Head of Design · 15+ Years · Brisbane · Sydney · Remote

MATIAS
RODRIGUEZ

Product Design Manager · Kindred Group · FDJ United

I lead product design where customer behaviour, commercial performance, and technical delivery need to work together. Complex problems with no obvious answer — the kind that sit at the intersection of competing constraints — are where I do my best work. Over the last 15+ years I have helped teams improve conversion, reduce delivery friction, scale design systems, and turn complex regulated journeys into clearer product experiences.

My value is not domain-specific. I specialise in regulated, high-volume digital environments where small UX decisions affect conversion, operational cost, compliance risk, and product margin.

I build the operating systems, measurement models, and commercial arguments that let design lead — not just deliver. 15+ years. Six regulated markets. Zero assumptions.

Kindred Group · FDJ United · 2025–Present

THE NUMBERS

Delivered
Modelled w/ analytics team
Benchmarked
Team / Org impact
📈Commercial
Delivered
Product surface usage — placement change, no feature work
Repositioning the Popular product builder widget to a primary surface doubled usage without changing the product. The intervention was placement, not features — a commercial argument built from product engagement data across 80+ eligible matches.
Modelled
Product surface usage — next phase target
Surface expansion combined with a behavioural nudge mechanism surfacing real-time engagement volume — modelled at 4× current usage. Business case benchmarked against external A/B results and a Qubit/PwC meta-analysis of 6,700 experiments.
Modelled
48×
Story point efficiency vs comparable widget build
The proposed mechanism at ~10 story points is projected to deliver significant incremental revenue. The previous comparable build consumed ~60 story points and generates ~40 interactions per week. That ratio was the centrepiece of a formal decision review document challenging business reluctance.
Benchmarked
80–85%
Carousel engagement concentrated in positions 1–2
Production analytics showing positions 1–2 driving 80–85% of engagement regardless of how many items are shown. Used to reduce options from 7–8 to 3–4 — cutting technical load, improving page speed. A UX simplification that became a performance and commercial argument simultaneously.
⚙️Operating Model & Delivery
Delivered
1 Qtr
Design ahead of engineering — sustained
Arrived with design 2 weeks ahead. Embedded into leadership planning cycles — now one full quarter ahead. Dual-track swimlanes protect the pipeline while current-quarter work ships. Creates space for technical feasibility conversations before architecture is locked.
Delivered
Full system
Design operating model built from scratch
Source-of-truth ticketing. 3-lane delivery standard (Discovery / Design / Dev Support). Quality gates at each stage. Production impact loop as part of definition of done. Async protocol adopted across AU/SE/FR/RO timezones. Not a process document — a working system adopted org-wide.
Delivered
–20%
Handover time reduced
Discovery to Test to Spec to Dev Support model keeps design active through build. Fewer defects, less rework. Structured ticket model separates exploration from build-ready work — engineering always knows exactly what stage design is at.
Delivered
First
WCAG embedded in Acceptance Criteria
Accessibility requirements in ACs for the first time — closing years of accumulated debt. Makes a11y a delivery gate, not a retro audit. Targeting 50% app coverage as baseline. Practical spot-check protocol at Stage 3, not theoretical compliance.
📊Measurement & Systems Architecture
Delivered
L0–L3
Depth-stratified analytics framework
Defined how the organisation measures design ROI — a surface taxonomy anchored to navigation depth rather than static pages. Separates surface effectiveness from module effectiveness in attribution. Reusable across any product vertical with a metadata filter only. No methodology rebuild per product change.
Delivered
5 pillars
Promotions engine — engineering once, CRM-operated forever
Designed a five-pillar promotion architecture separating token mechanics (engineering-once, versioned, locked) from audience segments, qualification missions, bet targeting, and promo assembly (CRM-operated, zero code per campaign). Removes engineering from every new promotion after the initial token build. Live across GB, FR, RO, NL.
Delivered
Decision Map
Design authority held at exec level — formally
During a high-stakes FR market launch, presented a formal Decision Map to Heads of and Exec — four open topics, stakeholder ask vs PD position vs proposed v1 decision on each. Held: single card template, MoTD vertical, density via token over variant sprawl. Trade-off rule documented in writing: if something is added, something else is removed or the date moves.
Delivered
Live
Bet type capability matrix & friction event taxonomy
Mapped which bet types can be placed natively at each depth vs where they require lateral navigation. Defined friction events and cross-level shortcut instrumentation requirements. Handed to Experience Analytics as the instrumentation brief — design defining how the organisation measures itself.
👥Customer & Research
Delivered
10+
Research studies launched — never done before for UK
Spearheaded the first structured research program for the UK regulated digital product product — equivalent to what existed in FR, built from scratch. 10+ unmoderated studies in the year since launch, each running 100+ participants. A capability that did not exist before, now a standard part of how product decisions are validated.
Delivered
100+
Participants per study — cross-market agreement on tooling
Before any study launched, drove formal agreement with teams across all markets on Maze as the shared testing platform — faster execution, consistent methodology, comparable data across GB, FR, RO, NL. The infrastructure agreement came first; the research scale followed.
Benchmarked
25%
Users adding to transaction flow from homepage
Analytics showed homepage was already a conversion surface — 15% placed a bet directly from it. Reframed page priority across product and content teams without a lengthy research cycle. Data already existed — the work was making it visible and actionable to the right people.
Team impact
9
Hero journeys → product initiatives — design drove product strategy for the first time
Survey with internal Trading, Ops, and Risk teams identified 9 hero journeys across the back-office platform. Ran 3 workshops (3 journeys each) writing product initiatives directly from real user problems — not assumptions. Design had never driven product initiatives for this platform before. Problems became the backlog.
AI & Workflow Automation
Delivered
4–6 hrs
Admin time reclaimed weekly — across design management
Jira ticket completion checks, Confluence updates, and stakeholder summaries automated across 3 design managers. AI reads tickets marked done, cross-checks artefacts against agreed Ways of Working, and generates stakeholder summaries in the right tone — replacing what was a manual review and write-up step for every ticket cycle.
Delivered
2–3 days
Research cycle cut — survey build to synthesised findings
AI used to build the study structure, then analyse the output from CSV exports. What previously took days of manual review and write-up now takes hours. Human validation layer retained throughout — outputs reviewed for accuracy before any finding is actioned or triaged to a product initiative.
Delivered
–3 steps
Manual steps removed from the design completion flow
Three steps eliminated: artefact compliance check against WoWs, stakeholder summary writing, and CSV export interpretation. Each was a context switch pulling managers out of design work. None required human judgement. Confluence and Jira AI integrations configured via terminal and trained on team naming conventions and artefact standards.
Modelled
Cross-study
Research compounding — findings linked across initiatives by surface
Building toward a model where every product initiative automatically surfaces relevant research from studies that touched the same surface area — participant counts, comprehension rates, placement findings. Research stops being a one-time deliverable and becomes a live input to the backlog. The value compounds with every new study.
🛣️Pipeline — Commercial & Operational Value
In progress
5→1
Event card variants consolidated into one canonical component
Five isolated card variants — each maintained separately, each requiring its own design and engineering changes — replaced by a single configurable model. One change now propagates across all surfaces. Reduced time-to-market and eliminated a class of parallel maintenance debt invisible to leadership until it was quantified.
In progress
9 Templates
Market display architecture — all surfaces governed
9 clearly named, component-agnostic templates define every product surface. Replaced an ad-hoc approach with a shared architectural language across design, engineering, and product. Persistent right-hand panel on web is one output of this architecture — the template model is the structural change.
In progress
4→1
Interaction model consolidated — fewer states, fewer defects
Four separate interaction lanes — each with their own conditional states and error edge cases — being consolidated into a single unified model. Fewer states means fewer defects, faster QA, and a more predictable experience across bet types and markets. Operational cost reduction framed as a design decision.
Delivered
0→12
Product initiatives driven by design in 3 quarters
Design was not writing product initiatives. Three quarters of stakeholder influence work — hero journey surveys, structured research, cross-functional workshops writing from real user problems — shifted design from delivery function to roadmap contributor. 12 product initiatives in, more in pipeline.
📈Commercial Influence
Delivered
Product surface usage — placement change, no feature work
Repositioning alone doubled usage. Commercial case built from production data.
Modelled
Product surface usage — next phase target
Surface expansion + behavioural nudge. Benchmarked against external A/B data.
Modelled
48×
Efficiency advantage over alternative build
~10 story points vs ~60. Decision changed after financial triage.
Benchmarked
80–85%
Engagement in positions 1–2 regardless of total shown
Used to reduce 7–8 options to 3–4. UX, performance, commercial argument in one.
⚙️Operating Model & Delivery
Delivered
1 Qtr
Design ahead of engineering — sustained
Up from 2 weeks. Dual-track model protects pipeline while current work ships.
Delivered
Full system
Design operating model built from scratch
3-lane delivery, quality gates, production impact loop, async protocol. Adopted org-wide.
Delivered
–20%
Handover time reduced
Design active through build. Exploration separated from build-ready work.
Delivered
First
Accessibility embedded in Acceptance Criteria
A11y as a delivery gate, not a retro audit. Targeting 50% app coverage.
📊Measurement & Systems Architecture
Delivered
L0–L3
Depth-stratified measurement framework
Surface taxonomy by navigation depth. Separates surface from module attribution. Reusable across any product vertical.
Delivered
5 pillars
Campaign engine — engineering once, operated forever
Engineering layer built once. Campaign assembly by non-technical team. Zero code per campaign.
Delivered
Decision Map
Design authority held at exec level
Four positions held in writing. Scope trade-off rule enforced.
Delivered
9 templates
Surface architecture governing all product interfaces
Replaced ad-hoc approach. Shared architectural language across design, engineering, product.
👥Research & Org Capability
Delivered
10+
Research studies — capability built from zero
First structured research program. Cross-market platform agreement before launch. 100+ participants per study.
Delivered
100+
Participants per study — consistent across markets
Shared platform agreed before any study launched. Infrastructure first, scale followed.
Benchmarked
25%
Users engaging with primary conversion surface
Data existed — the work was making it visible and actionable.
Team impact
9
Hero journeys → product initiatives
Survey, 3 workshops, real problems. Design drove the backlog for the first time.
AI & Workflow Automation
Delivered
4–6 hrs
Admin time reclaimed weekly — across 3 design managers
WoW checks, Confluence updates, stakeholder summaries automated. Managers back to design work.
Delivered
2–3 days
Research cycle cut — build to synthesised findings
AI builds the study, analyses CSV output. Days of manual review cut to hours. Human validation retained.
Delivered
–3 steps
Manual steps removed from design completion flow
Artefact check, stakeholder summary, CSV interpretation automated. Jira/Confluence AI trained on team standards.
Modelled
Cross-study
Research compounding across initiatives by surface
Every product initiative will surface relevant research from studies touching the same area.
🛣️Pipeline — Commercial & Operational Value
In progress
5→1
Component variants into one canonical model
Five isolated variants replaced by one configurable model. Changes propagate across all surfaces.
In progress
9 templates
Surface architecture — all interfaces governed
Component-agnostic templates replacing ad-hoc surface approach.
In progress
4→1
Interaction model lanes consolidated
Fewer states, fewer defects, faster QA. Operational cost reduction as architecture decision.
Delivered
0→12
Product initiatives driven by design in 3 quarters
Hero journeys, workshops, real problems. Design now drives the backlog.

Proof of leadership,
not just strategy

Head of Design roles ask whether you can lead people, build systems, and hold a position under pressure — not just own a product surface. Here is the direct answer.

20+
Designers mentored
Across regulated digital products, infrastructure, and wagering. Multiple promotions to Senior and Lead roles. Skill matrices, tailored progression plans, and structured performance assessments run against defined benchmarks — not just annual reviews.
0→1
Design operating system — not just templates
At both my current role and NBN I arrived without delivery infrastructure. What I built was a complete operating model: Jira-first source of truth, 3-ticket standard, dual-track swimlanes, Gate A/B/C checkpoints, Stage 4 production impact loop, and an async protocol across AU/SE/FR/RO timezones. Adopted org-wide. Now the default way design work moves.
3
Delivery swimlanes introduced
Discovery, Design Delivery, and Dev Support — a structured ticket model giving engineering, product, and design shared maturity expectations across the pipeline. Reduced handover friction and made design work visible to leadership at the right granularity.
6
Regulated markets governed simultaneously
GB, FR, RO, NL and beyond. Each with different regulatory constraints. Maintained a single design direction while adapting research framing, ACs, and feature scope per jurisdiction — without slowing delivery cadence.
Held
Design authority on commercial decisions — with numbers
On Popular product builder, the business didn’t want the social proof counter. I presented the modelling — product engagement data across 80+ matches, projected revenue uplift, 48× story point efficiency vs the last comparable build — triaged against financials until the decision changed. On the FR launch, a formal Decision Map to Heads of and Exec held four design positions in writing. Scope-for-scope trade rule enforced: if something is added, something else is removed or the date moves.
0→12
product initiatives driven by design in 3 quarters — from none
Design was not writing product initiatives. After 3 quarters of stakeholder influence work — hero journey mapping, structured research, cross-functional workshops — design now drives 12 product initiatives from real user problems. The shift from order-taker to roadmap contributor, measurable.
0
Team turnover during app redesign
Full-scale app redesign at Tabcorp under a fixed launch deadline across multiple squads. Zero team turnover — maintained morale, output quality, and cross-squad alignment throughout a high-pressure multi-month programme.
Designers are the glue — this is what that looks like in practice
Customer layer
  • User researchers
  • CRM teams
  • UX specialists
  • Unmoderated / A/B testing
  • Behavioural analytics
Commercial layer
  • Heads of Growth
  • Product leadership
  • Analytics / metrics teams
  • CRM strategy
  • Revenue modelling
Technical layer
  • Back-end engineering
  • BFF / API teams
  • CMS / platform architects
  • Firebase / feature flags
  • Tech feasibility sessions
Risk layer
  • Compliance teams
  • Regulatory advisors
  • Responsible Gambling
  • Legal / market requirements
  • Research framing for sign-off
0→1
Design operating system built from scratch — twice, adopted twice.3-lane delivery, quality gates, production impact loop. Engineering and product planned differently because of it.
Held
Design authority on commercial decisions — with numbers.Revenue case built, triaged against financials, four positions held in writing at exec level.
0→12
Product initiatives driven by design in 3 quarters — from none.Hero journeys, workshops, real problems. Design now drives the backlog.
20+
Designers mentored across three organisations — multiple promotions to Senior and Lead.Zero turnover during a full platform redesign under a fixed deadline.

How I lead

Four principles that run through everything above — and explain why the work holds up across different domains.

01
Connect the dots between business units who don’t naturally talk to each other

I see design as the glue between commercial strategy, technical delivery, customer behaviour, and compliance. None of those teams have the same language or the same incentives — and most of the time, nobody is connecting what they know into a single product direction. That’s the job. Not just running workshops, but synthesising what comes out of them into something engineering can build and leadership can stand behind.

02
Take things from 0 to 1 in real environments, not ideal ones

The best design work I’ve done has happened inside constraints — regulatory, technical, organisational. I don’t wait for the perfect conditions. I work out the smallest thing that can go live and prove value, phase the rest, and use each release to generate the evidence that earns the next one. A/B tests, overnight unmoderated studies, staged rollouts — the method fits the environment, not the textbook.

03
Let the evidence earn the next phase

I don’t pitch big design visions and ask for trust. I design the first phase to generate the data that justifies the second. When stakeholders see real metrics moving — conversion, retention, revenue, operational cost — the conversation shifts from “should we do this” to “how fast can we scale it.” That’s when design gets a real seat at the table.

04
Build the measurement model before the product ships

I don’t wait for analytics to tell me what to track. I define the surface taxonomy, the friction events to instrument, and the conversion logic per bet type before the first sprint starts. Design decisions should generate evidence — but only if you set up the measurement architecture in advance. That’s what makes the next decision faster and the next proposal harder to dismiss.

01Connect the dots between business units who don’t naturally talk to each other
02Take things from 0 to 1 in real environments, not ideal ones
03Let the evidence earn the next phase
04Build the measurement model before the product ships
Work History

CAREER

Detail for the conversation — enough to verify the numbers above and generate the right questions.

2025 – Present
Kindred Group · FDJ United
Product Design Manager

Design operating system, measurement architecture, and commercial design across a global regulated digital product

Six regulated markets · Transaction flow · product builder · Promotions Engine · Analytics Framework · Event Cards · Distributed international team (AU, SE, FR, RO)
Commercial & Product
  • product builder placement change delivered 2× usage increase. Next phase designed at 4× via event page expansion and social proof mechanism — business case from production data, 48× more efficient per story point than comparable widget build
  • Social proof counter: challenged business pushback with Betfair A/B result (+7% CTR, 96% confidence) — formal decision review document separating value, implementation, and prioritisation questions
  • Promotions engine: five-pillar architecture removing engineering from every new campaign after initial token build — live across GB, FR, RO, NL
  • FR market launch: formal Decision Map to Heads of and Exec holding single card template, MoTD vertical, density-via-token — scope-for-scope trade rule documented and enforced
  • Homepage reframed as conversion surface: 25% product engagement, 15% bet placement from analytics evidence alone
Operating Model & Systems
  • Built full design operating model from scratch: Jira-first, Epic to 3-ticket standard, dual-track swimlanes, Gate A/B/C, Stage 4 production impact loop
  • Design runs one full quarter ahead of engineering, up from 2 weeks on arrival — –20% handover time, fewer production defects
  • Authored depth-stratified analytics framework (L0–L3 taxonomy, Template vs Widget attribution, Bet Type Capability Matrix, friction event taxonomy) — handed to Experience Analytics as the instrumentation brief
  • Fluent across API layers, CMS platforms, and feature flag infrastructure — in tech planning rooms before architecture is locked
  • First WCAG a11y in Acceptance Criteria across the product — targeting 50% app coverage
  • AI workflow automation — Jira/Confluence integrations configured via terminal and trained on team context; automated WoW compliance checks and stakeholder summaries; research synthesis from CSV exports triaged to product initiatives
People & Research
  • Distributed team managed (Lead + Senior designers) — skill matrices, progression frameworks, design-ahead rhythm
  • Spearheaded the first structured research program for UK regulated digital product — 10+ unmoderated studies (100+ participants each) launched in year one. Drove cross-market agreement on Maze as the shared testing platform before any study launched
  • Multiple studies including n=166 on Related Bets placement — comprehension failure rate reframed as RG concern, escalated to stakeholders with formal recommendation
  • Survey with Trading, Ops & Risk teams identified 9 hero journeys — 3 workshops (3 journeys each) wrote product initiatives from real user problems. First time design drove product initiatives for this platform
  • AI tooling embedded across documentation, synthesis, and stakeholder communication
iGamingDesignOpsAnalytics Frameworka11yRegulated MarketsBFF / Back-endPromotions EngineAI Workflow Automation
2023 – 2025
NBN Co
Lead Digital CX Designer

Built the design practice for Australia’s national broadband network

Token design system · Journey benchmarking · B2B2C ISP/RSP · Technology, Product, CX, Marketing
Commercial
  • DSAT 25% → 19% by redesigning key digital touchpoints and aligning UX with CX priorities
  • Key contributor to Product Playbook — personalisation incentives and API triage for ISP/RSP B2B2C journeys
  • Most Sparks awarded in the cohort for business impact and cross-team leadership
Technical
  • Token-based design system — +25% delivery speed, –50% inconsistencies, component changes from two sprints to hours
  • Python script audited all CSS colors — 200+ variants against 6 core colors, used to secure stakeholder buy-in
  • Embedded design into Technology Feasibility Studies — influencing direction at the planning layer
Customer
  • Benchmarked 4 customer lifecycle journeys — uncovered 40% task completion rate
  • Ease-of-use score lifted 3.5 → 5/5 on NBN installation journey by pivoting within CMS constraints
  • External research partner oversight — briefed, managed, and synthesised into internal roadmap
Design SystemTelcoWCAGJourney BenchmarkingB2B2CPython
2019 – 2023
Tabcorp
Lead / Senior Product Designer

Design leadership across Australia’s largest wagering company

Multi-squad · App redesign · Racing Feeds · ARPU improvement · Figma org migration
Commercial
  • Content surface repositioning: video engagement +185%, curated selections 10×, editorial content +385% post-repositioning
  • Contextual data feature: ~20% revenue-per-user increase in targeted segment by surfacing stats at peak decision intent
Technical
  • Scaled Figma company-wide — replaced Sketch, InVision, Miro; standardised tooling and governance
  • Staged rollout process (research → prototype → production) defined and implemented across all squads
People
  • Full-scale app redesign under fixed deadline — zero team turnover across multiple squads
  • MoSCoW and SWOT used to resolve competing roadmap priorities across squad leads without escalation
WageringARPUApp RedesignFigma OrgMulti-squadA/B Testing
2012 – 2019
FoodMatters · Canstar · Orange Digital
Lead / Senior Designer

Conversion, acquisition, and agency design across health, fintech, and retail

FoodMatters · Gaia (2016–2019)
  • +25% mobile conversions — platform redesign and SVD product. Platform acquired by Gaia Inc.
  • A/B testing across every funnel — design and copy congruency from top-of-funnel to conversion drove highest rates
Canstar (2019–2020)
  • Improved outbound CTR with Head of Optimisation — revenue-tied UX experiments
  • GA, Evolv/Ascend, Hotjar used for data analysis and decision support
Orange Digital (2012–2016)
  • 18-month credit union redesign — branding, UX, retail, and in-store experience
  • RACQ, Your Town, National Tiles — executive stakeholder collaboration
SaaSA/B TestingConversionFinancial ServicesAgency
2025 – Present
Kindred Group · FDJ United
Product Design Manager
Design operating system, platform architecture, and commercial influence across a global regulated product
  • Built full operating model from scratch — 3-lane delivery, quality gates, design running 1 quarter ahead of engineering
  • Product surface repositioning delivered 2× usage increase; next phase modelled at 4×. Business case from production data, financial triage
  • 9 component-agnostic templates govern all product surfaces; 5 variants consolidated to 1 canonical model
  • Spearheaded first structured research program — 10+ studies, 100+ participants each; cross-market platform agreement
  • 0→12 product initiatives driven by design in 3 quarters; AI workflow automation saving 4–6 hrs/week across managers
Platform ThinkingDesignOpsMeasurement FrameworkCommercial DesignAI Automation
2023 – 2025
NBN Co
Lead Digital CX Designer
Built the design practice for Australia’s national broadband infrastructure company
  • Token-based design system — +25% delivery speed, –50% inconsistencies; component changes from two sprints to hours
  • Customer dissatisfaction reduced from 25% to 19% by redesigning key digital touchpoints
  • Benchmarked 4 lifecycle journeys — revealed 40% task completion rate; ease-of-use lifted 3.5→5/5
Design SystemToken ArchitectureB2B2CInfrastructure
2019 – 2023
Tabcorp
Lead / Senior Product Designer
Design leadership across Australia’s largest consumer platform
  • Content surface repositioning: video engagement +185%, curated selections 10×, editorial +385%
  • Contextual data feature: ~20% revenue-per-user increase in targeted segment
  • Full platform redesign under fixed deadline — zero team turnover across multiple squads
Consumer PlatformMulti-squadARPUFull Redesign
2012 – 2019
FoodMatters · Canstar · Orange Digital
Lead / Senior Designer
Conversion, acquisition, and agency design across health, fintech, and retail
  • +25% mobile conversions — platform redesign and subscription product. Acquired by Gaia Inc.
  • Revenue-tied UX experiments at Canstar — improved outbound CTR with Head of Optimisation
  • 18-month credit union redesign — branding, UX, retail, and in-store experience
SaaSConversionFinancial ServicesAgency

If this resonates,
let’s go deeper.

The numbers on this page are a starting point. The work behind them — the methodology, the stakeholder conversations, the decisions that didn’t make the page — is a better conversation in person than on a screen.

Case studies, process detail, and work samples are available on request. I’d rather walk through them with context than leave them unattended on a page.

Brisbane · Sydney · Remote · UAE open

Australian · Argentine · Italian citizenship — eligible to work in AU and EU · open to relocation