QUALCOMM – Shaping Snapdragon’s AI Vision → Defined UX strategy and product hub that powers future AI products & ecosystem

As Director of UX and Product Design, I led the creation of Snapdragon’s Compute App, a central hub for AI tools and connected peripherals on Qualcomm-powered laptops. This work set the foundation for future AI products, mobile data services, and an extended device ecosystem. The prototype debuted at the Snapdragon Summit 2023, live on stage with CEO Cristiano Amon.

Role

Director of UX & Product Design

Platform

Windows App + Embedded AI

Timeline

12 weeks (2023)

Team

Qualcomm Execs, VPs, Design & Dev Teams

Before (Challenge) → After (Solution)

Snapdragon laptops needed a product vision for showcasing on-device AI and building an ecosystem. → Designed a central Compute App hub, aligning AI tools, peripherals, and services.

Teams struggled to clarify their audience and GTM positioning for new AI capabilities. → Defined user personas and a positioning strategy for launch and beyond.

No UX model existed for managing AI-assisted workflows and connected devices. → Created intuitive flows for AI chat, drag-and-drop actions, and device control.

How WE Got There

Collaborated with Qualcomm executives & VPs to clarify the audience, use cases, and GTM strategy.

Designed the Compute App dashboard as a hub for:

  • AI chat assistant (running on-device LLaMA-2 and Stable Diffusion).

  • “Drag & Drop” tiles for image processing with AI filters.

  • 5G connectivity and DCF signal integration to enable a true Apple-style peripherals ecosystem.

Developed Snap Prompts, guiding users with Mad Lib-style fields to craft robust AI queries easily.

Delivered a scalable design system and interactive prototype to support future AI product development.

INNOVATIVE FEATURES

Compute Hub Dashboard: Concept flows and visual styles for managing AI tools and connected devices.

Generative AI Image “Drag ‘n Drop” tiles. Drag a photo on to tiles to apply a pre-set AI filter or process. Full Dashboard variation shown with all features addressed during this scope of work.

Text base “Snap Prompt” tiles. Select a beginning prompt and set variables to get a robust response.

Drag & Drop Tiles: AI-powered image processing with pre-set filters for creative workflows.

Snap Prompts UI: Mad Lib-style input for first-time AI users to create structured queries.

Demo of Drag’n Drop Tiles and Snap Prompts UI.

Design System Specs: UI components, behaviors, and plugin states for scalable integration.

Defining style guide along side Qualcomm design and tech team

Detailed behaviors of input field and plugin states.

Button and text style guides

Exploring color variations

ImpacT

Result → Outcome

Foundation for Qualcomm’s AI vision → Strategy and design became the blueprint for future AI and peripherals.

Cross-team alignment → Unified stakeholders on user needs, product vision, and GTM priorities.

Global debut → Prototype showcased live at Snapdragon Summit 2023 keynote in Maui, HI.

Design POV

“AI tools should feel approachable and empowering—even to those unfamiliar with them. We designed Snapdragon’s Compute Hub to guide users intuitively into workflows that unlock creativity and productivity at the edge.”

Key Reflection

“This project highlighted the value of early audience definition and cross-discipline alignment in complex ecosystems. Next time, I’d advocate for live user testing earlier to validate assumptions before scaling.”