Melissa Yakinian

Director of UX

• Leading UX strategy and hands-on product design for a next-generation B2B loan origination platform, defining a cohesive product framework across core loan workflows, configurable navigation, and lender administration.
• Establishing Palantir Foundry Pilot as a shared prototyping environment, aligning UX, Product, Engineering, and Palantir before production development.
• Building functional, code-based prototypes using Claude Code and AI-assisted development workflows, translating complex product concepts into testable interactions and reusable components.
• Creating Constellation Design System, a tokenized white-label design system with implementation guidance and AI-readable documentation to support faster, more consistent delivery.

Principal Design Consultant / UX Design Lead

Selected client engagements: Axon, Zillow

• Led product strategy and end-to-end UX for Axon AcademyX, an enterprise learning platform serving learners, instructors, and administrators.
• Designed core learning workflows across discovery, enrollment, session management, attendance, waitlists, certification, localization, and administration.
• Partnered with Product, Engineering, Research, and subject-matter experts to translate complex learning needs into testable prototypes and implementation-ready experiences.
• Led design for Axon's internal sales quoting platform, simplifying complex configuration and operational workflows.
• Supported a major redesign of Zillow's loan origination platform, contributing to its information architecture, visual system, usability, and accessibility.
• Managed designers and researchers while remaining hands-on in product strategy, interaction design, prototyping, and stakeholder alignment.

UX Design Manager

• Directed UX for loanDepot's first proprietary loan origination platform, contributing to a reported 70% increase in origination speed.
• Led design for an internal web application used by more than 2,000 loan officers and processors, simplifying complex mortgage workflows.
• Partnered with cross-functional teams to redesign the digital mortgage experience, reducing application abandonment by 30%.
• Created and scaled an enterprise design system across internal and consumer-facing products.
• Managed and mentored designers while remaining hands-on in product strategy, research, interaction design, and prototyping.