Product Leadership + Design Practice

Courtney Markham

Product Strategy × Experience Design

I lead product strategy and design the experience. Not a product person who "appreciates" design. A practitioner who builds systems, runs research, and ships. In high-ambiguity environments, that dual fluency is the difference between a roadmap and a real product.

15+

Years in Product & Design

3

Progressive Roles at Purple Carrot

0→1

Native App Launched

98

SKUs on Rebuilt Platform

Hingham, MA · Available Remotely & On-Site

What I Do

Senior Product Leadership

I lead product at the stage where the roadmap exists but the operating system underneath it doesn't. My design background means I evaluate UX quality with real judgment, build the systems that let small teams scale, and set the standard for how product and design work together. I don't fill gaps. I close them.

  • Set product strategy and own the roadmap end to end
  • Evaluate and elevate design quality across the product
  • Stand up research practices, design systems, and UX infrastructure
  • Lead cross-functional teams from discovery through ship
  • Build the operating rhythm that turns ambiguity into momentum

Selected Work

Purple Carrot · Platform Re-Architecture & Redesign

Rebuilding a Subscription Platform for Scale

Led the full redesign of a legacy subscription platform. Replaced a 10-step sign-up funnel with a shop-first e-commerce model across 98 SKUs. Owned strategy, design, and cross-functional stakeholder alignment from discovery through ship.

DTC Subscription Re-Architecture Design Systems CVR
Read Case Study

Experience

The work that got me here

Purple Carrot

~5 Years · 3 Roles

Director, Product Management & Product Design

Built and led a product and design org of 6 (5 PMs, 1 designer). Owned product strategy across a DTC plant-based meal kit platform, from acquisition through retention. Diagnosed upstream traffic quality issues and repositioned the CVR narrative for executive leadership. Led Purple Carrot's first native mobile app through a full 0→1 launch with an external dev team. View on App Store ↗

DTC Mobile App Launch CVR Strategy Design Systems Subscription
6-Person Org 0→1 Native App Platform Redesign

IntelyCare

Prior Role

Product Management & Design

Held both the PM and design seat at the same time. Owned the product backlog and shipped designed solutions for a healthcare staffing platform. Built fluency in operating across disciplines without losing depth in either.

Healthcare Tech Full-Stack PM UX Design
PM + Design Dual Role

Docent Health

Earlier Role

Sole UX Designer · Series A

The only designer at a Series A healthcare startup. Introduced HIPAA-compliant SMS workflows and shaped the product experience from scratch. Learned to move fast, defend decisions, and build trust with engineers and clinicians at the same time.

Series A Healthcare HIPAA Solo Designer
Series A · Sole Designer

Power Yoga

Ongoing

Instructor · Krigsman Yoga

Not a side hobby. Teaching power yoga is a weekly exercise in reading a room in real time, holding energy, and understanding what retention actually feels like from the floor up. It sharpens how I think about product and experience.

Wellness Instructor Experience Design
Active Practitioner

Expertise

The rare combination that makes it work

Product Strategy

Roadmap ownership, prioritization frameworks, executive alignment, and the ability to see the whole system before touching the parts.

UX & Interaction Design

User research, usability testing, journey mapping, design systems, and the craft to make the right experience feel inevitable. Not decorative. Structural.

Growth & Conversion

CVR diagnosis, retention strategy, lifecycle thinking. With the judgment to separate a product problem from a traffic problem.

Platform Architecture

Re-architecture strategy, API and metadata design, and building flexible systems that scale beyond the use case they were originally built for.

AI as a Force Multiplier

Using AI as an executive assistant, not a gimmick. Workflow automation, content operations, and rapid prototyping. Currently building Heat & Beat Lab.

Team Leadership

Cross-functional PM and design leadership, external vendor management, and building cultures where design and product speak the same language.

Approach

How I actually think

I read the room before I touch the room. The best product decisions come from understanding the system first, then designing the intervention with precision.

After 15+ years as a bedroom DJ, I learned that the infrastructure has to be perfectly set up before you can improvise. Your music library feeds the software. The software feeds the hardware. The hardware feeds the room. If any layer breaks, the audience feels it, even if they can't name what went wrong.

Product works the same way. You build the foundation so your team can move fast without thinking about plumbing. Then you earn the right to improvise. To make the creative calls that actually differentiate the experience.

Background

B.A. in Graphic Design, Plymouth State. Foundation in print, editorial layout, and production. The craft discipline everything else was built on.

Currently Building

Heat & Beat Lab ↗

Based In

Hingham, MA

Also

Power yoga instructor · Oura Ring devotee

Thinking

Writing & perspective

Contact

Let's figure out what fits

I'm looking for the right senior product role at a company where design and product aren't separate conversations. If you're building a team, scaling a platform, or need someone who can operate across both, let's talk.

Available Now

Open to senior product leadership. Head of Product, VP, or Director-level. Growth-stage companies (50-200 people) with high ambiguity and real product to build.

Boston area. Available remotely and on-site in the Northeast.