An Engineer Turned Designer — And Never Looked Back.
I'm Dilara, a multidisciplinary design & product leader. My non-linear journey to design provided me with developing passion for creating impactful, people-centric products.
With 11 years in design, I've led various teams and developed products loved by millions. My experience spans building products from 0→1 across Europe, the US, and APAC, uplevelling existing products, and growing design organizations.
I am currently working as a fractional leader, design advisor to different startups & scale ups, while advancing my practice in transformational coaching.
Beyond work, I am deeply engaged with art, psychology, journaling and music. You can find me in getting lost in my large canvases, filling my Hobonichi agenda in a coffee shop or doing vocal exercises—neighbour-friendly, of course.
Photo credit: Felix Ziebarth
My core values.
Integrity.
I am true to myself and my word. My actions reflect my values.
Curiousity.
Journey of learning broadens my perspective and keeps me hungry.
Belonging.
I cherish and create communities where everyone can freely express their true selves.
Connection.
I find joy and growth in quality relationships in both my personal and professional life.
Intuition.
I honor intuition as my personal source of insight and powerful tool in making decisions.
Work experience.
11.2024 — Present
Design Advisor at Pleo ↗
Berlin & Copenhagen
Design Advisor at Heyflow ↗
Remote
5.2024 — 11.2024
Design Consultant at Flink ↗
Remote
Senior Director, Product Design at Checkout.com ↗
Berlin Germany
11.2022 — 4.2024
Global Head of Product Design at Klarna ↗
Berlin Germany
2.2022 — 11.2022
5.2021 — 2.2022
Director of Product Design at Klarna
Berlin Germany
11.2020 — 5.2021
Senior Manager, Product Design at Klarna
Berlin Germany
10.2019 — 11.2020
Manager, Product Design at Klarna
Berlin Germany
Senior Product Designer at GetYourGuide ↗
Berlin Germany
2018 — 2019
2017 — 2018
Lead Product Designer at Delivery Hero ↗
Berlin Germany
2016 — 2016
Head of Design (UI/UX) at Stilnest ↗
Berlin Germany
2013 — 2016
Freelance UI/UX Designer
New York, US
Clients
Tommy Hilfiger USA — New York, US
Ribbon App — San Francisco, CA
Select.com — New York, NY
Tilda.com — UK
Walkin App — Dallas,TX
Pratt Institute — New York, NY
TurkishWIN — Istanbul, Turkey
Natural Junkie — UK
2013 — 2016
Marketing & Engineering roles
Istanbul, Turkey & New York, US
Companies
Refinery29 — Istanbul, Turkey
Time, Inc. — New York, US
Bluemarlin Design — New York, US
Unilever — Istanbul, Turkey
L’Oreal — Istanbul, Turkey
Baxter International — Istanbul, Turkey
BASF — Istanbul, Turkey
Education.
Masters of Prof. Studies, Design Management at Pratt Institute
New York, US
2013 — 2015
GPA: 3.76 / 4.00, Graduate Assistant
BSc. Chemical Engineering at University of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada
2011
GPA: 3.94 / 4.00, Exchange Semester
BSc. Chemical Engineering at Bogazici University️
Istanbul, Turkey
2007 — 2013
GPA: 3.18 / 4.00, Concentration in Marketing
Transformational Coaching, Animas Centre for Coaching
United Kingdom
2024
Coaching Qualification for ICF & EMCC
Selected press.
2016 — 2017
Digital Contributor in UX at Harvard Business Review Turkey ↗
Contributed to HBR Turkey with trends and developments in Design & UX.
Articles
“What Does Failure Mean in Product Design Process?”, 2017 ↗
“Global Product Design in 3 Steps”↗
“5 Topics UX Designers Will Continue to Talking About”, 2017 ↗
“3 Myths About Product Design”, 2016 ↗
“10 Books That UX Designers Can Fall in Love With”, 2016 ↗
“UX Design for Little Fingers”, 2016 ↗
“Music and UX: What Does It Mean To the Industry Today?”, 2016 ↗
“Why Should You Care About UX Design?”, 2016 ↗
2016
Service Design Award Winner at Core77 New York ↗
Our project “Therapups”, a dog walking service built with a social purpose won the award in service design category.
Community contributions.
2016 — 2018
OpenIDEO Berlin Chapter ↗
Co-founder & Leadership team
2018 - 2024
Mentorship Engagements
Employed World, Techstars
2013 — 2016
Turkish WIN (Women’s International Network in New York ↗
Design Consultant & Community Member
2013
Bogazici University Women in Business Club ↗
Co-founder & Leadership Team
Let’s chat.
dilara.neutze@gmail.com
Berlin, Germany