Ross Popoff-Walker
Product Design Director
I help ambitious teams
build momentum
by designing clarity,
not just screens.
Design Philosophy
I approach design as a strategic multiplier: aligning stakeholders, untangling complexity, and shipping solutions that actually work.
First-principles Clarity
I ask the hard questions early and make the invisible visible. Strategy before pixels.
Design as Infrastructure
Patterns and systems that scale beyond any single product or designer.
Upstream Partnership
I shape what gets built, not just how it looks. Strategy and execution, together.
Experience
Where I've Worked
Waabi
First Design Hire
Netflix
Design Systems & Data Viz
Waymo
Design Lead, Tools
Google Maps
Design Lead, Consumer Products
Google Cloud
Design Pod Lead, Data Analytics
Google Material
Lead & Co-Author
Google Search
Mobile Product Design
Past Projects
Establishing the Product Design Role
First product design hire at an autonomous trucking startup. Established design as a force multiplier across product, autonomy, and infrastructure teams. Designed internal tools for simulation, evaluation, and test operations. Emphasis on clarity, trust, and speed in safety-critical workflows.
BigQuery UX Leadership
UX lead for BigQuery, Google Cloud's flagship analytics platform. Grew UX from one to eight across design, research, and prototyping. Led a full UI modernization for data analysts. Research and vision work unlocked new revenue features and informed the $2.6B Looker acquisition.
Unifying Data for Decision-Makers & Netflix
Led design systems and product design for Netflix's internal data ecosystem. Built a scalable data visualization system adopted by a 500+ person Data & Insights org. Standardized patterns across 400+ enterprise tools. Improved findability, consistency, and time-to-insight for executives.
Google Maps: Expanding the Platform with Data Layers
Core designer on the Maps platform and cartographic system. Simplified basemap color complexity and improved accessibility across light and dark modes. Defined motion tied to user intent. Launched large-scale data layers including COVID, Weather, and Air Quality. Helped frame Maps as a platform for contextual data.
Data Visualization Spec
Creator and co-author of Google's Data Visualization spec. Initiated a cross-company effort spanning 12 product orgs. Authored internal and public guidance published on Material.io. Seeded a dedicated data visualization discipline inside Google.
Get in touch
Let's work together
Available for part-time consulting.
Interested in iterative work with small teams.