Ashish Jain · Director of Product Design, Okta
And I lead them the way I'd want to be led: with trust, a high bar, and their backs covered. Twenty years in enterprise UX, seven of them building design organizations at Cisco, Automation Anywhere, and Okta.
20+
years in design
Enterprise SaaS, AI, and automation since 2004
3
design practices built or scaled
Cisco, Automation Anywhere, Okta India
25K+
developers a day
using products my teams designed
20+
designers mentored
into their next role, through ADPList
I'm a design leader with twenty years in enterprise SaaS, AI, and automation. At SAP, Cisco, Automation Anywhere, and now Okta, I've built design teams from nothing, moved design from a service function to a partner in the roadmap, and shipped products that tens of thousands of developers use every day. I lead as a servant first. My job is to create the conditions where designers do the best work of their careers, and then get out of their way.
Teams I've built
Okta · 2025 to now
As Director of Product Design and Design Site Lead for Okta's India Innovation Center, I lead both design and research across several product areas. The practice was eight people when I joined; it is now more than fifteen.
The bigger change is in the relationship: the site has moved from taking input from product to partnering with them to define the roadmap.
Automation Anywhere · 2021 to 2025
I was the first UX design hire at the India site and built the practice from nothing. It grew to seven designers and researchers who owned the developer platform, from the task and bot editor to document automation and Mozart Orchestrator, for 25K+ developers a day.
Moved the platform from task-first to process-first, coached two designers into leadership, and chaired the UX quality council that took the company to ISO 9001 readiness.
Cisco · 2019 to 2021
I joined a product team that had never worked with a designer. I established the practice, hired and grew it to three designers, and led the experience for Webex Cloud-Connected UC from early adoption to release.
Shipped to 500+ customers, with the practice still standing after I left.
Selected work
People get ownership and context, then they get backed in public.
Standards are high and feedback is direct, and it always comes with support.
I do not ask for a place in roadmap conversations, I show outcomes until the invitation comes.
The measure of my leadership is who has become a leader because of it.
Ashish has a rare ability to build and scale high-performing UX teams grounded in strong craft, deep engagement, and an authentic, healthy culture. He doesn't just assemble talented designers, he elevates them.
Beyond his design vision, Ashish is an inspiring leader and team builder, one of the rare individuals capable of building outstanding teams and creating exceptional products.
Ashish has an incredible ability to balance strategic vision with empathy, creating an environment where his team feels both supported and inspired.
I've mentored 20+ designers through ADPList, where I'm a Top 50 mentor in Design Ops. Portfolio reviews, career moves, and the jump into a first leadership role.
Book a session on ADPListNotes on design leadership, AI in enterprise products, and building teams.
I grew up in Kolkata, spent six years in the Bay Area, and call Bangalore home. Away from work I'm a husband and a dad, and happiest behind a camera, behind the wheel, or at the stove. The most recent road trip was 3,000 km across Spain. Weekends are for badminton and cooking something new for the family. Photography is how I pay attention to wherever I am.
I'm always up for a conversation about building design teams, AI in enterprise products, or growing designers into leaders.
