I'm Yuan Wang, a product design leader who's spent the last decade building products and teams at companies like Airbnb and Twitter.
My career has taken me from scrappy startups where I was the only designer to managing teams of 12+ at some of tech's most influential companies. Along the way, I've learned that great design doesn't come from great designers alone — it comes from great teams, clear processes, and leaders who know when to step in and when to get out of the way.
At Airbnb, I led the redesign of the host experience platform, working to make it easier for anyone to become a host. At Twitter, I led the design team that launched Spaces, bringing live audio conversations to hundreds of millions of users.
Today, I channel everything I've learned into coaching design leaders, speaking at conferences, and writing about the craft of design leadership. I believe that the design industry needs more thoughtful leaders — and I'm committed to helping develop them.
I believe design leadership is a practice, not a title. It's about creating the conditions for great work to happen — through clarity, empathy, and relentless focus on what matters. The best design leaders I've worked with share three traits: deep craft sensibility, genuine care for their people, and the courage to make hard calls.
A decade of building products and leading design teams across startups and big tech.
Design Coach & Educator
Coaching design leaders and teams at high-growth companies. Running workshops on design leadership, team building, and career growth for designers at all levels.
Senior Design Manager
Led product design for core engagement surfaces including Spaces, Communities, and the tweet composer. Managed a team of 12 designers and built cross-functional design processes.
Design Lead
Led design for the host experience platform, including listing creation, pricing tools, and the host dashboard. Contributed to the Airbnb design language system (DLS).
Lead Product Designer
First design hire. Built the design practice from the ground up, establishing design systems, research processes, and hiring the founding design team.
Product Designer
Cut my teeth at early-stage startups, wearing every hat from user research to visual design to front-end development. Learned the fundamentals of building products from scratch.
Whether you want to work together, have me speak at your event, or just say hello — I'd love to hear from you.