About me

Business meets design.

Zakaria Khodr headshot

I'm a UX designer with a foundation in both business and design — which means I don't just care about how things look, but how they work within real organisational constraints. My background in entrepreneurship taught me to think strategically; my passion for design taught me to think human-first.

I'm based in Hamilton and I specialise in combining human psychology with product design — creating solutions centred around the human mind. Whether I'm leading user research, prototyping in Figma, or facilitating co-design workshops, I bring the same curiosity and rigour to every project.

"Design is about understanding the needs, wants, and desires of the people you create for — better than yourself. It's not just aesthetics; it's empathy in action."

Experience

Where I've worked

2025 — 2026
Founder & Product Lead
NDGO — Hamilton, ON
  • Led end-to-end delivery of custom workflow automation projects, translating stakeholder requirements into scalable software solutions.
  • Coordinated cross-functional implementation across development, UX, documentation, and client stakeholders for 10+ initiatives.
  • Developed structured onboarding systems and technical documentation, reducing platform onboarding and troubleshooting time by over 70%.
  • Conducted client discovery sessions contributing to a 40% increase in client re-engagement.
2024 — 2025
Product Manager Co-op
SongBird Marketing — Toronto, ON
  • Led end-to-end migration and release coordination of a SaaS communications platform, defining feature requirements and supporting backlog prioritization.
  • Drove Agile delivery through sprint planning, backlog grooming, release tracking, and daily standups across UX, Brand, and platform teams.
  • Launched enhancements that increased CTR by 60% and organic reach by 30% through analytics-driven testing.
  • Conducted competitive analysis and customer feedback evaluation to support product positioning and go-to-market readiness.
2024
Product Manager Co-op
St. Joseph's Lifecare Centre — Brantford, ON
  • Supported delivery of a centralized emergency communications platform, reducing emergency response latency by 85%.
  • Conducted stakeholder research and usability testing with 30+ staff and residents to identify communication gaps, improving clarity by 70%.
  • Managed Agile delivery including backlog refinement, sprint coordination, and deployment alignment.
  • Contributed to accessibility-focused voice-assisted features, increasing engagement with emergency prompts by 90%.
2023 — 2024
Product Marketing Manager Co-op
BlackBerry — Waterloo, ON
  • Supported product planning for QNX Neutrino RTOS and Hypervisor platforms, translating technical insights into prioritized feature requirements.
  • Partnered with AWS and internal engineering teams on QNX Accelerate cloud-based development initiatives.
  • Conducted competitive intelligence and regulatory research across safety-critical embedded systems markets.
2023
UX Designer Co-op
BlackBerry — Waterloo, ON
  • Redesigned developer onboarding workflows for BlackBerry IVY, reducing platform setup time by 70%.
  • Optimized cloud-to-vehicle communication workflows, improving automated incident response accuracy by 70%.
  • Defined feature requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for connected vehicle platform capabilities.
  • Developed technical documentation and enablement materials for ML-integrated safety systems, reducing troubleshooting time by 90%.
2023
Agile Project Manager Co-op
BlackBerry — Waterloo, ON
  • Coordinated Agile delivery across the BlackBerry IoT portfolio, reducing sprint cycle time by 80%.
  • Facilitated go-to-market initiatives including feature launch coordination, customer enablement content, and demos.
  • Standardized Jira and Confluence workflows across 8 functional groups and 100+ stakeholders.
2021 — 2022
Associate Product Manager
Wilfrid Laurier University — Waterloo, ON
  • Supported product enhancement for SAFEhawk campus safety platform, defining feature requirements and user stories.
  • Streamlined in-app emergency response workflows including direct access to Special Constable Services and safety resources.
  • Implemented multi-channel operational monitoring across email, SMS, and mobile push notifications.
2015 — 2022
Founder
DealSnatchers — Hamilton, ON
  • Led product planning and delivery for a community marketplace platform launched through the City of Hamilton Summer Company program.
  • Designed end-to-end user workflows across listing management, onboarding, and checkout, improving task completion rates by 70%.
  • Developed real-time notification and communication workflows, maintaining 99% delivery reliability.

Hover over a role to see details.

Skills

What I bring

Human-Centered Design Usability Testing AI/ML Integration Information Architecture Augmented Reality UX Storytelling UI/UX Design Wireframing Figma Branding Product Design Agile / Scrum

Personal work

Visual art

I've been passionate about the arts since age 12. Some of my pieces have been displayed at the Art Gallery of Hamilton during a high school showcase.

Deathstroke art
Deathstroke
Shelby art
Shelby
Nature art
Nature