Work Experience
2025 — 2026
Boston, United States (Remote)
Smartcat is one of the leading SaaS platforms and an AI-powered solution for content translation and localization (text, video, images), subtitle creation, and content generation. The platform is used in 100+ countries, bringing together 500,000+ users and 1,000+ enterprise clients.
Objective: Reimagine the platform’s user experience by transforming a traditional SaaS interface into a next-generation AI-driven product.
Solution: Contributed to designing a new product concept based on an agent-driven approach, where the primary interface is built around interaction with AI agents:
• AI agents as the core interface — chat-based interaction model where the agent acts as a copilot, simplifying user workflows
• Custom agent builder — enabling users to create and configure their own AI agents
• End-to-end workflows — designing translation, review, and localization processes within a chat-based interaction model
Result:
• More intuitive and flexible UX by shifting from tool-based → agent-driven interaction
• Simplified complex workflows by replacing multiple legacy SaaS screens with a unified chat interface
New York, United States (Remote)
Career.io is an all-in-one career development platform designed to guide users through every stage of their professional journey. From setting career goals to securing a job, the platform offers AI-driven tools to streamline the process. Its flagship product, Resume.io, 3 MAU worldwide through a subscription model.
Objective: Increase the Lifetime Value (LTV) of paying users by enhancing the subscription’s perceived value and extending retention.
Solution: To drive higher engagement and retention, I designed and launched a suite of services that expanded Career.io beyond resume building, covering the entire job search and career growth process: Recommended Jobs, Job Tracker, Explore Careers, Job Search Method, Career Profile. Each feature was carefully designed to address pain points in career planning, improve user engagement, and create upsell opportunities.
Result: +15% increase in LTV, driven by higher retention and engagement.
• Increased ARPU, leveraging premium add-ons like automated job applications.
• Stronger acquisition, as new services attracted users beyond Resume.io’s core audience.
2022 — 2024
Tbilisi, Georgia
TBC Bank is one of Georgia’s leading financial institutions.
Objective: Redesign the ATM operating system to improve user experience, reduce transaction steps, eliminate common issues like forgotten cards and long queues, and create an optimized touchscreen-based interface for modern ATMs.
Solution: User research identified key pain points, leading to the following improvements:
• QR code cash withdrawal for a fully contactless experience.
• Reduced number of steps per transaction
Result:
• −25% steps for basic operations
• Faster transactions → shorter queues
• Introduced QR withdrawals for speed and security
2022 — 2023
Remote
The Hole is a stand-up comedy streaming platform owned by Medium Quality, a production company known for creating stand-up shows with tens of millions of views across various platforms. Previously, all shows were released on YouTube, but the company aimed to transition its audience to its own streaming platform.
Objective: I joined the project during its MVP stage, when an outsourced team had already launched a basic version of the platform. The key challenge transition a highly engaged YouTube audience to a standalone streaming platform while maintaining YouTube-level UX standards and providing enough incentive for users to switch.
Solution: Conducted in-depth feature analysis based on:
• User research & feature analysis – Conducted App Store review analysis and user interviews to identify pain points and expectations.
• Feature prioritization – Defined and implemented key functionalities that motivated users to migrate.
• UX improvements – Enhanced usability to match or exceed YouTube’s experience.
Result:
• 100K → 1M MAU in 6 months
• 1.5h → 3.5h weekly watch time per user
2020 — 2021
Moscow, Russia
Sber Automotive Technologies is company specializing in autonomous driving technologies, part of Sber, the largest IT corporation in Eastern Europe, serving over 100 MAU across its ecosystem.
Objective: Develop a smart automotive platform capable of transforming any regular car into a connected vehicle using CAN bus integration. The pilot project focused on taxi and car-sharing services, with a long-term goal of integrating into Sber’s future autonomous vehicles.
Solution: I worked closely with the team to research, define, and design the core user experience for the in-car operating system. My key contributions included:
• Establishing design principles – created a scalable UI hierarchy, interaction guidelines, and UX patterns for in-car interfaces.
• Defining user flows – designed intuitive controls for navigation, climate, media, and seat heating to ensure seamless driver interactions.
• Multi-modal input system – developed touchscreen, voice, and physical button interactions to support different driving scenarios.
• Third-party app integration – built a developer-friendly UI framework for integrating external apps into the system.
Result: The project established a scalable design framework, ensuring a seamless and intuitive user experience, while setting foundational principles for the system’s future development and expansion.
2016 — 2019
Moscow, Russia
Afisha is one of Russia’s leading lifestyle and cultural media platforms, as well as the country’s largest movie ticketing service. The company sought to revamp its digital strategy and improve user experience across Afisha.ru (7M MAU) and the Afisha mobile app (700K MAU)
Objective: Redesign and optimize Afisha’s web and mobile platforms to increase screen views per session, retention, and ticket conversions.
Solution:
• Complete platform redesign – Improved usability and visual consistency across web and mobile.
• Unified design system – Created a scalable design framework for seamless cross-platform experience.
• User research & data-driven UX improvements – Identified audience behaviors to enhance discovery and booking flows.
Result:
Afisha.ru:
• +71% time on site
• +26% screens per session
• +83% conversion rate
• +300% mobile app conversion
2011 — 2015
Moscow, Russia
Participation in the development of communication strategies and advertising campaigns
• Development of brand styles, packaging design
• Creation of brand books with user manuals
• Creation of digital products, websites and mobile applications
Education
2009 — 2011
Moscow, Russia
Focusing on foundational principles of design, visual communication, and creative problem-solving. This program provided me with the skills and knowledge to build a strong career in design.
2005 — 2008
Moscow, Russia
Strong system thinking and ability to bridge design & engineering
Skils
UX/UI Design • Product Design • Design Systems • User Research • Data-Driven Design • Interaction Design • Visual Design • Prototyping • Iterative Design • Agile Methodologies • Cross-Functional Collaboration • Creative Problem Solving • Mentorship and Coaching • Leadership • Stakeholder Communication • Critical Thinking.
Speaking
2024
2024
2024
Redesigning ATM Operating Systems at TBC Design Meetup
Tbilisi, Georgia
Mentoring
2021 — Now
Experienced design mentor and coach at h.careers, guiding professionals in defining their career path, rebuild portfolios, and securing new job opportunities.
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© Yuriy Malugin 2026