Sean Smith
Product Design Leader
Professional Summary
Sean Smith is a Product Design Leader currently working as an AI Product Designer, Builder, Leader, and Advisor. He does fractional work designing and building AI-native products while advising teams on product strategy, design systems, and AI experience quality.
Sean operates as a player/coach, combining hands-on execution with leadership and guidance across product definition, prototyping, and early production to translate emerging AI capabilities into clear, usable product experiences.
Career History
AI Product Designer, Builder, Leader, Advisor
(Nov 2025 - Present)
Fractional work designing and building
AI-native products while advising teams on product strategy,
design systems, and AI experience quality.
Principal Product Design Leader, Microsoft Outlook
(2021-2025)
Led cross-platform product design across Outlook
Mobile and Mac, spanning AI-powered experiences, core reading
workflows, and shared systems used by hundreds of millions of
people worldwide. Managed a global design team of 11 during a
period where monthly active usage more than doubled.
Senior Designer & Senior Design Manager, Microsoft MileIQ / SMB
Incubation
(2015-2021)
First in-house designer at MileIQ, guided the
transition from startup to Microsoft. Led design across a suite of
SMB and consumer apps including MileIQ, Spend, Visits, and Money
in Excel.
Lead Product Designer, MileIQ (Mobile Data Labs)
(2015)
First in-house designer, partnered closely with
founders to refine MileIQ's core experience and led vision for a
suite of SMB apps.
Lead Product Designer, Best Apps Market & Fetch
(2012-2015)
Designed Android app store alternative and led
front-end implementation for Material Design.
Areas of Expertise
- Product Design Leadership & Management
- AI/Copilot Experience Design & Integration
- Cross-Platform Mobile & Desktop Design
- Design Systems & Design Ops
- UX Strategy & Research
- Prototyping & Interactive Design
- Team Building & Mentorship
- Player/Coach Leadership Model
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sean Smith?
Sean Smith is a Product Design Leader currently working as an AI Product Designer, Builder, Leader, and Advisor. He previously served as Principal Product Design Leader at Microsoft Outlook, where he led cross-platform design across Mobile and Mac for AI-powered experiences and core workflows used by hundreds of millions of people.
What is Sean Smith's design expertise?
Sean specializes in product design leadership, AI/Copilot experience design, cross-platform mobile and desktop design, design systems, UX strategy, prototyping, and team building. He operates as a player/coach, combining hands-on design execution with strategic direction.
Where has Sean Smith worked?
Sean has worked at Microsoft Outlook as Principal Product Design Leader (2021-2025), Microsoft MileIQ/SMB Incubation as Senior Designer and Senior Design Manager (2015-2021), MileIQ (Mobile Data Labs) as Lead Product Designer, Best Apps Market & Fetch as Lead Product Designer, and as a Freelance Designer. He is currently seeking a full-time role, and is open to fractional and advisory conversations in the meantime.
What did Sean Smith do at Microsoft Outlook?
As Principal Product Design Leader at Microsoft Outlook (2021-2025), Sean led cross-platform product design across Outlook Mobile and Mac, spanning AI-powered experiences, core reading workflows, and shared design systems. He managed a global design team of 11 during a period where monthly active usage more than doubled.
How can I contact Sean Smith?
Sean can be reached via email at Sean@seansmithdesign.com, through his LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/seansmithdesign, on GitHub at github.com/SeanSmithDesign, on X/Twitter at x.com/seansmithbuilds, or through his portfolio website at seansmithdesign.com.