Nadya Direkova

About Nadya Direkova

I am a design leader focused on vision, strategy, and rapid prototyping, currently serving as Director of User Experience at Panasonic Well. Previously, I lead UX teams at Google Fitbit and served as Director of R&D at Airbnb, where I supported the company\'s growth through innovative product development. One of my proudest achievements in the industry is founding the Sprint Leader Academy at Google, where I scaled the art of the design sprint across the organization and its global developer ecosystem. I have hosted over 100 design sprints to accelerate projects such as Google [x] Self-Driving Cars, Fitbit Premium, Project Loon, Maps, Google Ads, and initiatives involving key partners like Google Capital’s portfolio investments.As a caring manager and team coach, I am committed to fostering talent and guiding my team members to success. My leadership training includes programs such as the Sage Coach for Diversity at Google, the Google Edge Leadership Program, and the Airbnb Amplify Leadership Program. I also hold certifications in the Big 5 Personality Assessment and Emotional Intelligence Assessment.My key design leadership skills encompass developing product vision and strategy for technology-driven projects, utilizing design prototyping as a cost-effective tool for business strategy development, and managing teams—including other managers. I am passionate about building a culture that aligns with the company\'s mission and values, facilitating collaboration, designing leadership for cross-functional teams, and leveraging user research for need-finding and usability testing.

Experience

1. Director of User Experience

   Panasonic Well

   Mar 2025 — Present

   PanasonicWELL is a US-based subsidiary of Panasonic Holdings Corporation, focused on research, design, and development of services to support family wellness across multiple dimensions. Currently, we are crafting UMI: the family wellness coach powered by Claude and ChatGPT. Stay tuned!

Education

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  M.S., Comparative Media Studies

• Amherst College

  B.A., Media Arts interdisciplinary major, Political Science double major

• American College of Sofia

  High School

Skills

• User Experience
• Interaction Design
• User Experience Design
• Usability Testing
• User-Centered Design
• User Interface Design
• Experience Design
• User Interface
• Information Architecture
• Game Design
• Game Mechanics
• Information Design
• User Journeys
• Design Strategy
• Design Thinking
• User Flows
• Product Design
• Team Facilitation
• Team Building Facilitation
• Concept Development
• Sprints
• Sprint Planning
• User Research
• Wireframes
• Mobile Devices
• Mobile Applications
• Usability
• Wireframing