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About me

·573 words·3 mins

Who I Am #

I’m Bala Murugan, a Senior UX Designer at Cisco with over 12 years of experience crafting user-centered design solutions for complex enterprise products. I specialize in transforming intricate technical workflows into intuitive, delightful experiences that users actually want to use.

Currently, I work as a Senior UX Designer at Cisco Systems, where I lead design initiatives for networking management tools used by ISPs and enterprise customers worldwide. Previously, I’ve contributed to design teams at Juniper Networks, KPMG, and Wipro.

Although I have spent most of my career as an individual contributor, I have mentored and trained several designers in the past. I’m fully capable of building a design team that can create projects customers will love. Also, I run a meetup group UXTroupe for self-learning designers.

Professional Experience #

Senior UX Designer • Cisco Systems #

2020 - Present | Bangalore, India

  • Lead UX design for CrossWorks Traffic Engineering platform used by ISPs globally
  • Designed device onboarding flows that reduced setup time by 60%
  • Established design system components used across 5+ networking products
  • Conducted user research with network engineers and implemented data-driven design decisions

UX Designer • Juniper Networks #

2018 - 2020 | Bangalore, India

  • Designed enterprise network management interfaces for telecom operators
  • Collaborated with engineering teams to implement responsive design patterns
  • Created user personas and journey maps for complex B2B workflows

UI/UX Designer • KPMG #

2016 - 2018 | Bangalore, India

  • Designed custom enterprise applications for Fortune 500 clients
  • Led design workshops with stakeholders to define product requirements
  • Created interactive prototypes for client presentations and user testing

Frontend Developer & Designer • Wipro Technologies #

2012 - 2016 | Bangalore, India

  • Developed responsive web applications using modern JavaScript frameworks
  • Collaborated with UX teams to implement pixel-perfect designs
  • Mentored junior developers on frontend best practices

Skills & Expertise #

Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Principle, InVision, Miro, FigJam

Research & Strategy: User Interviews, Usability Testing, Persona Development, Journey Mapping, Information Architecture

Technical Skills: HTML/CSS, JavaScript, React, Design Systems, Accessibility (WCAG), Git

Methodologies: Design Thinking, Agile/Scrum, Lean UX, Human-Centered Design

Education & Certifications #

Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science
Anna University, Chennai | 2008 - 2012

Certifications:

  • Google UX Design Professional Certificate (2021)
  • Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification (2020)
  • Interaction Design Foundation - Design Thinking (2019)

Personal Projects #

Bookmark Hero
A Chrome extension to capture bookmarks with screenshots for better visual organization.

Goalbook (In Progress)
An AI assistant for writing SMART goals and tracking progress.

Rubber Band
A simple and utility-first component library for rapid prototyping.

Community & Leadership #

UXTroupe Meetup Organizer (2019 - Present)

  • Organize monthly meetups for 500+ UX professionals in Bangalore
  • Invited speakers from top design teams across India
  • Created mentorship programs for early-career designers

Design Mentor (2018 - Present)

  • Mentored 20+ designers through career transitions
  • Guest lecturer at design bootcamps and universities
  • Regular speaker at design conferences and workshops

Get In Touch #

Want to work together? I’m always interested in solving complex design challenges. Feel free to reach out using the form below or through any of the alternative contact methods.

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Other Ways to Connect #

Response Time

I typically reply within 24-48 hours. For urgent matters, feel free to mention it in your subject line.

Download Resume: PDF Version