Mallika Sharma is a product designer based in Bangalore, though "based" is doing a lot of work for someone who's constantly looking for the next flight out.

She loves animals with an intensity that her friends describe as "a lot" and she describes as "completely reasonable." Cats, dogs, the random street dog that followed her for three blocks, a surprisingly cute piggies, all of them. She believes in adopt, don't shop, and takes this seriously enough that she has a running mental list of sanctuaries that will let her get unreasonably close to a cheetah. She is working on it.

When she isn't planning her next animal encounter, she's travelling, less for the landmarks, more for what's on the plate. Veg food specifically. She has strong opinions about where to find the best thali in Goa, will plan an entire itinerary around a restaurant recommendation, and considers finding a great meal in an unfamiliar city one of life's more reliable pleasures.

The design work started after four years of petroleum engineering, when she realised the part she actually liked was never the oil, it was the problem-solving. Design offered the same puzzle with better feedback loops and considerably more colour.

Since 2022 she's worked on enterprise compliance platforms, a social app for people over 65, a job-matching marketplace built from zero, and a financial wellness product in the Philippines. Different industries, same underlying question: what does this person actually need, and what's stopping them from getting it?

Currently designing at Parallel. Occasionally making things on the internet.