Raquel Machin

Raquel Machin

Senior Product Design Manager in Sweden, She/Her

About

I am a Product Design Lead with over 15 years of experience in digital product development. I have collaborated with industry leaders such as Volvo, Spotify, iZettle, and BBVA, focusing on design systems, scaling design teams, cross-functional collaboration, and creating core experiences for multi-platform and SaaS ecosystems. My expertise includes developing scalable and efficient design solutions, mentoring teams, and bridging the gap between strategy and execution.

I thrive in complex environments, leveraging data analysis and strategic UX thinking to deliver impactful results. I enjoy growing teams and creating processes that scale organizations and systems across platforms with a clear design vision. My goal is to maximize business impact through clear, feasible customer-centric solutions.

Work Experience

2023 — Now
Sweden

I manage 3 key experiences areas: B2B Platform, SaaS Operators, and internal platforms (design systems & core experience).

  • Lead a team of 7 designers across product, growth, and service design, hiring 4 and mentoring for craft excellence.

  • Support 35+ product teams, improving release timelines and driving alignment with global business goals, contributing to market growth in the US and EU.

  • Drive the agile transformation, positioning design as a strategic partner and accelerating time to market.

  • Built a scalable design system used by 35+ teams, enhancing UI/UX consistency and enabling a multi-brand refresh across markets.

2023 — 2023
Sweden

Led the product design function for our customer app and SaaS platforms, focusing on enhancing the team's skills and fostering excellence in design.

  • Oversaw a team of six designers in the creation of a new design system

  • Trained and mentored the team to master design systems across multiple platforms

  • Fostered a culture of craft excellence and data-informed design decisions

  • Supported the product's quality and upheld the brand's luxury reputation

2022 — 2022
Sweden

Leading the Core Experience Platform Team and driving key design initiatives within the company.

  • Managed the hiring process for two of the four product designers

  • Collaborated closely with the CPO and CTO to mature the design process through continuous discovery practices and craft expertise

  • Supported the expansion of the design system team to become multiplatform, ensuring a cohesive and consistent user experience across all products.

2017 — 2022
Sr. Product Designer at Spotify
Sweden

I defined the design of the content delivery platforms and experiences in the Content Platform organization, part of Spotify for Artists.

  • Played a key role as the first product design hire in the Content Platform organization to support global market expansion.

  • Developed a 0-1 MVP for an ingestion platform aimed at the East Asian markets, replacing the old system from discovery and research to delivery and execution of the first version.

  • Helped create a design system for content ingestion and moderation platforms by working with the global design system team to establish strong web UX patterns.

In the Personalisation mission, I oversaw three teams working on content promotion platforms and programming tools.

  • Ensured promotion and recommendation platforms integrated with design systems and core experience organizations to guarantee customer-centric recommendations.

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to achieve seamless design and functionality.

2015 — 2017
Sweden

I led the development and execution of several successful products for iZettle, including the barcode scanning feature, Advance Personal Loan, and multichannel onboarding experiences across multiple markets. I also mentored 2 junior designers in ways of working, resulting in improved productivity and quality of work.

2011 — 2015
Madrid/Sweden

As a Senior UX/UI Designer at Fjord Consultancy, I collaborated with major financial, energy, and telecom companies in Spain, Finland, the UK, Brazil, Turkey, and Sweden. I assisted them in developing their digital services across various touch-points during a period of rapid digital transformation, employing cutting-edge design thinking approaches and methodologies.

Projects

2024
Web Offering Redesign at EasyPark

Redesign and modernization of all core user experiences across all of our web products.

2024
Rally Design System

Cross-platform design system built from scratch to support multiple brands across apps, websites, and redesign all core user experiences.

2023
Design system at Volvo On Demand

Supporting the launch and expansion of the new Fleet Platform and the new brand update. Both the native app and web views had significant design issues and lacked consistency.

I worked with 6 product designers to develop essential multi-platform Figma libraries and a flexible design system. I was able to bring everything together in less than 6 months.

2022
Promotions Journey at Spotify

The aim was to learn what our listeners think so we can better promote content to them. I organized and facilitated workshops with teams from different departments like Podcasts, Advertising, CoreX, and Personalization. Together, we looked at how our systems could better arrange recommendation sequences, always focusing on keeping customers happy.

The outcome was a template that helps teams document the 'Choreography of Promotions' (Sequence + Touchpoint + Frequency) and align their strategies for promoting content.

2021
S4MP at Spotify

I defined the core experience for Spotify for Music Providers. It was a unified collection of semi-independent micro-apps that provided a consistent look and feel for content delivery and moderation. This centralized container bundled applications, standardized permissions, team management, and UX metrics, ensuring a seamless user experience across all tools. Teams could focus on functionality without reinvesting in foundational aspects for each micro-frontend, avoiding fragmented interfaces.

2019
Uploader Tool at Spotify

I developed a 0-1 product experience enabling content delivery partners from East Asian markets to seamlessly deliver their content. This tool replaced the previous manual, non-intuitive tools with a modern WYSIWYG approach. I collaborated with Encore Design System to create the initial set of web components focused on enterprise patterns and components

2016

I contributed to several key projects. I worked on the Point of Sales consumer app, particularly enhancing the barcode scanning feature and inventory views. I also improved the user experience and data visualization tools on the new portal. Additionally, I played a role in developing the Micro Loan Financial Product Portal, specifically the Advance Personal Loan. I was involved in creating multichannel onboarding experiences and developing a new responsive web interface.

2014

I created the core experience of the responsive design for Svenska Spel, a Swedish state-owned gambling company, aiming to refresh the overall experience with a joyful and friendly approach. My focus was on meeting the usage behavior of younger generations. I collaborated with the development team to ensure the website was optimized for mobile and tablet use. Changes to the navigation system and interactions made it easier for users to find what they were looking for among all the company offerings.

This project was nominated in the category of best Product Design for the Svenska Designpriset.

2011

I defined the new UX core experience for the global BBVA consumer app in Europe and LATAM. At the time, the app introduced a highly innovative set of functionalities that later became industry standards in fintech. Key features I developed included a future timeline of expenses, enhanced data visualization, easy categorization of expenses, and notifications.

Side Projects

2016

Musigraphy was an app for hip hop enthusiasts to create a shareable music diary. It automatically detected and recorded music, linking it to locations and events. Users could track their listening habits, comment on tracks, and share discoveries. The app offered social features, letting users curate favorite artists and access exclusive events. The MVP included automatic artist and track detection and space for related content and marketing.

Writing

2023

A guide to demystifying design metrics and building a toolkit for effective data-driven design leadership.

2023

Team motivation and opportunities for real-world scenarios.

2023

What a hybrid design lead role's profile is and is not.

Contact

Password only
Website
LinkedIn

Certifications

2024

Training in creative, innovative, and effective leadership

2022

Business skills relevant for designers

2013

biomimetic interfaces

Speaking

2023
Sweden

Easypark and Women in Tech Sweden event to connect, learn, and share insights

2023
Sweden

Evo Nordics podcast episode

Education

2004 — 2005
Madrid

Master in Action Script

2002 — 2003
Barcelona, Spain

Digital Web and Interactive Media