Product Designer → Lead Product Designer at Yandex Taxi, July 2021 – Present
Yandex Taxi is a mobility ecosystem operating in Russia under the Yandex Go brand and internationally under Yango in 30+ countries. It includes products for passengers, drivers, and taxi fleet owners. I work on the B2B platform for fleet owners, designing tools to manage drivers, vehicles, finances, and daily operations.
Part 1. Finding My Space and Shaping Vision
When I joined the team, there were two versions of the partners' product: one for the Russian market and one for international users. One of our goals was to completely rethink the international version and turn it into a simplified, coherent set of tools that would support user workflows and business growth.
My role was to dive into the industry context, rethink the entire product and its architecture, identify the core of what mattered most, and design a clear structure of tools, from basic to advanced.
Part 2. Scaling Influence and Leading a Team
As the product grew, the team grew with it. I moved into a leadership role, building and managing a team of four designers while continuing to design for the product myself.
Over time, my role expanded beyond product design. I became responsible not only for shaping the product, but also for shaping how our design team worked, made decisions, and collaborated across disciplines.
Building a Sustainable Foundation: The Design System
Parallel to this, we developed a foundational design library with a small engineering team. This system now powers multiple projects across different business units — an experience that taught me how to design sustainable solutions that outlive their creators.