Open to opportunities

Leonardo Caldas

@leonardocaldas

Message

I am a design lead specializing in product and design systems.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m seeking a leadership role where I can build and scale design systems, mentor cross-functional teams, and deliver accessible, product-focused experiences—ideally at a collaborative company working on AI-enabled or enterprise products.

I am a design lead focused on product, design systems, and visual design, blending hands-on UI work with system-level strategy. I collaborate closely with product and engineering to define scalable, accessible interfaces.

At Fazzad I designed a lightweight, scalable design system and fast-prototyped AI-powered experiences, helping secure $100K for AI development and $75K in AWS credits. At Capital One I led the Exchange Design System used by 150+ designers and developers, authored UI specifications, and championed WCAG accessibility alignment.

I also bring front-end development experience and a pragmatic, collaborative approach to cross-functional work. I am fluent in Spanish and enjoy mentoring teams to build consistent, usable design systems that scale.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Product Designer

Current

Fazzad

Oct 2024 - Present (10 months)

Designed a lightweight, scalable design system and visual identity for early-stage product experiments and fast-prototyped AI-powered features; helped secure $100K for AI development and $75K in AWS credits.

Design Systems Rapid Prototyping Figma Interaction Design Scalable Systems

Visual Design Manager

Capital One

Jan 2022 - Oct 2024 (2 years 9 months)

Built and managed a documented, accessible component library and Figma architecture used by 150+ designers and developers, and authored specifications and educational tooling to align design with engineering.

Design Systems Figma Accessibility Component Libraries Documentation

Principal UX Designer

Capital One

Sep 2018 - Jan 2022 (3 years 4 months)

Designed and launched core features for enterprise data tools, improving usability and adoption; led system-level UX, generative research, and maintained scalable Figma asset patterns across teams.

UX Research Information Architecture Usability Testing Figma Interaction Design Design Systems

Front-end Developer

Foster Made

Aug 2017 - Sep 2018 (1 year 1 month)

Built responsive, accessible front-end interfaces for Craft CMS websites using semantic HTML/CSS and JavaScript, delivering modular, content-driven solutions and ensuring design consistency across teams.

HTML5 CSS JavaScript Responsive Design Accessibility

Visual Designer & Front-end Developer

Helium Studio

Sep 2011 - Aug 2017 (5 years 11 months)

Designed and implemented dynamic WordPress websites using standards-compliant HTML5/CSS3, JavaScript, and PHP, and developed reusable components and visual standards for clients in nonprofit, education, and legal sectors.