Resume | Kyle Kochanek

Resume

Kyle Kochanek

Senior Product Designer

I've spent 10+ years doing product design at startups, usually as the only designer or the lead. I build design systems, ship Figma plugins (2K+ downloads), and prototype in React. I'm the connective tissue across design, engineering, and product, and I use AI to collapse the timeline from concept to shipped feature.

I'm energized by early-stage work: standing up design orgs, systems, and products from nothing.

Skills

Design

Design Systems, Design Tokens, UI/UX Design · Figma (expert), Sketch · Prototyping, Interactive Design, Information Architecture · Accessibility / a11y

Engineering

React, React Native · TypeScript · Next.js, Tailwind CSS · Framer Motion · Figma Plugin Development · Storybook (expert), Jest, Git

Product

Product Strategy, Cross-functional Leadership · User Research, A/B Testing

AI & Automation

Claude Code, MCP / Model Context Protocol · LLM Workflow Design, Skill Authoring · AI-assisted Design Systems

Tools

Figma · React · TypeScript · Next.js · Tailwind CSS · Tokens Studio · Storybook

Projects

Lazy Export — Figma plugin for batch asset export. 2K+ downloads.
BreakLine Inspect — Figma plugin connecting component selections to AI-powered spec generation via MCP.
Sketch Weaver — Open-source tool that edits Sketch design files via a local LLM agent.
Etch — Local-first Mac work journal app. In development.
Vocal Scratch — Apple Watch/iPhone voice capture app using WhisperKit. $1.99 on the App Store.

Full curriculum vitae →

Experience

BreakLine Education

Senior Product Designer · Jan 2025 - Mar 2026

•Sole designer on a full platform redesign, partnering with product, engineering, and leadership to ship end-to-end
•Redesigned the applicant flow (32% baseline completion across ~19K applicants) using a "Guide, don't Gatekeep" framework
•Authored the 2026 product roadmap and eight platform design principles adopted as a cross-functional decision framework
•Stood up the design system with coded React counterparts; built Figma plugins and AI-augmented design workflows

PokerAtlas

Lead Product Designer & Acting Lead PM · Jul 2023 - Dec 2024

•Unblocked a stalled launch by prototyping for leadership alignment; shipped TableCaptain 2 on the committed deadline
•Created Riker, an accessible design system with contextual tokens and a three-tier touch-target model
•70% improvement in dashboard design consistency; 35% fewer revision cycles via token-driven workflows
•Owned full product lifecycle for 5+ major features including floor map editor, waitlist displays, and export reports

Roadpass Digital

Principal Product Designer · Mar 2018 - Jul 2023

•Co-designed Bonfire, a white-label design system across 5 platforms — 64% adoption increase, $143K annual savings
•Grew Roadtrippers Plus from $0 to $9M ARR; led design through growth from 600K to 2M+ MAU
•Drove accessibility initiative from 500,000+ issues to under 100 across all platforms over 12 months
•Redesigned onboarding: 12% subscription bump, 80% completion rate

Earlier Experience

Stealth Startup — Founding Designer (Contract) · Mar 2025 - Jun 2025
WhatAbout — Lead Designer (Contract) · Aug 2024 - Jan 2025
ClearSpend — Lead Product Designer (Contract) · Oct 2021 - May 2022
Momentum, Inc. — Senior Product Designer · May 2016 - Mar 2018
Global Humanitarian Nonprofit — Art Director · Nov 2014 - Dec 2015
Self-Employed — Design Engineer (Freelance) · 2008 - 2024

See full work history on CV →Full history at livingfolio.com/cv