in the mind of the person looking at it."
I have worked across 25+ products in AI, enterprise SaaS, marketplaces, GovTech, EdTech, fintech, mental health, food delivery, mobility, and event platforms. On many of them I was the sole designer, and on several there was no product manager defining the problem before it reached me.
My engineering degree is not decoration. It changes the way I design. I think about states, system architecture, permissions, data boundaries, APIs, edge cases, and what is going to happen when the screen leaves Figma and becomes a real product.
I have taken products from zero to production and rebuilt live products that were already being used. My work moves between research, information architecture, product architecture, interaction and visual design, design systems, component libraries, prototyping, and developer handoff.
At Cortechsols, I created a structured handoff system spanning 12 module-level documents with SQL models, API contracts, ASCII wireframes, UI states, edge cases, and acceptance criteria. It came from a very simple frustration: I did not want the design to become something different by the time it reached development.
I also work directly with leadership on product direction, not only execution. On Cortech Talent, when the idea came up to place an administrator inside every client-talent conversation, I challenged the approach and brought back an alternative that preserved direct conversation while still giving the platform the oversight it needed. The alternative was accepted.
I also cannot stop observing products outside work. A strange WhatsApp state. A security flow that does not match the user's level of concern. A marketplace forcing a decision before the user is ready to make it. Once I notice something, I usually end up taking it apart.
"Design rules are my second priority. The user is my first. Everything I put on screen has one job: to not create confusion in the mind of the person looking at it."
Open to senior-level Product Design opportunities across AI, SaaS and complex systems
Open to senior-level Product Design opportunities across AI, SaaS and complex systems.
Open to senior-level Product Design opportunities across AI, SaaS and complex systems
Pakistan Onsite Or Remote
Remote Global
Remote
Pakistan Onsite Or Remote
Remote Global
Visa Sponsorship Roles
Pakistan onsite or Remote
Visa Sponsorship Roles
Global
Visa Sponsorship Roles
How I work
I start with the system, not the screen
I start with the system, not the screen
Before designing anything, I try to understand how the product actually works. Who has power? What does each role know? What can they change? What happens when something fails? Where does one person's action create a problem for someone else? I normally map that structure before I trust the interface. Screens come after the system makes sense.
Before designing anything, I try to understand how the product actually works. Who has power? What does each role know? What can they change? What happens when something fails? Where does one person's action create a problem for someone else? I normally map that structure before I trust the interface. Screens come after the system makes sense.
I design for the person who is not in the room
I design for the person who is not in the room
The buyer is not always the person who carries the consequences of the product. Sometimes it is the worker whose attendance was recorded incorrectly. Sometimes it is the customer whose data is being exposed. Sometimes it is the junior employee who can accidentally damage something shared by the whole organisation. Sometimes it is simply the person who does not know the vocabulary everyone else assumes they know. I try to remember that person while designing.
The buyer is not always the person who carries the consequences of the product. Sometimes it is the worker whose attendance was recorded incorrectly. Sometimes it is the customer whose data is being exposed. Sometimes it is the junior employee who can accidentally damage something shared by the whole organisation. Sometimes it is simply the person who does not know the vocabulary everyone else assumes they know. I try to remember that person while designing.
I write handoffs developers can actually use
I write handoffs developers can actually use
My engineering background means I understand that a polished screen is only one part of the product. Developers also need to know what changes state, what data is expected, how an error behaves, what an API needs to return, and what should happen when the happy path breaks. That is why my handoffs include more than screens. I document the logic behind the design so the implementation team does not have to guess what I meant.
My engineering background means I understand that a polished screen is only one part of the product. Developers also need to know what changes state, what data is expected, how an error behaves, what an API needs to return, and what should happen when the happy path breaks. That is why my handoffs include more than screens. I document the logic behind the design so the implementation team does not have to guess what I meant.
I ask uncomfortable questions early
I ask uncomfortable questions early
What happens when this fails? Who gets blamed if the system is wrong? What happens if the automation stops halfway? What does a non-technical user do when they have absolutely no idea what the product is asking them? What happens to the person with the least power in the system? I would rather make the meeting uncomfortable now than make the user pay for it later.
What happens when this fails? Who gets blamed if the system is wrong? What happens if the automation stops halfway? What does a non-technical user do when they have absolutely no idea what the product is asking them? What happens to the person with the least power in the system? I would rather make the meeting uncomfortable now than make the user pay for it later.
I design the escape route before someone needs it
I design the escape route before someone needs it
I think a lot about predictable failure. If I can already see how a user might get trapped, make a mistake, misunderstand a state, or reach a point where the system cannot continue, I do not want to wait until production to discover it. That is where my Poka-Yoke thinking comes in. I try to design the prevention, recovery, or manual escape path while the product is still being shaped. The goal is not a system where nothing ever goes wrong. It is a system where going wrong does not leave the user with nowhere to go.
I think a lot about predictable failure. If I can already see how a user might get trapped, make a mistake, misunderstand a state, or reach a point where the system cannot continue, I do not want to wait until production to discover it. That is where my Poka-Yoke thinking comes in. I try to design the prevention, recovery, or manual escape path while the product is still being shaped. The goal is not a system where nothing ever goes wrong. It is a system where going wrong does not leave the user with nowhere to go.
Outside Work
I read novels, long ones, in long sittings. I get attached to characters, and I notice when two people can go through exactly the same event and carry completely different versions of it afterwards. I think that affects the way I design. I naturally look for competing goals, hidden motivations, assumptions, and the small emotional moments that change how someone experiences a product.
I read novels, long ones, in long sittings. I get attached to characters, and I notice when two people can go through exactly the same event and carry completely different versions of it afterwards. I think that affects the way I design. I naturally look for competing goals, hidden motivations, assumptions, and the small emotional moments that change how someone experiences a product.
I visualise almost everything before I build it. A bad onboarding flow, a broken state machine, a difficult meeting, a product interaction that just does not feel right. I can normally run the whole scene in my head before I open Figma. It is probably the design muscle I rely on most.
I visualise almost everything before I build it. A bad onboarding flow, a broken state machine, a difficult meeting, a product interaction that just does not feel right. I can normally run the whole scene in my head before I open Figma. It is probably the design muscle I rely on most.
I also have one ability that is difficult for me to explain without it sounding strange. I call it becoming the user. Not literally, and not instead of research. What I mean is that I can switch perspectives very quickly. I can take the same flow and run it as the first-time user who is confused, the expert who is impatient, the busy person who will skip every instruction, the person who is afraid of making a mistake, or the user with the least control in the system.
I also have one ability that is difficult for me to explain without it sounding strange. I call it becoming the user. Not literally, and not instead of research. What I mean is that I can switch perspectives very quickly. I can take the same flow and run it as the first-time user who is confused, the expert who is impatient, the busy person who will skip every instruction, the person who is afraid of making a mistake, or the user with the least control in the system.
For a few minutes I stop asking “Does this make sense to me as the designer?” and start asking “What would this person believe is happening right now?” That is where I catch a lot of blockers, trapped states, misleading feedback, and moments that are technically correct but humanly wrong. Then I validate those assumptions against research, stakeholder feedback, implementation, or whatever evidence is available.
For a few minutes I stop asking “Does this make sense to me as the designer?” and start asking “What would this person believe is happening right now?” That is where I catch a lot of blockers, trapped states, misleading feedback, and moments that are technically correct but humanly wrong. Then I validate those assumptions against research, stakeholder feedback, implementation, or whatever evidence is available.
Hard projects do not scare me, but I do not romanticise them either. BiometricPRO had no PM in the loop for months, so I carried the architecture directly with the CTO and client. Cortech Talent needed me to challenge a privacy decision instead of simply drawing what was requested. Rizyk needed six weeks of regulatory research before I was comfortable designing the serious flows. Some days those projects are exhausting. The next day I sit back down and pick them up again.
Hard projects do not scare me, but I do not romanticise them either. BiometricPRO had no PM in the loop for months, so I carried the architecture directly with the CTO and client. Cortech Talent needed me to challenge a privacy decision instead of simply drawing what was requested. Rizyk needed six weeks of regulatory research before I was comfortable designing the serious flows. Some days those projects are exhausting. The next day I sit back down and pick them up again.
I love to travel. I am a foodie. And I am usually happiest when there is something real to untangle, something underneath the screen that needs to be understood before it can be designed properly.
I love to travel. I am a foodie. And I am usually happiest when there is something real to untangle, something underneath the screen that needs to be understood before it can be designed properly.
I am also a Microsoft Student Ambassador alumna (2019–2023). I designed and delivered a three-day UI/UX and Figma workshop for 30+ junior university students. Across Cortechsols and M Techub, I have trained or mentored an intern at Cortechsols who progressed to Junior and then Associate Product Designer, a graphic designer, and an intern at M Techub
I am also a Microsoft Student Ambassador alumna (2019–2023). I designed and delivered a three-day UI/UX and Figma workshop for 30+ junior university students. Across Cortechsols and M Techub, I have trained or mentored an intern at Cortechsols who progressed to Junior and then Associate Product Designer, a graphic designer, and an intern at M Techub
Background
Currently
Currently
Lead Product Designer
Lead Product Designer
Cortechsols
Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Joined as Senior UI/UX Designer and was promoted to Lead Product Designer in January 2026. Led product design across AI and enterprise products including Easy Agent, Timeless Tales, Cortech Talent, Connect, OHM, Huff and Huff, and wider company product work. Worked directly with senior leadership on product direction and strategy, established design standards and workflows, built scalable design systems, mentored junior team members, and collaborated across engineering, QA, marketing, and delivery teams. Recognised as Employee of the Month in February 2026.
Joined as Senior UI/UX Designer and was promoted to Lead Product Designer in January 2026. Led product design across AI and enterprise products including Easy Agent, Timeless Tales, Cortech Talent, Connect, OHM, Huff and Huff, and wider company product work. Worked directly with senior leadership on product direction and strategy, established design standards and workflows, built scalable design systems, mentored junior team members, and collaborated across engineering, QA, marketing, and delivery teams. Recognised as Employee of the Month in February 2026.
Previously
Previously
Product Designer (UI/UX)
Product Designer (UI/UX)
M Techub LLC
Aug 2024 to Sep 2025
Worked as the second in-house designer and independently owned or led product design across multiple internal and client products, including BiometricPRO, Rizyk, Soulify, and RMS (Restaurant Management System). My work covered both product design and UI/UX across B2B and consumer platforms. I also built reusable design-system foundations, introduced structured engineering notes and annotated handoff practices, worked directly with clients and technical teams, and presented BiometricPRO to the European client team in Spain. Recognised with the Emerging Talent Award and Employee of the Month.
Worked as the second in-house designer and independently owned or led product design across multiple internal and client products, including BiometricPRO, Rizyk, Soulify, and RMS (Restaurant Management System). My work covered both product design and UI/UX across B2B and consumer platforms. I also built reusable design-system foundations, introduced structured engineering notes and annotated handoff practices, worked directly with clients and technical teams, and presented BiometricPRO to the European client team in Spain. Recognised with the Emerging Talent Award and Employee of the Month.
Previously
Previously
Assistant Product Design Manager
Assistant Product Design Manager
Fresh Future Australia — Yuzee
Sep 2023 to Jan 2024
Hired and onboarded in September 2023; the formal contract was signed in October. Worked across two product sprints on Yuzee, an Australian student marketplace platform, covering messaging experiences across web and mobile. Managed assigned execution independently and performed UI and APK testing on LambdaTest.
Hired and onboarded in September 2023; the formal contract was signed in October. Worked across two product sprints on Yuzee, an Australian student marketplace platform, covering messaging experiences across web and mobile. Managed assigned execution independently and performed UI and APK testing on LambdaTest.
Previously
Previously
UI/UX Designer And Developer
UI/UX Designer And Developer
Abasyn University Islamabad Campus
Nov 2021 to April 2023
Led the redesign of the AUIC institutional website and independently developed the responsive frontend. Designed and developed the OBE System as a four-module final-year product for universities managing PLOs, CLOs, and PEOs, taking the work through nine institutional stakeholder approval cycles.
Led the redesign of the AUIC institutional website and independently developed the responsive frontend. Designed and developed the OBE System as a four-module final-year product for universities managing PLOs, CLOs, and PEOs, taking the work through nine institutional stakeholder approval cycles.
Education
Education
BS Software Engineering
BS Software Engineering
Abasyn University Islamabad Campus
2019 to 2023
CGPA 3.46
Software Engineering gave me the technical foundation behind the way I design today. Human Computer Interaction, Mobile Application Development, Software Requirements Engineering, Software Re-engineering, Software Design and Architecture, Formal Methods, Entrepreneurship, and Business Process Engineering were some of the subjects that shaped my move from software into product design and systems thinking.
Software Engineering gave me the technical foundation behind the way I design today. Human Computer Interaction, Mobile Application Development, Software Requirements Engineering, Software Re-engineering, Software Design and Architecture, Formal Methods, Entrepreneurship, and Business Process Engineering were some of the subjects that shaped my move from software into product design and systems thinking.
Recognition
Employee of the Month
Employee of the Month
Cortechsols
February 2026
Recognised for process innovation and team leadership across Easy Agent For You V2 and Cortech Talent V2.
Recognised for process innovation and team leadership across Easy Agent For You V2 and Cortech Talent V2.
Employee of the Month
Employee of the Month
M Techub LLC
June 2025
Recognised for delivery excellence across BiometricPRO and Rizyk.
Recognised for delivery excellence across BiometricPRO and Rizyk.
Emerging Talent Award
Emerging Talent Award
M Techub LLC
January 2025
Recognised for exceptional growth and regulatory research leadership. Rizyk passed legal compliance review on first submission with zero revisions.
Recognised for exceptional growth and regulatory research leadership. Rizyk passed legal compliance review on first submission with zero revisions.
3 awards across 2 companies in 14 months.
3 awards across 2 companies in 14 months.
How I work
I start with the system, not the screen
Before designing anything, I try to understand how the product actually works. Who has power? What does each role know? What can they change? What happens when something fails? Where does one person's action create a problem for someone else? I normally map that structure before I trust the interface. Screens come after the system makes sense.
I design for the person who is not in the room
The buyer is not always the person who carries the consequences of the product. Sometimes it is the worker whose attendance was recorded incorrectly. Sometimes it is the customer whose data is being exposed. Sometimes it is the junior employee who can accidentally damage something shared by the whole organisation. Sometimes it is simply the person who does not know the vocabulary everyone else assumes they know. I try to remember that person while designing.
I write handoffs that developers can actually use
My engineering background means I understand that a polished screen is only one part of the product. Developers also need to know what changes state, what data is expected, how an error behaves, what an API needs to return, and what should happen when the happy path breaks. That is why my handoffs include more than screens. I document the logic behind the design so the implementation team does not have to guess what I meant.
I ask uncomfortable questions early
What happens when this fails? Who gets blamed if the system is wrong? What happens if the automation stops halfway? What does a non-technical user do when they have absolutely no idea what the product is asking them? What happens to the person with the least power in the system? I would rather make the meeting uncomfortable now than make the user pay for it later.
I design the escape route before someone needs it
I think a lot about predictable failure. If I can already see how a user might get trapped, make a mistake, misunderstand a state, or reach a point where the system cannot continue, I do not want to wait until production to discover it. That is where my Poka-Yoke thinking comes in. I try to design the prevention, recovery, or manual escape path while the product is still being shaped. The goal is not a system where nothing ever goes wrong. It is a system where going wrong does not leave the user with nowhere to go.
Background
Currently
Lead Product Designer
Cortechsols
Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Joined as Senior UI/UX Designer and was promoted to Lead Product Designer in January 2026. Led product design across AI and enterprise products including Easy Agent, Timeless Tales, Cortech Talent, Connect, OHM, Huff and Huff, and wider company product work. Worked directly with senior leadership on product direction and strategy, established design standards and workflows, built scalable design systems, mentored junior team members, and collaborated across engineering, QA, marketing, and delivery teams. Recognised as Employee of the Month in February 2026.
Previously
Product Designer (UI/UX)
M Techub LLC
Aug 2024 to Sep 2025
Worked as the second in-house designer and independently owned or led product design across multiple internal and client products, including BiometricPRO, Rizyk, Soulify, and RMS (Restaurant Management System). My work covered both product design and UI/UX across B2B and consumer platforms. I also built reusable design-system foundations, introduced structured engineering notes and annotated handoff practices, worked directly with clients and technical teams, and presented BiometricPRO to the European client team in Spain. Recognised with the Emerging Talent Award and Employee of the Month.
Education
BS Software Engineering
Abasyn University Islamabad Campus
2019 to 2023
CGPA 3.46
Software Engineering gave me the technical foundation behind the way I design today. Human Computer Interaction, Mobile Application Development, Software Requirements Engineering, Software Re-engineering, Software Design and Architecture, Formal Methods, Entrepreneurship, and Business Process Engineering were some of the subjects that shaped my move from software into product design and systems thinking.
Previously
Assistant Product Design Manager
Fresh Future Australia — Yuzee
Sep 2023 to Jan 2024
Hired in September 2023 with onboarding starting immediately; official contract signed in October 2023. Led design across two product sprints on Yuzee, an Australian student marketplace platform, covering messaging components across web and mobile. Managed execution independently across both. Performed UI and APK testing on LambdaTest.
Previously
UI/UX Designer And Developer
Abasyn University Islamabad Campus
Nov 2021 to April 2023
Led redesign of the AUIC institutional website, designing and developing the responsive frontend independently. Led the OBE System as final year capstone, a four-module outcome-based education platform for universities managing PLOs, CLOs, and PEOs, completed through nine institutional stakeholder approval cycles.
Outside Work
I read novels, long ones, in long sittings. I get attached to characters, and I notice when two people can go through exactly the same event and carry completely different versions of it afterwards. I think that affects the way I design. I naturally look for competing goals, hidden motivations, assumptions, and the small emotional moments that change how someone experiences a product.
I visualise almost everything before I build it. A bad onboarding flow, a broken state machine, a difficult meeting, a product interaction that just does not feel right. I can normally run the whole scene in my head before I open Figma. It is probably the design muscle I rely on most.
I also have one ability that is difficult for me to explain without it sounding strange. I call it becoming the user. Not literally, and not instead of research. What I mean is that I can switch perspectives very quickly. I can take the same flow and run it as the first-time user who is confused, the expert who is impatient, the busy person who will skip every instruction, the person who is afraid of making a mistake, or the user with the least control in the system.
For a few minutes I stop asking “Does this make sense to me as the designer?” and start asking “What would this person believe is happening right now?” That is where I catch a lot of blockers, trapped states, misleading feedback, and moments that are technically correct but humanly wrong. Then I validate those assumptions against research, stakeholder feedback, implementation, or whatever evidence is available.
Hard projects do not scare me, but I do not romanticise them either. BiometricPRO had no PM in the loop for months, so I carried the architecture directly with the CTO and client. Cortech Talent needed me to challenge a privacy decision instead of simply drawing what was requested. Rizyk needed six weeks of regulatory research before I was comfortable designing the serious flows. Some days those projects are exhausting. The next day I sit back down and pick them up again.
I love to travel. I am a foodie. And I am usually happiest when there is something real to untangle, something underneath the screen that needs to be understood before it can be designed properly.
I am also a Microsoft Student Ambassador alumna (2019–2023). I designed and delivered a three-day UI/UX and Figma workshop for 30+ junior university students. Across Cortechsols and M Techub, I have trained or mentored an intern at Cortechsols who progressed to Junior and then Associate Product Designer, a graphic designer, and an intern at M Techub
Recognition
Employee of the Month
Cortechsols
February 2026
Recognised for process innovation and team leadership across Easy Agent For You V2 and Cortech Talent V2.
Employee of the Month
M Techub LLC
June 2025
Recognised for delivery excellence across BiometricPRO and Rizyk.
Emerging Talent Award
M Techub LLC
January 2025
Recognised for exceptional growth and regulatory research leadership. Rizyk passed legal compliance review on first submission with zero revisions.
3 awards across 2 companies in 14 months.