Hi. I’m Sam.
I design products that people depend on.
For nearly three years I was the first and only product designer at SureCost, a B2B purchasing platform processing millions of pharmaceutical transactions every year. The work I led there helped the company grow recurring revenue from $6M to $12.5M.
I own projects end to end, from research and strategy through design, engineering collaboration and launch. I specialize in making complex financial and operational decisions manageable, in places where the stakes are high and the margin for error is low.
Why I do this
Financial systems aren’t neutral. They’re designed in ways that exclude the people who need them most.
Growing up, I watched my family’s farm fail. Not from lack of effort, but from financial decisions we didn’t fully understand. My dad went from running a business to working as a park ranger to keep us afloat.
Good design can change that. Whether it’s helping small pharmacies avoid closure or making complex purchasing decisions manageable, I build systems that level the playing field. When stakes are high and resources are tight, design isn’t optional.
What I bring to a team.
- Role
- Product DesignerEnd to end, from research and strategy through launch with engineering.
- Focus
- Fintech, B2B SaaS, healthtech, compliance dashboards
- Strengths
- Making dense data simple, design systems, stakeholder alignment, plain language UX writing
- AI
- I build AI into how design gets doneIn February 2025, three months before Figma Make launched, I built two custom GPTs on SureCost’s design system. One turned ideas into high fidelity concepts and the other kept it in sync with the latest designs. They tripled what I could design for four engineering teams. Now I ship my own iOS app, ParkPlay Charlotte, with Claude Code.
- Design systems
- Built from scratch to WCAG 2.1 AAOnce design and engineering worked from the same components, a new page went from 3 sprints to 1. It powers every redesigned page at SureCost.
- Research
- Interviews, usability testing in Maze, synthesis in Dovetail, analytics in Mixpanel
- Toolkit
- Figma, Figma Make, Framer, Adobe Suite · Cursor, Claude, Lovable · Jira, Slack, Loom
- Community
- Techqueria member. I facilitate UX Cafecitos.
- Based in
- Charlotte, NCOpen to remote roles.
- Education
- Oral Roberts University, 2017Bachelor of Science
Where I’ve done the work.
- Feb 2026 to nowbaquera.design
Independent product designer
Contract product design and build for startups and small businesses across e-commerce, sports tech and fintech.
- May 2023 to Jan 2026 · about 3 yearsSureCost
Product Designer
The first and only product designer across four engineering teams. Built the design system, rebuilt 60% of core pages with live data and shipped Purchase Manager, Inventory Manager and Compliance Insights. That work helped grow recurring revenue from $6M to $12.5M and sign IPC.
- Dec 2021 to Jan 2023 · about 1 yearOnePay
Customer Advocacy Specialist
Customer advocacy and UX research for a consumer fintech app.
In their words.
“His empathy for the user is why Sam designs solutions that users love. … He embraced AI to make rapid iteration with customers and internal teams a reality.”
Dickinson MerrinDirector of Product Management, SureCost“Understanding good design practices beyond just making attractive UI. Sam strives to understand the problems and the goals of both the user and the organization at large and keeps that in mind during all design and validation phases.”
Laura CopelandProduct Manager, SureCost“He has been an incredible partner to work with over the past three years. His ability to educate and enable others, especially through Figma, is a huge force multiplier for our team.”
Muthu BalakrishnanLead Software Engineer, SureCost“Sam brings a rare combination of strong communication, deep attention to detail, and a genuinely kind, collaborative approach. … He is the kind of teammate who elevates the entire team.”
Austin BushProduct Manager, SureCost
Let’s build something meaningful.
I’m looking for a product design role on a team that builds financial tools people depend on.
sam@baquera.design