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Design Leader
based in the Bay Area
I drive innovation through design, crafting purposeful, intuitive, experiences that elevate both people and business.
More About Me

Featured Work

Projects

Here are a few projects I've worked on throughout my experience.

What I Do

Services

Design leaderships and skills that accelerate work and drives teams.

Design Leadership & Team Development

I lead high-performing design teams that blend creativity, strategy, and execution. Over my career, I’ve managed teams ranging from 5 to 15 designers across product, visual, and UX disciplines—mentoring them through career growth, cross-functional collaboration, and design excellence. I build inclusive, outcome-driven cultures that connect design directly to measurable business impact. My leadership philosophy centers on clarity, autonomy, and impact—creating an environment where designers not only deliver exceptional work but also evolve as strategic thinkers and partners to product and engineering.

Product Design Strategy & Innovation

I define and execute design strategies that align user needs with business growth. From enterprise SaaS to AI-driven platforms, I’ve led end-to-end product experiences that increased adoption, retention, and satisfaction. My approach combines storytelling, design thinking, and data-informed decisions to translate complex workflows into intuitive interfaces. I partner with product and engineering leaders to shape roadmaps, prototype future concepts, and ensure every release delivers clear, measurable value for both customers and the business.

AI-Driven Product Experiences

I’ve spearheaded the design of intelligent, AI-powered tools that automate manual workflows and empower users to work smarter. At Demandbase, I led the creation of AI agents and chatbots that streamlined complex sales and marketing processes, improving operational efficiency and user engagement. I’m passionate about designing with AI—creating assistive, transparent, and human-centered interactions that enhance trust and usability. My focus is on building experiences where AI becomes an empowering collaborator rather than a hidden algorithm.

Design Systems & Scalable Platforms

I specialize in creating modular, code-ready design systems that enable consistency, speed, and scalability across large product ecosystems. I’m currently leading the integration of a new design system at Demandbase based on ShadCN and AI design tools like v0, reducing development time and improving design-to-code accuracy. My process bridges design and engineering through structured tokens, accessibility standards, and contribution models—ensuring every product scales with precision and performance.

Go-To-Market & Data-Driven Experience Design

I design with business outcomes in mind—crafting data-informed experiences that drive measurable ROI. My work spans CRM, AdTech, and FinTech platforms where design influences revenue, retention, and engagement. From optimizing account-based marketing workflows to visualizing campaign spend and attribution, I translate complex data into simple, actionable insights. I partner closely with cross-functional teams to ensure every experience not only looks great but performs against clear metrics for growth and success.

Awards

Awards and Cerirfications

What They Say

Feedback

Genuine words from the people I’ve had the pleasure to work with.
...He understands the complexity in products and grasps the problems that we’re all trying to solve for even when it’s outside of his direct area of expertise and comfort zone. For Sonny the task and ability to translate complexity into something that a non-technical person can understand is at times one of the most important things to do. He has provided awesome results for Citrix across multiple domain areas, multiple group requirements, and with our ELT and partners.
- Joey Vallejo, Head of Design, MSCI
"Sonny is a very intelligent and creative individual. He has a good eye for design and is able to adapt to new technologies quickly. He is always current with the latest technology trends and very knowledgeable about the latest in tech and design news. Sonny is very likable and would be an asset to any team.".
- Lee Payne, Creative Director, Ustream
"Sonny has shown incredible leadership to the team and fosters the team culture that we had at Citrix, especially in the Silicon Valley location. He is one of the reasons why our team felt like a team. He has also shown passion to mentor people (like me) who are just starting in their career, direct team members around complex design decisions, and guide projects to successful completion. I am extremely thankful to have worked with Sonny Chhen, and I hope to cross paths with him again".
"I highly recommend Sonny as an empathetic design leader with a unique expertise in a host of products design concepts across multiple OS! Our recent collaboration on GenAI products was exceptional and visionary. His innovative approach and strategic thought process have significantly contributed to the success of our products. A true visionary in the field, Sonny consistently delivers exceptional results, making him an invaluable asset to any team.".
- Akash Mohan, Product Manager, Intuit
"I had the privilege of working under Sonny at McAfee and can attest to his outstanding leadership and mentorship. As a Product Designer on his team, I benefited from his guidance, pushing me to exceed what I thought I was capable of. Sonny is a true champion of professional growth, always seeking opportunities for his team to grow. His leadership style, rooted in empathy and kindness, creates a positive and collaborative work environment.".
- Gregory Prosser, Product Designer, McAfee

Contact

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