Dara Afraz portrait
Dara Afraz
Product Strategy · Agentic AI · Design Systems

I'm a technical product manager building agentic systems at the edge of AI, cognitive design, and industrial operations.

At Beyond Limits, I lead development on AI-powered anomaly detection, RAG-enabled knowledge bases, and symbolic agent workflows—all wrapped in action frameworks that close critical value gaps in process deviation, predictive maintenance, and decision latency.

My career spans 12 years across AI systems, EdTech, and internal platforms—partnering with NASA technologists, DoD educators, and research teams from Caltech, UCLA, and the AAA Foundation. I've shipped impact across government labs and venture-backed startups alike, operating at the intersection of product strategy, complex systems, and applied human-computer interaction.

I trained in computer science, web development, and multidisciplinary design, with early work on the software side of cognitive science research. This gives me a unique lens: part engineer, part systems designer, part strategist.

Today, I focus on scaling agentic workflows that serve real-world operators—not just prototypes. I'm stepping into Director-level outcomes: aligning teams, shaping long-horizon bets, and translating AI capabilities into business-critical systems.

If I've learned one thing, it's this: think about people, products, and profits—in that order.

Toolkit

I work across systems and disciplines to close execution gaps and accelerate outcomes. These are the systems, mindsets, and practices I rely on most—especially when scaling product execution, aligning cross-functional teams, and converting ambiguity into durable progress.

Product Execution & Strategy
  • ✦ Strategic Roadmapping
  • ✦ Portfolio Planning
  • ✦ OKRs & Success Metrics
  • ✦ Execution Cadence
  • ✦ Outcome-Based Prioritization
  • ✦ Work Slicing
  • ✦ Cross-functional Alignment
  • ✦ Risk Mitigation
  • ✦ Customer-Centric Thinking at Scale
  • ✦ Backlog Grooming
  • ✦ Sprint Planning & Agile Ops
Technical Fluency & Systems Thinking
  • ✦ Systems Design
  • ✦ Technical Decision-Making
  • ✦ API Design Literacy
  • ✦ Diagramming
  • ✦ Technical Documentation
  • ✦ Git & Version Control
  • ✦ Front-End Architecture
  • ✦ Symbolic Reasoning
  • ✦ RAG Design Integration
Design & Research for Business Impact
  • ✦ Journey Mapping
  • ✦ UX Strategy in Product Planning
  • ✦ Problem Framing
  • ✦ Research Synthesis
  • ✦ Design Systems
  • ✦ Heuristic UX Evaluation
  • ✦ Rapid Wireframing & Prototyping
  • ✦ Design Sprints
  • ✦ Data-Driven UX Decisions
Leadership Without Authority
  • ✦ Strategic Decision-Making
  • ✦ Stakeholder Buy-in
  • ✦ Leading Through Influence
  • ✦ Cross-Functional Facilitation
  • ✦ Problem Decomposition
  • ✦ Hypothesis-Driven Development
  • ✦ Interpersonal Intelligence
  • ✦ Communication Uplift
  • ✦ Bias for Action
  • ✦ Execution Under Ambiguity

Selected Projects

Real-Time Ground Station Telemetry UI for Autonomous Race Car
Coming SoonWIPR&D

CALTECH and Beyond Limits partnered for the Indy Autonomous Challenge, the world's fastest autonomous racing program. I led the design of the ground station UI for live telemetry and vehicle performance monitoring—an R&D initiative still in progress.

Real-Time Ground Station Telemetry UI for Autonomous Race Car thumbnail
1 of 5

Experience

Sr. Product Manager – Platform & Agentic AI

Beyond Limits

Jun 2024 - Present

Product Design Lead – Knowledge-Base Ops Initiative

Beyond Limits

Dec 2022 - Dec 2024

Technical Product Manager & Design Lead

Insight Learning Technology, Inc.

Sep 2013 - Dec 2022

Product Designer & Front-End Developer

Insight Learning Technology, Inc.

Sep 2016 - Jan 2017

Programmer Analyst II

UCLA Psychology Department

Sep 2013 - Aug 2022

Product Designer & Developer

Tilofy

Oct 2014 - Oct 2015

Design Innovation and Strategy

Use All Five

Jun 2013 - Sep 2013

Projects Index

Year
Project
Type
Services
2022
Emergency Action Items in Flying
Staff
Interface Design • Template Design • Web Development
2021
Novel Education Modules Addressing Underrepresentation of Skin of Color in Dermatology Training
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development • Motion Design
2020
Analytics (Internal Tool)
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development
2020
Training Visual Pattern Recognition in Ophthalmology Using Perceptual and Adaptive Learning Module
Staff
Prototyping • Interface Design • Web Development
2019
UCLA Human Perception Lab Website Redesign
Staff
Web Design • Web Development
2019
Conference Material Preparation
Staff
Motion Design
2019
Undisclosed Client (Publishing)
Independent
Visual Identity • Technical Consulting • Website Design & Development • WordPress Theme Development
2018-20
Perceptual and Adaptive Learning in Cancer Image Interpretation (Research)
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development
2018
Help Center: Features and Components
Staff
Design • Development • Co-Writing • Editing
2018
Lab Website SEO Improvements
Staff
Usability Audits • Web Development
2018
M-Cubed Design (Architecture)
Independent
Brand Design • Website Design & Development
2018
Be Fit Biz
Independent
Strategy • Web Design • Visual Identity
2017-21
Advancing Theory and Application in Perceptual and Adaptive Learning for Community College Mathematics
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development
2017
Technology and Value Proposition Explainer Video
Staff
Motion Design • Storyboarding • Script Co-writing • Editing
2017
Component Redesign: App Launcher
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development
2017
Undisclosed Client (EME) (Technology)
Independent
Technical Consulting & Prototyping
2017
Undisclosed Client (Publishing)
Independent
Website Design & Development • Technical Consulting • Visual Identity • CMS (WordPress Theme Development)
2016-21
Archival, Recreation, and Version Control of Scientific Figures (Internal)
Staff
Asset Management • Motion Design • Vector Graphics • Figure Optimization
2016-21
Business Finance Courseware: Dynamic Content Presentation Design
Staff
Web Development • Visual Design
2016-21
Development of Novice Driver Training Module
Staff
Interface Design • Web Development
2016
Company Logo Redesign
Staff
Branding
2016
Wristocracy (E-Commerce)
Independent
Strategy • Prototyping • Website Design & Development
2016
Tilofy: Trend Forecasting App (Technology)
Independent
Prototyping • Technical Consultation
2016
Mixx Yoga (Fitness & Wellness)
Independent
Website Redesign & Development • Visual Design • Strategy • CMS (WordPress Theme Development)
2015
Teaching and Learning Video Showcase: Improving STEM Education
Staff
Motion Design
2013
SoCal Stormwater Solutions (Environment)
Independent
Strategy • Visual Identity • Website Design & Development
2012
Undisclosed Client (Interior Design)
Independent
Editorial Design
2012
Undisclosed Client (Medicine)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2010
Printing Division at Global Textile (Textile)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2009-08
Multiple Undisclosed Clients (Art & Music)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2008
Dustoe (E-Commerce)
Independent
Branding • Website Design & Development • Technical Consulting
2007-06
Dissolved Entity (E-Commerce)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2005-03
Moaser Theatre Company (Art & Music)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2003
Dissolved Entity (Academia)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2002
Dissolved Entity (Art & Music)
Independent
Website Design & Development
2002
Undisclosed Client (Oil & Energy)
Independent
Website Design & Development

Connect