Masaki HARUTA

I'm a product designer with 9 years of experience in SaaS products. I specialize in user research and fostering collaboration across disciplines. Driven by a passion for improving user experiences through thoughtful problem-solving.

If I'm not designing, I brew and drink coffee ☕️

Work history

GMO Flatt Security, Product Designer & Product Manager 2024.Oct - Current: Designing AI-powered security tools that help engineers build secure applications faster. Leading the design of Takumi (AI security agent) and renewing Shisho Cloud's onboarding experience while implementing code-first design approaches with AI tools.

freee, Global Design Manager 2023.Jan - 2024.Sep: Led a team of 6 designers, setting achievable yet challenging goals to foster growth and align with the product's OKRs. Provided actionable feedback to help members excel in their responsibilities.

Conducted design research to uncover new opportunities for the company's growth, collaborating with business and product owners to shape the product roadmap.

freee, Senior Product Designer 2021.Oct - 2022.Dec: Implemented multilingual support for the freee HR iOS App, proposing the initiative to the business owner and product manager, coordinating efforts with three engineers, and contributing directly as a designer.

Took on the dual role of designer and project manager for a bookkeeping service, collaborating with product managers, engineers, and QA testers.

Conducted pricing and feature research to adapt the tax filing function for business owners, originally designed for accounting firms. Facilitated workshops to help engineers and product managers build user empathy. Redesigned the dashboard to enhance decision-making for small business owners.

freee, Product Designer 2016.Apr - 2021.Sep: Designed tax return software tailored for tax accountants.

Conducted usability testing to identify and analyze issues, implementing improvements to enhance user engagement and overall experience.

Side Projects

LIGHT UP COFFEE, Designer 2020.Feb - Current: Designed and developed websites and e-commerce platforms. Designed store introduction booklets. Designed and implemented landing pages for new product showcase websites.Go to Site

Koganeyu, Web Designer 2020.Aug - 2021.Aug: Designed and implemented the official website using Studio.Go to Site

Talks

How Design Organizations Tackle Deeper Domain Understanding 2025. May: I talked about how importance in the scope of domain is, approaching task understanding from both a bird's-eye view and a bug's-eye view. In addition, I emphasized the importance of setting realistic milestones and creating achievable assignment plansSee Event details

The Second stage of AI and Design 2025. Apr: I talked about how the 1st product designer of a cyber security startup called GMO Flatt Security is using generative AI in practice.Read the article

alliz with Tokyo Design: Design Career Tales - Journeys in Japanese Product Design 2025. Mar: I shared how following my passions and exploring creative endeavors outside of work have expanded my career possibilities and contributed to my professional growth, drawing from my personal experiences.See Event details Watch YouTube

Spectrum Tokyo Wrap 2024 2024. Dec: I spoke about how my passion for coffee unleashed my creativity, drawing on what I learned from providing coffee at previous design conferences and developing an app.Read the article

Spectrum Tokyo Festival 2023 2023. Dec: I gave a talk about challenges to design together, beyond language and role differences.Read the article

Industry Research for New Graduate Designers | Six B2B Companies Gather Together! 2023. Nov: I gave a talk about design career in B2B companies for new graduates.Read the article

freee Design Night in Osaka Vol.3 2023. Aug: I talked about the topic of how design systems and AI will change the work of UI designers.Read the article

2019 Cookpad Product Kitchen 2019. Sep: I gave a talk about what I learned from Service Design Summer School at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction DesignRead the article

GOTANDA Designer MeetUP #01 2018. Aug: I gave a talk about my design process and how I approach design challenges.See Event details

Other Experience

Spectrum Tokyo Festical 2024, Coffee Staff 2024.Dec: As a coffee experience owner, we served 200 hand-drip coffees in the café space and 400 coffees in main stage.Managed budgeting, procurement, staff supervision, and experience design for the coffee department.

Design Matters Tokyo 24, Coffee Staff 2024.Jun: As a coffee experience owner, we served 400 coffees for 2days.Managed budgeting, procurement, staff supervision, and experience design for the coffee department.