About · Sara Papa

About

Sara Papa

Currently Restaurant365

Based Los Angeles, CA

Roots Tokyo · Manila

I'm a Director of Product Design, but I didn't start in design. I started in customer success at early-stage tech startups, where I got hooked on dogfooding sessions and sitting with customers while they used the product. That's what made me fall in love with the craft.

At Martti (formerly UpHealth) I was the only designer on the team, touching everything: building out the design system, shaping the roadmap, shipping work for healthcare providers on the frontlines. I deepened my skills as a Product Designer II at RubiconMD (later acquired by CVS Health), then made a deliberate jump to Restaurant365 to tackle a new vertical and solve problems for the restaurant industry. That role eventually grew into leading the design function.

I thrive on cross-functional, ambiguous problems. At the end of the day, I'm in this because good design makes life easier for real people.

Causes I care about

Healthcare equity · Women's empowerment · Animal welfare · Independent restaurants

Outside of work

Always traveling · Chasing the next great meal · Singing everywhere · Surviving a group fitness class

My Why

Design is my language.

My dad is Japanese. My mom is Filipino. Growing up, I watched both of them navigate a world that wasn't always built with them in mind. A confusing form. An unclear label. A badly designed interface. For them, these weren't small inconveniences. They were isolating.

That's what brought me to design. Good design doesn't need translation. It closes the distance between a person and what they're trying to do. It sees the human first.

Everything I build is shaped by that. Not just products that work, but products that work for everyone.

Kind Words

According to people I've worked with.

"Sara was an instrumental part of our product design function. Her calm and focused approach meant she could weather ever-changing roadmap priorities while still delivering high quality work at a fast pace. Her drive and forethought to push for our Design System set us up to quickly deliver excellent refined workflows for a number of new product initiatives."

Henry G. · Sr. Director, Product Design

"I was lucky to work with Sara on several major projects. She is a sharp-minded designer who was able to seamlessly blend our stakeholders' wants with the needs and accessibility of our users. Sara also was a great leader on our team and a champion for equity. I highly recommend Sara — she will be an asset to your team."

Monika M. · Product Manager

"Sara was able to collaborate across multiple teams, rapidly iterate on feedback, and deliver incredibly high quality work. Her work sets the foundation for a number of critical projects going forward. Thank you so much for your dedication to our users, your teams, and creating great product!"

Rahim A. · Sr. Product Manager

"Sara's one of the few designers that proactively keeps Engineering in the loop. It's been an absolute pleasure working with her. We've been able to deliver complex projects faster and with outstanding results."

Pablo O. S. · Engineering Manager

"Sara demonstrates the caliber of leadership that defines high-performing organizations: unwavering dependability, authentic mentorship, and remarkable tenacity through change. Any organization looking for a design leader who can drive meaningful impact while building strong, collaborative teams would be incredibly fortunate to work with Sara."

Yoshiko M. · Sr. Product Designer