Available for work

Two decades of getting it right, not just done.

Raghavendra at a studio desk in the early service years, working on a 3D scene across two monitors.

Who I am

I'm Raghavendra — an end-to-end product designer who turns ambiguous, high-stakes problems into systems people rely on, across SaaS, B2B, B2C, and developer platforms.

At HotelKey, I work hands-on across the product lifecycle, simplifying complex operational workflows into experiences teams can actually run their day on. Before that, I led and contributed to product design at HackerRank and Interview Kickstart — work now used by millions of developers and a quarter of the Fortune 100.

My foundation was built in the service years — at Robosoft, Sourcebits, and TechJini — shipping for global brands including Google, SAP, IBM, Intel, Coca-Cola, and GE. Over two decades, across 0→1 launches and enterprise-scale platforms, in more than ten countries.

How I think about the work

I grew up in Udupi, in a family of jewellery makers, where precision wasn't a principle you talked about — it was a daily practice. You don't get a second cut on gold. That's where my design judgment actually comes from: the habit of getting a thing right, not just done, and knowing the difference by feel.

In practice, that means I'm relentless about the “how” and the “why” behind every decision — not just what a screen looks like, but why it earns its place and how it holds up when the data gets ugly and the edge cases arrive. It's the discipline that lets me work shoulder-to-shoulder with product and engineering and land on solutions that are technically honest, genuinely usable, and tied to an outcome the business can measure.

I care most about the moments a product is under pressure — the failure state, the empty state, the anxious user — because that's where trust is won or lost, and where most designs quietly give up

Beyond the screen

I've practised traditional Indian painting and sketching since childhood — a discipline recognised with a National-Level Gold Medal in competitive arts. The craft extends past the canvas: I make jewellery for South Indian temples and established jewellery houses across Karnataka, including bespoke commissions for national dignitaries, and I mentor students in the same craft.

It's not a side note to the product work — it's the same instinct, in a different material. Outside all of it I travel, shoot landscapes, and cook.

See the Art & Craft →

Experience

The early studio years are a story in themselves — read the Early Career →

Download Resume

Let's connect.

I'm open to senior product design roles at product-led companies. If you're hiring, or want to talk through a role — I'd love to hear from you.

raghavendrashet@me.com