Structure is care
A well-organised Figma file, a clear handoff doc, an IA that doesn't make users think: these are acts of respect for the people you work with and the people who use what you build.
About
Monika Sisodia
Senior UX Designer · Enterprise SaaS · Fintech · Bangalore, India
I'm a senior UX designer who came to software through two unusual doors: architecture and teaching. Seven years in design: four years teaching design and three designing enterprise and fintech products. Teaching design taught me that structure fails quietly before it fails visibly.
Since 2023 I've applied both to enterprise software: fintech audit platforms, broker portals, banking automation, school management systems, and a phonics app I built for Indian parents because I noticed a gap and couldn't stop thinking about it.
I'm a workaholic who structures everything: my calendar, kitchen, and Figma files. Outside work I travel when I can, cook seriously, practise yoga, and spend a lot of time thinking about how technology lands differently for a 5-year-old versus a 65-year-old. That question keeps me honest as a designer.
I use AI-assisted tools like Cursor and Claude Code as part of my design and prototyping process.
How I got here
- 2009–2015 Architecture & Interior Design
Trained as an architect at UVCE Bangalore. Learned to think in systems, structures, and the gap between what looks good and what holds up.
- 2015–2021 · 4 years teaching interior design (with a 2-year break for my Master's) Design Education · JD School of Design
Led a department of 400+ students. Taught digital and physical interior design practice. Organised industry events, curated annual exhibitions.
- 2023–2024 UI/UX Consultant · Next Element
Enterprise product design roles. Shipped a multi-school management redesign serving 7,300+ students and a product-led growth platform.
- 2024–Present Senior UX Designer · ThoughtFocus
Designing internal tools and enterprise platforms for US fintech clients. Loan audit systems, broker portals, banking automation, VR training interfaces. Embedded designer on cross-functional teams with product managers, engineers, QA, and business analysts.
What I believe
Constraints are the work
The interesting design problem is never the blank canvas. It's the legacy API, the compliance rule, the ops workflow that can't change. I design for the system that exists, not the ideal one.
Technology should cross generations
I built SoundSteps for Indian parents teaching 3-year-olds to read. I design enterprise tools used by people who learned on paper. The best interfaces work across the full range of human experience with technology.
Currently
- Bangalore, India
- ThoughtFocus (full-time)
- Open to Senior UX Designer roles
- Building: SoundSteps v2
- Practising: Yoga, occasionally
Experience
- 06/2024 – Present Senior UX Designer ThoughtFocus, Bangalore
- Shipped a 0→1 loan audit and rebuttal platform for a US mortgage lender: end-to-end design of dashboard, rebuttal workflows, account management, and document review, from user research through developer handoff.
- Designed a 0→1 broker loan submission portal for real estate investment lending, guiding brokers from application through pricing, documents, and e-signature in a single workflow.
- Designed an email automation system for a Canadian bank's deposit operations team: bilingual (EN/FR) notification workflows for 10 analysts handling institutional deposit accounts.
- Designed AR/VR training interfaces for industrial safety simulations, working directly with the engineering team on spatial UX, interaction design, and immersive environment layout.
- 06/2023 – 06/2024 UI/UX Design Consultant Next Element, Bangalore
- Led the redesign of a multi-school management platform serving 7,300+ students across 13 institutions: rebuilt the visual layer, created a new overview landing page, and delivered a full Figma component library (typography scale, color tokens, reusable components).
- Designed a product-led growth platform with an interactive demo builder, guided workflow, and demo analytics, targeting enterprise buyers.
- Owned end-to-end design on both engagements: discovery, wireframes, hi-fi prototypes, design system, and developer handoff documentation, partnering with product owners and engineering throughout.
- 08/2015 – 08/2018 · 08/2020 – 08/2021 Design Faculty / Head of Department JD School of Design, Bangalore
- Led a design department of 400+ students; taught digital and physical interior design practice.
- Organized industry seminars and co-curated annual design exhibitions.
Skills & Tools
Design
Research
Specialisms
Other