User-Centred Design Leader • Design Strategist • DesignOps Pioneer
Vijay Kandhalu
Human-centred process, AI-first delivery — at the speed teams actually need.
For over 20 years, I've led and scaled User-Centred Design across government, healthcare, finance, energy, aviation and enterprise organisations. From discovery through delivery, I bring together service design, user research, interaction design, AI and operational excellence to help teams build the right things — and build them well.
Three Missions
Today, my focus is on three connected missions
What I Do
Design Leadership
Building and leading multidisciplinary design teams that deliver measurable outcomes.
Service Design
Connecting policy, operations, technology and user needs into coherent end-to-end services.
DesignOps & ResearchOps
Creating scalable frameworks, governance and operating models for modern digital organisations.
AI for Design
Applying AI, automation and agent-based workflows to improve research, design and delivery effectiveness.
Digital Transformation
Helping organisations modernise products, services and operating models while maintaining user focus.
Organisations I've Worked With
UK Government
NHS
Financial Services
Energy & Utilities
Aviation
Healthcare Technology
Enterprise Platforms
Including programmes across UK Export Finance, Ofgem, FCDO, HMRC, Home Office, NHS, Canon Medical Systems, British Airways and other large-scale public and private sector organisations.
My Philosophy
Technology changes. Methods evolve. AI will transform how teams work.
But one thing remains constant: the organisations that succeed are the ones that understand people, design around evidence, and build systems that scale.
That's where I work — at the intersection of people, design, operations and AI.
Let's Build What's Next
Whether you're scaling a design function, transforming a service, embedding AI into delivery, or establishing DesignOps and ResearchOps capabilities, I'd love to talk.
Designing the future. Operationalising experience. Scaling with AI.