Available for Senior Roles

I'm Sunil, a Principal UX Designer crafting enterprise experiences that matter.

16+ years delivering end-to-end UX across enterprise software with a proven track record of leading cross-functional design teams, driving user research, and translating complex user needs into scalable design systems that ship with measurable impact. Actively leverages AI tools including Figma Make, ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to accelerate research, competitive analysis, and design ideation.

Skilled in balancing business goals with user-centred design principles across the full product lifecycle · Currently at Quick Heal / Seqrite

Let's Talk → View Portfolio ↗
UX Research Design Systems Team Leadership Figma · Figma Make Enterprise UX WCAG Accessibility Design Sprints Stakeholder Management Agile / Scrum Full Product Lifecycle AI-Augmented UX Measurable Impact
Sunil Akula - Principal UX Designer
⭐
Spot Award
Best Performance
16+
Years of Experience
9
Designers Led
5
Enterprise Products
30%
Efficiency Gain Delivered
Expertise

Skills & Capabilities

A proven track record of driving user research, translating complex user needs into scalable design systems, and shipping products with measurable impact with AI-augmented workflows embedded across the full product lifecycle. Experienced in Agile/Scrum and design thinking from discovery to delivery.

🔒 Cybersecurity
🏦 Banking
🏥 Healthcare
📦 Logistics
⚡ Power / Energy
🔍
UX & Research
User-Centred DesignUX ResearchHeuristic EvaluationUser PersonasTask AnalysisJourney MappingInformation ArchitectureWCAG AccessibilityUX AuditsA/B TestingHeatmapsConversion Rate Optimisation
User-Centred Design, UX Research, Heuristic Evaluation, User Personas, Task Analysis, Journey Mapping, Information Architecture, WCAG Accessibility, UX Audits, A/B Testing, Heatmaps, Conversion Rate Optimisation
✦
Design & Prototyping
WireframingHigh-Fidelity PrototypesInteraction DesignMicro-interactionsUI AnimationsDesign SystemsDesign Sprints
Wireframing, High-Fidelity Prototypes, Interaction Design, Micro-interactions, UI Animations, Design Systems, Design Sprints
⚙️
Tools
FigmaFigma MakeAdobe XDSketchAdobe PhotoshopAdobe IllustratorHTMLCSSJavaScript
Figma, Figma Make, Adobe XD, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, HTML, CSS, JavaScript
👥
Leadership & Process
Team Leadership · 9 DesignersAgile / ScrumDesign ThinkingStakeholder ManagementUX ReviewsWorkshop FacilitationCross-functional Collaboration
Team Leadership · 9 Designers, Agile / Scrum, Design Thinking, Stakeholder Management, UX Reviews, Workshop Facilitation, Cross-functional Collaboration
🤖
AI Tools & Workflow
Research & Analysis
ChatGPTClaude AIPerplexity AI
ChatGPT, Claude AI, Perplexity AI
Ideation & UI Generation
Figma MakeGoogle Stitch AI
Figma Make, Google Stitch AI
Flows & Information Architecture
FigJam AIFigma AI Plugins
FigJam AI, Figma AI Plugins
Insight Synthesis
Google NotebookLM
Google NotebookLM
Operations & Analytics
Microsoft CopilotAtlassian Rovo
Microsoft Copilot, Atlassian Rovo
Career

Work Experience

Leading cross-functional design teams, managing stakeholder relationships, and applying design thinking across the full product lifecycle from research to delivery, in Agile/Scrum environments.

Quick Heal · Seqrite
June 2022 - Present
Cybersecurity
Principal UX Designer / Team Lead
UX Leadership & Strategy
  • Leading UX strategy and execution across enterprise cybersecurity platforms including EPP, XDR, SMAP, STIP, and CSM, while managing and mentoring a team of 9 UX designers.
  • Driving both individual contributor and leadership responsibilities solving complex UX challenges, defining product experience direction, and establishing scalable design practices across the enterprise portfolio.
  • Collaborating closely with Product Managers, Security Analysts, Engineering teams, SMEs, and leadership stakeholders to deliver intuitive experiences for highly complex enterprise cybersecurity workflows.
  • Led UX coordination for a large-scale organisational rebranding initiative, ensuring unified design language and consistent brand implementation across the complete Seqrite enterprise product ecosystem.
⭐ Spot Award Best Performance
AI-Driven UX Transformation & Innovation
  • Established and scaled AI-augmented UX workflows across the complete enterprise product design lifecycle, improving research speed, design exploration, decision-making efficiency, and overall UX delivery velocity.
  • Leveraged ChatGPT and Claude AI for UX problem-solving, heuristic analysis, workshop synthesis, design reasoning, and transforming complex product discussions into actionable UX insights.
  • Used Perplexity AI to accelerate competitive benchmarking, market research, cybersecurity trend analysis, and feature discovery across enterprise security products.
  • Utilised Figma Make and Google Stitch AI to rapidly generate UI concepts, layout explorations, and interaction patterns significantly reducing ideation timelines and enabling faster stakeholder validation.
  • Applied FigJam AI to streamline creation of user journeys, task flows, workflow diagrams, and brainstorming frameworks for improved cross-functional alignment.
  • Integrated Google NotebookLM to consolidate research findings, UX audits, meeting discussions, and product documentation into synthesised knowledge repositories for faster insight retrieval.
  • Leveraged Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT to consolidate UX, product, and delivery data into actionable analytics and executive-ready presentations for CPO and leadership reviews.
Requirement Analysis & UX Operations Optimisation
  • Transformed the UX requirement analysis process using AI-powered capabilities within Atlassian Rovo to efficiently deconstruct large-scale Confluence epics into structured feature sets, user stories, user journeys, and task flows significantly reducing manual analysis effort.
  • Introduced AI-assisted requirement expansion workflows enabling designers to quickly interpret complex product requirements, identify dependencies, and generate detailed UX artefacts with improved speed and consistency.
  • Streamlined collaboration between UX, Product Owners, and Project Managers by accelerating requirement validation cycles, enabling faster alignment on scope and feature expectations before design execution.
  • Drove measurable efficiency gains by embedding AI-driven operational workflows into day-to-day design processes, allowing the team to focus on strategic problem-solving rather than manual documentation breakdown.
UX Research, Discovery & Design Execution
  • Facilitated cross-functional discovery workshops with Product, Engineering, Security SMEs, and Business stakeholders to define project scope, uncover user pain points, and align teams early significantly reducing rework.
  • Conducted comprehensive UX audits across enterprise security products to identify usability gaps, workflow inefficiencies, and information architecture issues, resulting in improved product usability and analyst efficiency.
  • Built and maintained scalable enterprise design systems, reusable component libraries, and UX governance standards that improved cross-product consistency and accelerated delivery.
Agile Delivery & Stakeholder Management
  • Managed agile UX operations through sprint planning, design reviews, stand-ups, and structured stakeholder collaboration to ensure alignment with business priorities and delivery timelines.
  • Conducted iterative validation reviews with Product Owners, Project Managers, and cross-functional stakeholders prior to executive presentations, ensuring strategic alignment, delivery transparency, and decision-making accuracy.
WalkingTree
Nov 2019 - June 2022
Multi-domain
UX Lead
  • Led a team of 3 UX designers across multiple client engagements, streamlining delivery workflows and maintaining quality across web and mobile platforms.
  • Delivered enterprise UX across diverse domains, improving operational efficiency and reducing user friction through research-led design decisions.
  • Managed stakeholder presentations, UX reviews, and design sprint facilitation for client-facing projects.
Talentas
Nov 2018 - Nov 2019
SaaS / Retail
Senior UX Designer
  • Designed a cloud-based power audit application for Ripkurrent, improving reporting accuracy and streamlining user workflows for field engineers.
  • Redesigned New Seasons Market's inventory management system boosting workflow efficiency by 30% through task analysis and iterative prototyping.
30%
Efficiency Gain
Unocareer
Mar 2017 - Sep 2018
Product
UX Designer
  • Conducted competitive analysis and benchmarking to inform product feature development across web and mobile applications.
  • Developed wireframes, interactive prototypes, and UI components for multiple product lines using Figma and Adobe XD.
Accenture
May 2015 - Feb 2017
Banking
Senior UX Analyst
  • Led UX improvements for JP Morgan's internal enterprise applications, ensuring alignment with brand guidelines and accessibility standards.
  • Conducted user testing sessions and usability audits, reducing system errors and improving overall user satisfaction at scale.
Cybage Software
Feb 2010 - May 2015
Logistics / Google
UI/UX Designer
  • Developed and maintained Google web applications and microsites using internal tools, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Led UI development for logistics and transportation applications, ensuring multilingual support across diverse user bases.
  • Streamlined the design-to-development workflow, optimising the publishing process and reducing time-to-delivery.
Virtusa India
Feb 2008 - Jan 2010
Technology / Cisco
UI Engineer
  • Designed and developed external websites for Cisco (www.cisco.com), aligning all deliverables with brand standards.
  • Led UI development for Cisco Live, Expo Events, and Small Business Solutions, enhancing user engagement and experience.
  • Managed a team of developers, ensuring seamless project execution and timely delivery across multiple workstreams.
Background

Education & Certifications

M.Sc. Information Technology
Kuvempu University, Hyderabad · 2010

Postgraduate study forming the academic foundation for a career in digital product design and human-computer interaction.

Certified Usability Analyst (CUA)
Human Factors International · HFI

Industry-recognised certification validating deep expertise in usability engineering and human-centred design principles.

Design Thinking Certification
Interaction Design Foundation · IDF

Covering the full design thinking methodology empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and test.

Advanced UX & Product Design
LinkedIn Learning

Advanced coursework covering product strategy, design systems at scale, and research-to-delivery workflows for senior UX practitioners.

Social Proof

Trusted by Leaders

What CTOs, senior product managers, engineering heads, and cross-functional peers say about working with Sunil across cybersecurity, banking, retail, and enterprise software.

AS
Abhishek Salvi
Sr. Principal Product Manager · Quick Heal Technologies
Worked directly together
"
"Sunil brings a strong user-centric mindset, consistently translating complex product requirements into intuitive and seamless user experiences. His ability to balance business goals with user needs ensures that every design decision adds real value. What truly stands out is his collaborative approach actively engaging with product managers, engineering, and stakeholders to refine ideas and deliver well-thought-out solutions. I would highly recommend Sunil to any team looking for a UX professional who not only designs great experiences but also contributes meaningfully to overall product success."
★★★★★
April 2026 · Same team at Quick Heal
AP
Ashish Pradhan
CTO / Global Head of Product Engineering
Quick Heal Technologies
"
"Sunil is a senior member of our UX team. Over the years, he has conducted in-depth UX audits for our existing product, identified critical pain points, and delivered design changes that resolved the same. He has also been responsible for fresh UX designs for many new capabilities in all our flagship products. Overall, I will strongly recommend him for a senior position in an enterprise or consumer software UX design team."
★★★★★
CTO-level recommendation · Quick Heal
MJ
Mamatva Jethwa
EPP | DLP | Zero Trust | AI Governance
Seqrite, Pune
"
"As a PM in the security space, I know how difficult it is to find a designer who can bridge the gap between deeply technical concepts and intuitive user experiences Sunil does this almost effortlessly. I'd work with Sunil again without hesitation."
April 2026 · Same team at Seqrite
RB
Romil Bhalla
Products · Enterprise Mobility | Cybersecurity | AI/ML
Quick Heal, Seqrite
"
"Sunil consistently demonstrated a strong sense of ownership, ensuring timely delivery without compromising on quality. His ability to balance creativity with practicality ensures that the solutions are not only visually appealing but also highly usable and aligned with end-user needs."
March 2026 · Same team at Seqrite
HV
Haripriya Vinayak
Technical Product Manager
GE Vernova Consulting Services
"
"The common challenge in UX design for engineering products is to have someone who is knowledgeable in visual design aspects, at the same time able to understand the domain they are designing for. Sunil is a rare find who could bridge the gap very skilfully."
April 2022 · Managed Sunil directly
IA
Imran Ali
Sr. Engineering Manager, Fleet Engineering
Wind - Client Engagement
"
"I had an opportunity to work with Sunil on one of our important programs. He was responsible for the UX and ensuring alignment across larger use cases. I enjoyed my interactions with him and appreciate all the support provided by him."
Nov 2022 · Sunil's client
CD
Chaitanya Deepak
Strategic HR Partner · 14 Yrs IT/Tech HR
Talent & Culture · GCC & India
"
"Sunil has excellent skills in UI/UX designing and he is a thinker which usually helps the client. He is someone who has core knowledge and understanding of User Experience. He is someone who will stand by his team in any situation and a good Team player."
Oct 2021 · Worked across teams
RF
Rhoda Faye Abidog
Senior - Google Infrastructure Engagement
Cybage / Google
"
"Sunil has strong HTML/CSS, JS, and jQuery skills; he also quickly picked up the technical aspects and processes of working on Google infrastructure. Sunil is professional and reliable, and overall, great to work with!"
Nov 2016 · Senior to Sunil
TA
Timi Adeniji
Senior Delivery Manager | Business Integration
IGT PlayDigital · iGaming
"
"Sunil is a dedicated developer who pays attention to detail and to his work. Throughout my working with him at Cisco, he always carried out development to specification and even went the extra mile to suggest better solutions to existing ones. I will recommend him any day."
April 2012 · Worked across companies
DK
Durga Kiran Jagarlapudi
Technical Product Manager · Holistic Health Coach
Cisco Project
"
"Sunil is a very cool guy at work, he is good at CSS and a 'Can do' guy. Always takes responsibility of work and takes ownership. Hard worker and self-motivated learner. It's a pleasure to work with him."
Dec 2009 · Managed Sunil directly
SK
Satya Kondamuri
UX Strategist | Data + AI-Driven Design
Cisco Project · Product Thinking
"
"Sunil is highly focussed and goal-oriented. A wonderful person to work with. He was a quick learner and a committed individual. His valuable contribution to the Cisco project is highly appreciated. All the best Sunil!!"
Dec 2009 · Senior to Sunil
Get in touch

Let's build something great together.

Open to senior UX leadership roles, consulting engagements, and design system projects across enterprise software.

✉ Email Me LinkedIn ↗ Portfolio ↗ +91 99661 80333