Aaron Makaruk

Aaron Makaruk

Lead Product Designer · Design Systems · Design Engineering

Denver, CO. Open to remote ·

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Summary

Product design leader with 10+ years shipping complex mobile products at scale. Architects design systems from the ground up: multi-platform component libraries, design tokens, and SDK-level Figma tooling that accelerate entire engineering organizations. Led the iOS and Android design system for Lowe's $2B ARR platform serving 16M+ users. Co-founded an IoT startup deployed across 40 countries. With AI in the loop, works as a design engineer: Figma Code Connect, MCP, and agent-assisted implementation carrying components into production SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose, and Flutter.

Skills

Design Systems
Design Tokens, Component Libraries, Figma (Variables, Auto Layout), SDK & Tooling, Design Ops
Product Design
UX/UI, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Visual Design, Mobile (iOS HIG, Android Material)
Research & Accessibility
User Research, Usability Testing, Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), Inclusive Design
Engineering & AI
Design Engineering, HTML/CSS, Figma Code Connect, Figma MCP, AI-Assisted Prototyping

Experience

Founder & Lead Product Designer · Alveary · 2026 – present (full time since Feb 2026)

  • Own the whole platform for a hardware-connected product, with AI in the loop: front end, back end, data science, hardware, and firmware, by one person.
  • Own product, craft, and the design system: Figma, tokens, Code Connect, and production UI in Flutter.
  • Built the design-to-code pipeline: component contracts in Figma, agent-assisted implementation in code, and high-fidelity prototypes that already run as the interface.
  • Set the visual and interaction language end to end, including motion, editorial type, and complex field-workflow UX.

Senior Product Designer · Lowe's · 2022 – 2026

  • Led end-to-end design and engineering of Lowe's mobile design system (iOS and Android) for a $2B ARR platform serving 16M+ users. Components adopted millions of times in Figma, lifting consistency and delivery velocity across the org.
  • Owned full-lifecycle delivery (research through QA) of flagship features including the Lowe's Digital Home Platform, Paint Configurator, and Apple Pay, building to WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards.
  • Architected core design tokens, component libraries, and Figma SDKs; approved every SDK pull request for years and partnered closely with engineering on implementation and QA to cut handoff friction, bugs, and launch timelines.
  • Led a team of designers and ran weekly workshops for years, with dozens attending each week: mobile best practices, design systems, and component-driven workflows for the entire UX org.
  • Twice rated a top designer, the highest rating available in the annual review, in back-to-back years.

Lead Product Designer & Co-Founder · OSBeehives · 2017 – 2022

  • Co-founded a global IoT platform for honey-bee health monitoring; took two custom hardware products from concept to market, deploying 2,000+ connected devices to 10,000+ users across 40 countries and generating $500K+ in revenue.
  • Built a proprietary health-diagnostic ML model trained on a self-curated dataset of 2.5M sensor readings and 10M audio recordings.
  • Completed an R&D programme co-financed by European Funds under the Intelligent Development Operational Programme (sub-measure 1.3.1, BRIdge Alfa), delivering hive-health classification, management recommendations, and apiary visualisation.
  • Won acceptance into the Boomtown and Brinc accelerators and ran successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns; forged R&D partnerships with the USDA, Carnegie Mellon, and Washington State University.
  • Drove global brand authority through press in BBC, WIRED, The Guardian, Newsweek, Popular Science, and Fast Company.

Lead Product Designer & Shuttleworth Fellow · AKER Kits · 2014 – 2017

  • Designed and developed 20+ snap-fit sustainable urban-farming products (chicken coops, beehives, garden beds, wall planters, worm composters) using FSC-certified materials, local manufacturing, and parametric CAD in SolidWorks.
  • Managed distributed teams of mechanical engineers and industrial designers across the full catalog, from concept through manufacturing-ready deliverables.
  • Directed planning, execution, and a $300K development budget as a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow; secured CNC manufacturing and distribution partnerships across the US and Europe.
  • Grew the customer base to 5,000+ and delivered pro-bono community-garden installations in Barcelona and Denver.

Awards & Recognition

Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow · TEDx Speaker (Madrid) · Funded Kickstarter & Indiegogo campaigns · Accelerators: Boomtown (Boulder), Brinc (Hong Kong)

Press: BBC · WIRED · The Guardian · Newsweek · Popular Science · Fast Company

Education

B.A., Philosophy · University of Colorado Boulder

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