Anca Sofan, Product Lead and Senior UX Designer at BoatyardX, brings over 19 years of design experience to the table, blending creative intuition with strategic thinking. Based in Cluj-Napoca, she plays a key role in shaping user-centric digital products across industries—from compliance platforms to sustainability tech. Anca is deeply involved in discovery, prototyping, and product leadership, helping cross-functional teams align on what truly matters: creating meaningful, intuitive experiences that deliver real impact.
What is your role at BoatyardX and what does a typical day look like for you?
I’m a Senior UX Designer here at BoatyardX, recently leaning more and more into a Product Lead role (apparently I like juggling hats). Most days are a mix of planning + leading scrum ceremonies, designing user journeys, aligning with stakeholders, and making sure we’re not just building things right – but building the right things. I bounce between Figma, Miro, Jira, and real-life human-interaction to connect the dots across design, delivery, and strategy. No two days look the same, which is exactly how I like it.
What challenges have you faced in your role and how have you overcome them?
Start-up projects can be… fun. You’re constantly trying to keep users happy while navigating ambitious ideas, unclear pathways, competing priorities, and the occasional moving target. The trick? Early alignment, strong discovery, and having the confidence that as a team we can figure it out together. I’ve learned to embrace the grey areas, ask the uncomfortable questions, and create space for better decisions – not just faster ones.
What have been your proudest achievements while working at BoatyardX?
Definitely the Butterfly Project (not its real name, but it stuck). It started as a super complex, lingo-heavy vision and turned into more than a platform – it’s a bridge between tech and the urgent need for sustainability in biodiversity conservation. I led it from discovery and design to live, shaped the product goal, and helped the team bring it across the finish line. The best part? Knowing it helps real people make smarter, greener decisions and sets the stage for future environmental innovation. Watching it land well with the client and end users was the kind of validation that comes with great satisfaction.
Join BoatyardX
Spread across 5 locations, Cluj, Iasi and Brasov (Romania), Dublin (Ireland) and Chicago (US), the BoatyardX team continues to grow. With customers in North and South America, Europe, Northern Africa and South-East Asia, the team spans the key working timezones. Expertise is enhanced across the teams through establishing technical competency groups led by experienced leaders, charged with ensuring best practice and efficient learning across all the organisation.