Hello, I’m Mithila
I am a product design leader based in Brooklyn, New York.
I currently lead the product design team at BuzzFeed, managing a team of 7 designers across BuzzFeed, Tasty, HuffPost, and BuzzFeed Island. I support team growth through mentorship, healthy critique, and thoughtful distribution of work. I collaborate with leadership to align design efforts with company priorities and contribute to shaping our broader tech and product strategy.
While leading design strategy, I stay hands-on with key projects. Recently, I contributed to HuffPost’s membership experience and designed AI-powered editorial tools to streamline internal workflows. I drive innovation across BuzzFeed’s editorial tools and internal platforms, with a focus on optimizing content creation and distribution.
I’ve led 0→1 design initiatives, including SEO tools and AI integrations that boost efficiency and content discoverability. I also designed a new curation system that empowers our audience development team to manage the homepage, sponsorships, and easily launch new landing pages.
Before BuzzFeed, I designed enterprise SaaS tools and device management experiences at VMware (now Omnissa). I led interaction design for core infrastructure projects like Data Driven Profiles, Tunnel Configuration, and Unified Access Gateway—helping scale management across the Workspace ONE platform. I also partnered closely with the Freestyle Orchestrator team, shaping user-centric workflows for complex IT automation and empowering admins with greater flexibility and control.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked within a range of team structures, which has shaped me into an adaptable, dependable, and open-minded collaborator.
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design philosophy
I’m passionate about designing intuitive experiences that simplify interactions with complex tools and systems. With a focus on empathy and kindness, I create clear, easy-to-follow task flows that align with business goals and enhance user understanding.
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my process
I’m fascinated by connections, flows, and patterns. My design process centers on identifying these object-oriented structures, helping people navigate complex systems through a simplified, intuitive lens.
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management style
As a manager, I prioritize building trust and fostering open communication. My approach to mentorship focuses on providing space for exploration while offering consistent, constructive feedback to support growth.