Melanie Cernak Staff Product Designer · SF

Complex systems, made human.

Trust. Systems. People.

I'm Melanie, a Staff Product Designer who makes high-stakes enterprise software feel fair, clear and humane. I build new products inside established companies, often before there's a roadmap for them.

Melanie Cernak in front of a mural
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CURRENTLYSenior Staff Product Designer at Checkr
FOCUSEnterprise, fraud, fair chance hiring
RECOGNITIONFast Company World Changing Ideas
01SELECTED WORK
Image comparison alert: one candidate, two different people
01CHECKR · 2026 · 0 TO 1 FOR EMPLOYERS

Hiring fraud detection

Taking Checkr beyond background checks, from zero to a new product line.

$5M+projected 2027 revenue
760K+resumes screened
40+early access customers
Sole & lead designer · 0 → 1 · Designed and shipped in code
Read the case study ↗
HOW I WORK
Start narrow, learn fast.Prove one signal with real customers before building the suite.
Show the reasoning, not just a score.Plain-language labels and evidence people can check for themselves.
Design for the person on the other side of the record.Every system I build has a candidate on the receiving end.

More work

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02ABOUT

I lead design strategy for Enterprise at Checkr, removing bias from hiring and expanding access to jobs for people with criminal records.

I care about our most vulnerable populations and using design to drive social change, shaping how the world's largest companies approach fair chance hiring.

WHAT I CARE ABOUT
{{ v.title }} {{ v.body }} Where it started: Center for Effective Global Action ↗
HOW I BUILD

Something to
react to,
fast.

In undefined spaces, the most useful thing I can make is a working prototype people can react to. I build them with AI tools, put them in front of customers within days, and ship front-end code myself when that's the faster path. Less time on handoffs means more time with the people who use what we build.

Synthesizing research on a whiteboard
03SPEAKING

Design influence

TALKS · PANELS · COMMUNITY
Presenting on design for social impact
01JAN 2024 · CHECKR COMPANY KICKOFFTold the 0→1 story of Candidate Stories to 2,000 people at Checkr's annual kickoff: how passionate people came together to make our product more fair, giving people with records a chance to share their stories.
SF Design Week panel
02JUN 2025 · SF DESIGN WEEKConceived and produced Designing Fairness: The Future of Justice Reform, a sold-out SF Design Week panel. I pitched the idea, recruited six organizations across the justice system, from prevention to reentry, shaped the content with each speaker, and presented Checkr's approach to fair chance hiring.
OFF THE CLOCK

I like turning what-ifs into real experiences.

What would a party feel like if everyone were my height? I made platform shoes for my friends, brought everyone up to 5'11", and we spent The Same Height Party seeing eye to eye.

Friends at the Same Height Party, all wearing platform shoes
Handmade pink foam platform shoes