Earlier Work

About

I’m Reiner Wendland, a product designer with over 15 years of experience building products that need to work reliably at scale. I’ve worked across startups and global organisations, focusing on clarity, robustness, and long-term quality rather than short-term fixes.

Much of my work sits in the early, fragile parts of a product, where people first get value and where unclear logic or poor decisions tend to cause long-term problems. I’m often working across mobile platforms and complex systems, shaping the foundations and shared models that help teams ship confidently.

My background is in native mobile, which I treat as a constraint-driven discipline. Designing within real technical and real-world limits has shaped how I work across platforms, from system logic to documentation and handoff, helping teams move faster without lowering the bar.

Outside of work, I spend time hiking and photographing the Irish countryside.

Experience

Fresco

Principal / Senior Product Designer

B2B2C · IoT Platform

Worked on a multi-tenant connected platform spanning mobile apps, smart appliances, and partner tooling. Focused on early experiences like onboarding, pairing, provisioning, and identity, helping people get set up and reach their first successful cooking moment. Defined shared models across apps, devices, and backend systems, supported localisation across 15 markets, and improved design system quality and documentation to help teams ship complex work more reliably.

Fresco

Principal / Senior Product Designer

B2B2C · IoT Platform

Worked on a multi-tenant connected platform spanning mobile apps, smart appliances, and partner tooling. Focused on early experiences like onboarding, pairing, provisioning, and identity, helping people get set up and reach their first successful cooking moment. Defined shared models across apps, devices, and backend systems, supported localisation across 15 markets, and improved design system quality and documentation to help teams ship complex work more reliably.

Fresco

Principal / Senior Product Designer

B2B2C · IoT Platform

Worked on a multi-tenant connected platform spanning mobile apps, smart appliances, and partner tooling. Focused on early experiences like onboarding, pairing, provisioning, and identity, helping people get set up and reach their first successful cooking moment. Defined shared models across apps, devices, and backend systems, supported localisation across 15 markets, and improved design system quality and documentation to help teams ship complex work more reliably.

Fresco

Principal / Senior Product Designer

B2B2C · IoT Platform

Led the end-to-end design of onboarding, activation, and core mobile workflows for a multi-partner connected kitchen platform. I focused on establishing shared patterns and design tokens that reduced delivery risk and allowed the experience to scale across 15+ locales. By identifying and addressing key connectivity friction during appliance setup, I helped bridge the gap between complex hardware requirements and a seamless consumer experience.

Gaelsport

Founding Product Designer

B2C · Zero-to-One

Built a zero-to-one consumer mobile app designed to be a trusted source of truth for live Gaelic games. Owned product direction and design end to end, prioritising reliability and trust in the absence of an official data feed. Designed systems that handled uncertainty gracefully and supported early growth to over 15,000 weekly active users within three months.

Gaelsport

Founding Product Designer

B2C · Zero-to-One

Built a zero-to-one consumer mobile app designed to be a trusted source of truth for live Gaelic games. Owned product direction and design end to end, prioritising reliability and trust in the absence of an official data feed. Designed systems that handled uncertainty gracefully and supported early growth to over 15,000 weekly active users within three months.

Gaelsport

Founding Product Designer

B2C · Zero-to-One

Built a zero-to-one consumer mobile app designed to be a trusted source of truth for live Gaelic games. Owned product direction and design end to end, prioritising reliability and trust in the absence of an official data feed. Designed systems that handled uncertainty gracefully and supported early growth to over 15,000 weekly active users within three months.

Gaelsport

Founding Product Designer

B2C · Zero-to-One

Co-founded and designed a real-time native mobile app for Gaelic games, which was awarded the IDI Award for Best App Design. I managed the product from concept through to launch, balancing complex real-time data needs with a polished fan experience. This focus on speed and clarity drove 20% week-over-week growth, reaching 15k weekly active users in just three months.

Zendesk

Senior Product Designer

B2B SaaS · B2B2C

Worked across mobile apps and SDKs supporting agent workflows and embedded in-app support used by end users inside third-party apps. Owned mobile design for core support experiences and helped establish the mobile foundations for automated support, with a focus on predictable behaviour, failure handling, and fast handoff to humans. Also contributed to mobile workflows for high-volume teams and a scalable mobile design system as usage and complexity increased.

Zendesk

Senior Product Designer

B2B SaaS · B2B2C

Worked across mobile apps and SDKs supporting agent workflows and embedded in-app support used by end users inside third-party apps. Owned mobile design for core support experiences and helped establish the mobile foundations for automated support, with a focus on predictable behaviour, failure handling, and fast handoff to humans. Also contributed to mobile workflows for high-volume teams and a scalable mobile design system as usage and complexity increased.

Zendesk

Senior Product Designer

B2B SaaS · B2B2C

Worked across mobile apps and SDKs supporting agent workflows and embedded in-app support used by end users inside third-party apps. Owned mobile design for core support experiences and helped establish the mobile foundations for automated support, with a focus on predictable behaviour, failure handling, and fast handoff to humans. Also contributed to mobile workflows for high-volume teams and a scalable mobile design system as usage and complexity increased.

Zendesk

Senior Product Designer

B2B SaaS · B2B2C

Stabilised high-volume mobile and SDK support workflows for global clients like Booking.com and Strava. I led the foundational design for AI-powered support tools, creating conversational flows and failure-aware paths that reduced resolution times. Through a rigorous focus on usability and close collaboration with engineering, we restored the iOS app rating from a 1.3 to a 4.5.

Soundwave

Lead Product Designer

B2C · Consumer App

Designed core experiences for a real-time music discovery app, focusing on live discovery, social sharing, and community-driven features. Led design for a lightweight companion app prioritising fast access to trending and personalised content. The product scaled globally to over 1.5 million users before being acquired by Spotify.

Soundwave

Lead Product Designer

B2C · Consumer App

Designed core experiences for a real-time music discovery app, focusing on live discovery, social sharing, and community-driven features. Led design for a lightweight companion app prioritising fast access to trending and personalised content. The product scaled globally to over 1.5 million users before being acquired by Spotify.

Soundwave

Lead Product Designer

B2C · Consumer App

Designed core experiences for a real-time music discovery app, focusing on live discovery, social sharing, and community-driven features. Led design for a lightweight companion app prioritising fast access to trending and personalised content. The product scaled globally to over 1.5 million users before being acquired by Spotify.

Soundwave

Lead Product Designer

B2C · Consumer App

Designed core experiences for a real-time music discovery app, focusing on live discovery, social sharing, and community-driven features. Led design for a lightweight companion app prioritising fast access to trending and personalised content. The product scaled globally to over 1.5 million users before being acquired by Spotify.

Skillpages

Lead / Product Designer

Marketplace · Platform

Worked across web and native apps for a high-growth marketplace connecting people with skilled professionals. Helped redesign the core web experience, led the first mobile-optimised product, and redesigned iOS and Android apps to better align with native patterns. Focused on onboarding and sharing flows that supported acquisition and organic growth at scale.

Skillpages

Lead / Product Designer

Marketplace · Platform

Worked across web and native apps for a high-growth marketplace connecting people with skilled professionals. Helped redesign the core web experience, led the first mobile-optimised product, and redesigned iOS and Android apps to better align with native patterns. Focused on onboarding and sharing flows that supported acquisition and organic growth at scale.

Skillpages

Lead / Product Designer

Marketplace · Platform

Worked across web and native apps for a high-growth marketplace connecting people with skilled professionals. Helped redesign the core web experience, led the first mobile-optimised product, and redesigned iOS and Android apps to better align with native patterns. Focused on onboarding and sharing flows that supported acquisition and organic growth at scale.

Skillpages

Lead / Product Designer

Marketplace · Platform

Led the mobile design for a global two-sided jobs marketplace connecting millions of users. At its peak, the platform served 25M users through simplified, trustworthy workflows that helped professionals find work worldwide. I focused on scaling the mobile presence from an early-stage product to a high-volume global platform.

Approach

01

Shape the problem

I work with leadership and subject-matter experts to frame problems clearly, grounding them in user insight, business value, and strategic context so we focus on the right work.

New: I use AI to synthesise inputs and stress-test assumptions, surfacing gaps early and helping teams align on a clear strategic direction.

01

Shape the problem

I work with leadership and subject-matter experts to frame problems clearly, grounding them in user insight, business value, and strategic context so we focus on the right work.

New: I use AI to synthesise inputs and stress-test assumptions, surfacing gaps early and helping teams align on a clear strategic direction.

02

Align on value

I align with stakeholders on priorities, success criteria, and trade-offs, creating shared clarity around scope and urgency before design and engineering effort is committed.

New: AI helps summarise complex options and compare scenarios, supporting faster and more informed decision-making.

02

Align on value

I align with stakeholders on priorities, success criteria, and trade-offs, creating shared clarity around scope and urgency before design and engineering effort is committed.

New: AI helps summarise complex options and compare scenarios, supporting faster and more informed decision-making.

03

Design the system

I design end-to-end journeys with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and scale, ensuring experiences hold together across mobile, web, and supporting systems.

New: AI supports rapid pattern exploration and documentation, helping keep system decisions deliberate and well communicated.

03

Design the system

I design end-to-end journeys with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and scale, ensuring experiences hold together across mobile, web, and supporting systems.

New: AI supports rapid pattern exploration and documentation, helping keep system decisions deliberate and well communicated.

04

Deliver with care

I stay closely involved through build and release, working with engineering to validate quality and handle real-world edge cases before and after launch.

New: AI assists with drafting acceptance criteria and clarifying edge-case logic, reducing rework and long-term maintenance cost.

04

Deliver with care

I stay closely involved through build and release, working with engineering to validate quality and handle real-world edge cases before and after launch.

New: AI assists with drafting acceptance criteria and clarifying edge-case logic, reducing rework and long-term maintenance cost.

01

Shape the problem

I work with leadership and subject-matter experts to frame problems clearly, grounding them in user insight, business value, and strategic context so we focus on the right work.

New: I use AI to synthesise inputs and stress-test assumptions, surfacing gaps early and helping teams align on a clear strategic direction.

01

Shape the problem

I work with leadership and subject-matter experts to frame problems clearly, grounding them in user insight, business value, and strategic context so we focus on the right work.

New: I use AI to synthesise inputs and stress-test assumptions, surfacing gaps early and helping teams align on a clear strategic direction.

01

Shape the problem

I work with leadership and subject-matter experts to frame problems clearly, grounding them in user insight, business value, and strategic context so we focus on the right work.

New: I use AI to synthesise inputs and stress-test assumptions, surfacing gaps early and helping teams align on a clear strategic direction.

02

Align on value

I align with stakeholders on priorities, success criteria, and trade-offs, creating shared clarity around scope and urgency before design and engineering effort is committed.

New: AI helps summarise complex options and compare scenarios, supporting faster and more informed decision-making.

02

Align on value

I align with stakeholders on priorities, success criteria, and trade-offs, creating shared clarity around scope and urgency before design and engineering effort is committed.

New: AI helps summarise complex options and compare scenarios, supporting faster and more informed decision-making.

02

Align on value

I align with stakeholders on priorities, success criteria, and trade-offs, creating shared clarity around scope and urgency before design and engineering effort is committed.

New: AI helps summarise complex options and compare scenarios, supporting faster and more informed decision-making.

03

Design the system

I design end-to-end journeys with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and scale, ensuring experiences hold together across mobile, web, and supporting systems.

New: AI supports rapid pattern exploration and documentation, helping keep system decisions deliberate and well communicated.

03

Design the system

I design end-to-end journeys with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and scale, ensuring experiences hold together across mobile, web, and supporting systems.

New: AI supports rapid pattern exploration and documentation, helping keep system decisions deliberate and well communicated.

03

Design the system

I design end-to-end journeys with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and scale, ensuring experiences hold together across mobile, web, and supporting systems.

New: AI supports rapid pattern exploration and documentation, helping keep system decisions deliberate and well communicated.

04

Deliver with care

I stay closely involved through build and release, working with engineering to validate quality and handle real-world edge cases before and after launch.

New: AI assists with drafting acceptance criteria and clarifying edge-case logic, reducing rework and long-term maintenance cost.

04

Deliver with care

I stay closely involved through build and release, working with engineering to validate quality and handle real-world edge cases before and after launch.

New: AI assists with drafting acceptance criteria and clarifying edge-case logic, reducing rework and long-term maintenance cost.

04

Deliver with care

I stay closely involved through build and release, working with engineering to validate quality and handle real-world edge cases before and after launch.

New: AI assists with drafting acceptance criteria and clarifying edge-case logic, reducing rework and long-term maintenance cost.

Open to new roles

Open to full-time or contract roles on thoughtful product work.

Let's chat

©️ 2026 Reiner Wendland

Open to new roles

Open to full-time or contract roles on thoughtful product work.

Let's chat

©️ 2026 Reiner Wendland

Open to new roles

Open to full-time or contract roles on thoughtful product work.

Let's chat

©️ 2026 Reiner Wendland

Open to new roles

Open to full-time or contract roles on thoughtful product work.

Let's chat

©️ 2026 Reiner Wendland