Hello, I'm Hugo.
Designer by heart.
Manager by design.

Sixteen years building products and the teams that make them. I know when to shape the strategy and when to solve the hard design problem. Usually both, at the same time.

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10+

Products shipped across ATS, risk intelligence, CX cloud, AI assistants and design systems.

16+

Years in design leadership across fintech, adtech, CX, HR tech and creator industries.

9+

Years running design teams, from two-person startups to a 60-person product organisation.

10x

The scale of Talkdesk's design team, from six people to sixty, over three years.

Selected Projects

01

Screenloop

Built the entire design function from zero. Six products, one platform, 156% growth in weekly active users and an NPS of 8.5.

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02

Talkdesk

Led platform design for CX Cloud. Six designers, enterprise scale, and a front-row seat to scaling a design org from 7 to 60 people.

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03

Feedzai

Two risk intelligence products. One $50M valuation milestone. The beginning of a career-long interest in designing for AI-powered systems.

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WHO?

I'm Hugo Filipe Costa. Product designer by instinct, design leader by practice, technologist by necessity. Sixteen years building products and the teams that make them, across fintech, adtech, CX platforms, creator tools and AI-powered systems.

The goal has always been the same: build things that outlast any single person's contribution. Teams, systems and cultures that keep working after you've moved on.

What I'm good at

  • Product Design
  • Design Direction
  • Design Systems
  • AI Product Design
  • UX Strategy
  • Design Ops
  • User Research
  • Team Leadership

Industries I know well

  • Fintech
  • Adtech
  • HR Tech
  • CX Platforms
  • AI Products
  • SaaS
  • Chatbots & Messaging

Experience

Download CV ↓
Currently Product Design Manager at Manychat Leading AI, Content Design and Design System practices across two teams · 2025 – Present
2021 – 2025

Head of Product Design

Screenloop · UK

  • Founded the design function from scratch. Shipped 6+ products across the Talent Operations platform, driving 156% WAU growth and an NPS of 8.5.
  • Partnered with CEO and CPO to define product vision. Managed 450+ design and research tasks across the full product lifecycle.
  • Built the Screenloop design system from the ground up, making design quality and delivery speed a competitive advantage.
2019 – 2021

Product Design Manager

Talkdesk · US

  • Led a platform design team of 6 across CX Cloud Admin, Reporting and Billing. Critical products for enterprise retention.
  • Key contributor to scaling the design org from 7 to 60+ designers. Shaped hiring criteria, onboarding and design culture.
  • Represented product design at the Inside Talkdesk 2021 keynote, raising design's strategic visibility across the organisation.
2016 – 2018

Senior Product Designer

Feedzai · PT

  • Launched Case Manager and Insights — two flagship risk intelligence products contributing to a $50M valuation milestone.
  • Scaled the product design team from 2 to 8. Led recruitment, defined design process and established team culture.
  • Set up UX research as a first-class product input, running 40+ design interviews and making research a strategic tool.
MENTORSHIP

Restarted Design Mentorship in 2025.

Whether you're growing into a senior role, stepping into design leadership, or navigating a career change, I'd love to help. Schedule a free 30-minute session.

View on ADPList ↗
Hugo Filipe Costa — ADPList mentor profile ADPList · Mentor
OTHER WORK

Articles & Publications

Article · Synthesia × Screenloop · 2023

How to Scale Training with AI

Case study on how Screenloop and Synthesia used AI-generated video to revolutionise interview training at scale.

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Article · The Starter · 2022

The Role of a Product Designer

Written for The Starter — a UX and design-focused ed-tech startup. A breakdown of what product designers actually do. (Portuguese only)

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Keynote · 2021

Inside Talkdesk 2021

An inside look at the product design process at Talkdesk, presented at Inside Talkdesk 2021.

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Master's Thesis · 2021

Design Management

Thesis on design impact in distributed and multicultural organisations. (Portuguese only)

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Product

Shubox

Helping small businesses find and manage loans via a social and financial data platform. Joined Techstars New York in 2023.

Product

Webspectator

The world's first real-time advertising tech that measured and monetised the actual time spent viewing ads.

Digital · 2011

TMN Guestlist

UX and Digital Art Direction for a Portuguese telco digital magazine. Finalist at the Digital Mag Awards 2011.

This is not finished.
What will we
create next?

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LINKEDIN in/hugodacosta ↗ MENTORSHIP Book a session on ADPList ↗ CV Download PDF ↓
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