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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

when i'm not designing

when i'm not designing

i'm organizing my life on google sheets

i'm organizing my life on google sheets

i'm thinking of ideas for children's board books in my mother tongue

i'm thinking of ideas for children's board books in my mother tongue