Float Financial
Product Design, Design Consultation
Overview
Float needed to keep product momentum alive while searching for a full-time design leader with fintech expertise. Rather than let multiple squads stall during the search, they brought me in on a retainer to embed directly into the work — not as an outside consultant, but as functioning design capacity.
The Work
I split my time across two roles. Day to day, I worked embedded across multiple squads, picking up design work in flight and keeping projects moving without the disruption a leadership gap usually causes. In parallel, I did a lighter layer of leadership consulting — assessing team strengths and gaps and surfacing that thinking to the founders, which they carried into the eventual full-time hire.
The most notable project during this window was validating Float's first AI features — automated GL coding and tax codes. I led the initial test validation ahead of a full redesign, work that ultimately fed into Float Intelligence, a rollout the team considers one of their most successful launches.
Float made it through the search without losing product velocity, and the new hire came in with a team assessment already in hand. Here's how Float's co-founder, Ruslan Nikolaev, described the engagement:
Ruslan Nikolaev
co-founder
Working with Raj was an absolute pleasure. He jumped in at a critical moment, providing design coverage across multiple squads while we searched for a full-time leader. Beyond keeping projects moving, he offered thoughtful insights on team strengths and opportunities that sparked valuable conversations. His contributions were timely, impactful, and truly appreciated by the entire team.
I split my time across two roles. Day to day, I worked embedded across multiple squads, picking up design work in flight and keeping projects moving without the disruption a leadership gap usually causes. In parallel, I did a lighter layer of leadership consulting — assessing team strengths and gaps and surfacing that thinking to the founders, which they carried into the eventual full-time hire.
The most notable project during this window was validating Float's first AI features — automated GL coding and tax codes. I led the initial test validation ahead of a full redesign, work that ultimately fed into Float Intelligence, a rollout the team considers one of their most successful launches.
Float made it through the search without losing product velocity, and the new hire came in with a team assessment already in hand. Here's how Float's co-founder, Ruslan Nikolaev, described the engagement:
Ruslan Nikolaev
co-founder
Working with Raj was an absolute pleasure. He jumped in at a critical moment, providing design coverage across multiple squads while we searched for a full-time leader. Beyond keeping projects moving, he offered thoughtful insights on team strengths and opportunities that sparked valuable conversations. His contributions were timely, impactful, and truly appreciated by the entire team.