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Syed Uzair Altaf, home

About

Hi, I’m Uzair.

I design enterprise products that stay simple as they scale.

Syed Uzair Altaf in the snow, wearing a red ski jacket, white helmet and yellow goggles, with skis over his shoulder

Pune, India · Open to new roles · India, hybrid or remote

I’m a Lead UX Designer at HCLSoftware in Pune, with more than ten years across engineering and design, focused on enterprise and commerce UX. I work on HCL Commerce, an omni-channel platform for B2C and B2B commerce, where I drive UX strategy across the organisation and partner with product and engineering leaders so design lines up with business goals.

Since joining in 2021, I’ve established a design system now used across teams, introduced structured usability testing and a UX research framework that several product teams have adopted, and led the product rebrand with input from more than 15 customers. I also mentor a team of five designers (more than 15 across my career), and accessibility runs through all of it as the product’s UX matures.

My path into design started in engineering. After a BTech in Electronics & Communication, I joined Infosys as a Siebel developer, then moved into UX by redesigning an internal platform and running usability evaluations. That led me to an MSc in UX Design at Kingston University London and to freelancing as a lead UX designer and consultant: more than 20 projects for clients in the UK, US and EU, including design leadership at WeGetDesign and product work for Ahlan Kids and the charity S.E.E.D. Before HCLSoftware, I was also Product Owner at Musalleen, shaping a website builder for local communities.

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Skills.

What I bring after more than ten years in the field: setting direction across products, growing designers and building the systems they rely on, with AI woven into how the team researches, designs and ships.

  • Design leadership

    Leading and mentoring designers, running crits and workshops, and building a design-first culture with product and engineering.

  • UX strategy & vision

    Setting the UX direction, shaping roadmaps and priorities with product, and tying design decisions to business outcomes.

  • AI-native design

    Wiring AI agents into Figma and the design system to speed up research, audits and builds, with human checkpoints and guardrails.

  • Designing for AI

    Agentic and AI-assisted experiences built on trust, control and observability: approvals, scopes and a clear record of what ran.

  • Design systems & governance

    Tokens, components and patterns with a contribution model, Code Connect and documentation that make the system AI-ready.

  • Complex B2B workflows

    Catalogs, SKUs, permissions and multi-role, multi-channel enterprise flows that stay clear at the scale of 1,000+ live stores.

  • Research & validation

    User and market research, usability testing with SUS, and accessibility reviews, so designs ship validated rather than assumed.

  • Systems thinking & IA

    Information architecture, entity mapping, task flows and state models that turn ambiguous requirements into a buildable structure.

Engineering fluency

I started as an engineer, so I read specs, data models and APIs, and work through feasibility with architects early rather than at handoff.

AI-native toolkit

Agents connected to Figma and our design system, with skills and review checklists the team reuses.

  • Claude Cowork
  • Claude Design
  • Figma MCP
  • Figma AI
  • ChatGPT
  • Gemini

Core craft

Figma for systems work (variables, libraries, auto layout), whiteboards for workshops, and the delivery tools product and engineering live in.

  • Figma
  • FigJam
  • Mural
  • Jira
  • Aha!

Experience.

  1. HCLSoftware

    1. Lead UX Designer, Enterprise & Commerce UX

      Jul 2021 – Present · Pune, India

      Driving UX strategy across the organisation with product and engineering leaders. Established a design system now used across teams, introduced structured usability testing and a UX research framework, led the product rebrand with customers, and mentor a team of five designers.

  2. Musalleen

    1. Product Owner

      Jan 2021 – Jun 2021 · Kashmir, India

      Owned a website builder for local communities, shaping it around user feedback to make it easier to use.

  3. Freelance

    1. Lead UX Designer & Consultant

      Oct 2018 – Jun 2021 · United Kingdom

      Led UX for clients in the UK, US and EU on 20+ websites, mobile apps and platforms across eCommerce, finance, consulting, EdTech, charity, health, carbon emissions and SaaS, using design thinking from research to delivery. Work included design leadership at WeGetDesign and product design for Ahlan Kids and the S.E.E.D. charity platform.

  4. Infosys

    1. Senior System Engineer, UX & Development

      Aug 2015 – Sep 2018 · Chandigarh, India

      Started as a Siebel developer on backend support, production defects and test automation, then moved into UX: redesigned an internal platform UI, ran usability evaluations and presented to stakeholders.

Recognition

Awards.

  • Leading Light

    HCLSoftware · 2025

    For leadership and mentorship.

  • Product Champion

    HCLSoftware · 2024

    For driving growth and going above and beyond.

  • Golden Peacock

    HCLSoftware · 2023

    For driving growth and going above and beyond.

  • INSTA Award

    Infosys · 2017

    For outstanding dedication.

Education.

  • MSc, UX Design

    Kingston University, London

    Sep 2018 – Sep 2020

  • BTech, Electronics & Communication Engineering

    SRM University, Delhi NCR

    Aug 2011 – Jun 2015