17+ years · Software Defined Vehicles · Pune, India

Nikhil Jadhav

UX ArchitectAutomotive HMI Design LeaderAI-enabled Product Designer

Leading global UX programs that consolidate 8+ vehicle brands across 6+ markets — from digital clusters and HUD to Android Automotive OS and AI-assisted design systems.

View Portfolio Download Resume

17+: Years of experience
8+: Vehicle brands unified
6+: Global markets
15: Awards & recognitions

About

Designing the digital cockpit for a multi-brand world

UX Architect and Usability expert with 17+ years shaping automotive HMIs, mobile and web products. Currently an Associate Solution Architect at a European automotive software company, leading global UX programs that consolidate 8+ vehicle brands across 6+ markets — delivering wireframes, specifications and design systems for Software Defined Vehicles.

Automotive UXProduct StrategyDesign SystemsLeadershipInnovation

Career progression

Seventeen years across automotive HMI, product design and creative direction — from 3D visualization to leading global UX architecture.

KPIT Technologies
Jun 2023 — Present
Associate Solution Architect — UX
7 KROWN Awards
- Lead global UX programs for a European automotive software company, consolidating 8+ vehicle brands across 6+ markets.
- Own end-to-end UX: research, interaction design and visual design across the HMI layer.
- Ensure design-system compliance and release-library integration for every delivered file.
- Drive requirement analysis, RFP/RFQ documentation, concept ideation and rapid prototyping.
Tata Consultancy Services
Jan 2013 — Jun 2023
UX Domain Expert & Team Lead
6× Project Champion
- Designed embedded IVI media systems, digital clusters and HUD for a Japanese OEM cockpit platform.
- Built and managed a UX team from scratch across cross-department automotive functions.
- Established rapid prototyping practices to test hypotheses and pivot quickly.
- Provided day-to-day direction and design critique for product designers.
COMOPS Ltd
Sep 2012 — Dec 2012
Digital & UI Designer
- Owned the sales portal and day-to-day marketing, sales and presentation collateral.
- Designed and maintained website UI for a consistent user experience.
- Produced brochures, flyers, case studies and B2B whitepapers to support outreach.
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Mar 2011 — Aug 2012
Creative & Digital Designer
2× Best Employee Award
- Delivered end-to-end print design for national and international agent conventions.
- Created collateral and customized sales materials for teams across PAN India.
- Managed vendors and tenders for event supplies.
i2i — Information to Innovations
Jan 2008 — Feb 2010
3D Visualizer & Project Lead
- Created 3D architectural interior visualizations with texturing, lighting and rendering.
- Led "The Design Express" tabloid for architects and interior designers.
- Managed corporate events and exhibitions for the design community.

Expertise

Capabilities across the connected cockpit

From safety-critical clusters to AI-assisted DesignOps — a full-stack design practice for Software Defined Vehicles.

Automotive UX

Human-centered design for the modern digital cockpit and connected vehicle.

Android Automotive

Native AAOS experiences — apps, media, and system integration.

Instrument Cluster

Safety-critical cluster design balancing glanceability and delight.

Head-Up Display

AR-ready HUD concepts that keep drivers eyes on the road.

In-Vehicle Infotainment

IVI media, navigation and comfort flows across brands.

Connected Mobility

Companion apps and services bridging phone and vehicle.

AI in Design

Agentic DesignOps — from requirements to production-ready UI.

Design Systems

Multi-brand systems integrated with release libraries.

Accessibility

WCAG-aligned, inclusive experiences for every driver.

User Research

Interviews, empathy maps, usability testing and synthesis.

Interaction Design

Micro-interactions and motion that communicate state.

Design Strategy

Aligning UX vision with business and product roadmaps.

ToolsFigmaFigJamAdobe XDAxure RPProtoPieQt Design StudioSplineAfter EffectsBlenderCinema 4DJIRAConfluenceNotion

Featured Work

Selected automotive case studies

Deep-dive case studies spanning EV charging, personalization, IVI, HUD and AI DesignOps.

EV Charging2024

EcoCharge

A unified EV charging experience spanning in-vehicle HMI and companion app — route with confidence, charge without friction.

Android AutomotiveEV ChargingCompanion AppDesign System

-38%

Charging session drop-off

4.7★

App store rating

2.1s

Time to nearest charger

Software Defined Vehicle2024

Personalization Platform

A profile-driven personalization layer that adapts the entire cockpit — seat, climate, ambient, media — to every driver.

SDVPersonalizationMulti-brandDesign System

Brands supported

+22%

Feature engagement

Unified profile model

In-Vehicle Infotainment2023

Music Experience

A glanceable, voice-friendly media experience that keeps the joy of music without pulling eyes from the road.

IVIMediaVoiceInteraction Design

-45%

Glance time to control

HUD Mini Map

An AR-ready head-up mini map that layers turn guidance onto the road without overwhelming the driver.

HUDNavigationARSafety

Connected Mobility2022

Driver Recognition

Seamless, privacy-first driver recognition that greets each driver and restores their world in seconds.

ConnectedIdentityPrivacyOnboarding

AI Design Automation

An agentic pipeline turning raw requirement PDFs into research, wireframes, design-system-ready UI and QA cases.

AIDesignOpsAutomationDesign System

Design Process

An end-to-end UX methodology

A repeatable path from ambiguous requirements to tested, production-ready HMI — the backbone of every program I lead.

Requirements

Gather business needs, constraints and success metrics.

Research

Users, competitors, context of use and benchmarking.

User Journey

Map moments, emotions and opportunities end-to-end.

Information Architecture

Structure content, flows and screen hierarchy.

Wireframes

Low-fidelity layouts to validate interaction models.

Design System

Tokens, components and multi-brand theming.

UI Design

High-fidelity, production-ready visual design.

Specification

Detailed specs, states and edge cases documented.

Developer Handover

Release-library integration and engineering support.

Testing

Usability validation, iteration and QA sign-off.

AI Innovation

AI DesignOps — from PDF to production

An agentic pipeline where specialized AI agents move work from raw requirements to shippable HMI, with human judgment steering quality at every gate.

1
PDF Requirements
Raw specs, RFPs and stakeholder documents ingested.
2
Requirement Analysis Agent
Extracts goals, constraints and acceptance criteria.
3
User Journey Generator
Drafts personas and journeys from structured intent.
4
Wireframe Generator
Produces low-fidelity flows for rapid review.
5
Figma Design System
Maps output to tokens and multi-brand components.
6
Developer Specifications
Generates specs, states and handover-ready notes.
7
QA Test Cases
Derives test scenarios from requirements automatically.
8
Production Ready Design
Human-reviewed, compliant, shippable HMI.

Thought Leadership

Talks, awards & writing

Recognition and perspectives shared across automotive design, DesignOps and the future of the cockpit.

Award2023—24

7× KROWN Awards

Recognized for excellence in automotive UX delivery.

Talk2024

Designing the Software Defined Cockpit

Keynote on multi-brand HMI at an internal design summit.

Whitepaper2024

AI DesignOps for Automotive HMI

A framework for agentic requirement-to-design pipelines.

Article2023

Glanceability by Design

Principles for safe, delightful in-vehicle interfaces.

Award2013—23

6× Project Champion

Repeated recognition for project leadership at TCS.

Talk2023

From Cluster to HUD

Session on layered guidance across cockpit surfaces.

Testimonials

What collaborators say

Recommendations from product, engineering and design partners across global automotive programs.

Nikhil brings rare clarity to complex, multi-brand automotive programs. He turns ambiguous requirements into systems teams can actually build.
Product Owner
European Automotive OEM

A design leader who balances safety, brand and delight. His HMI work consistently raised our quality bar across markets.
Engineering Lead
Cockpit Platform

His AI DesignOps vision changed how our team thinks about the requirement-to-design pipeline. Pragmatic, not hype.
Design Manager
Software Defined Vehicle

Resume

Experience at a glance

A condensed timeline of roles, education and project footprint. Download the full CV for details.

Download PDF

Experience

KPIT Technologies
Associate Solution Architect — UX
Jun 2023 — Present
Tata Consultancy Services
UX Domain Expert & Team Lead
Jan 2013 — Jun 2023
COMOPS Ltd
Digital & UI Designer
Sep 2012 — Dec 2012
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Creative & Digital Designer
Mar 2011 — Aug 2012
i2i — Information to Innovations
3D Visualizer & Project Lead
Jan 2008 — Feb 2010

Education

MBA
SIMS, Pune2018 — 2020
B.Com
SPPU, Pune2005 — 2008
AD3D+
MAAC, Pune2008

Project footprint

Android Automotive OS

Qt Design Studio

CGI Studio framework

Proof of Concepts

UX Mobile Bootcamps

Cinema 4D Studio

Contact

Let's design the next cockpit

Open to design leadership, automotive HMI programs, AI DesignOps and speaking engagements.

Emailnykboee@gmail.com LinkedInConnect professionally

LocationPune, India