Justin Calles

Justin Calles

Designer × Leader

About

I established and now lead the product design team at Juniper Square, where we're modernizing private markets with powerful software and industry-leading services.

With over 10 years of experience crafting dead-simple consumer financial apps and data-rich enterprise tools, I specialize in turning complex systems into simple, trustworthy products that users love.

I'm particularly interested in steering AI towards helping people work smarter and lead more rewarding lives. Drop me a line if you'd like to chat about building teams that can make it happen.

Work Experience

2019 — Now
San Francisco, CA

As Juniper Square's founding designer, I've built and now lead a six-person product design team.

I've personally designed key features that help alternative asset managers thrive: expanded asset reporting, streamlined investor diligence with KYC/AML tools, automated distribution payments through bank partnerships, and an industry-leading investor portal. Currently, I lead our mobile initiative, making sure we ship a quality app with focused resources.

I also help shape Juniper Square's future by evolving our brand, advising leadership on capital markets and AI strategies, and driving improvements in our frontend development.

My core focus as design leader is building a strong team through smart hiring, clear performance management, and a solid design system. I've put in place the principles and practices that help my team consistently ship excellent work.

2014 — 2019
Mountain View, CA

At Intuit, I led mobile design for a lean team building QuickBooks Solopreneur (formerly QuickBooks Self-Employed) — the company's first fully mobile-first subscription product supporting end-to-end signup and account management.

We rapidly scaled to 150k+ mobile-only subscribers across six countries in under two years through innovative features like automated mileage tracking, mobile invoicing, and streamlined expense management.

I also designed patented automation features for QuickBooks Online, helping small business owners manage their finances more efficiently through smart bank transaction categorization and simplified receipt tracking.

2013 — 2013
San Jose, CA

As part of Samsung's Product Innovation Team and Lifestyle Research Lab, I conducted qualitative research exploring how emerging lifestyle and workplace trends could shape the future of home technology. This research directly informed Samsung's product development strategy for next-gen home devices.

Education

2009 — 2013
Stanford, CA

At Stanford, I studied design through art history, product engineering, and literature, with hands-on practice at the d.school.

My studies centered on the transformative period of European industrialization — an era that birthed both modernist creativity and mechanized warfare. These historical lessons shape how I approach designing technology that thoughtfully serves human needs.

2016
Scott Cook Innovation Award from Intuit

The Scott Cook Innovation Awards recognize the individuals at Intuit who create innovations that are new to the world and have significant quantifiable benefit for employees, customers, partners, and/or shareholders.​ Eight other colleagues and I won this award for designing and shipping QuickBooks Self-Employed's automatic mileage tracking feature on its iOS and Android apps.

Contact

Portfolio 🔒
LinkedIn