Open to PM roles · 2026
Product Manager

Anika Badkul

Engineer's brain, product manager's instinct.

Some of my best product calls so far have been knowing when not to build something at all, and being able to say exactly why.

See my work Resume
3
Internships
30+
Users researched
200+
Students taught
Anika Badkul
How I work

What I believe about building product

01
Research before assumptions
The best signal isn't what people say they want. It's what they actually do, and that's where I start.
02
Is it worth building?
Not every problem deserves a solution. Research and data decide what makes the cut, not instinct.
03
Think in systems
My engineering background means I look at how the whole thing fits together, which helps me catch what a decision affects before it ships, not after.
04
Useful beats impressive
A product can be clever and good-looking and still miss the one thing that counts: does it actually help the person using it? That's the test I keep coming back to.
Selected work

Case studies

Research-driven projects from internships, coursework, and self-initiated builds.

All work
KOBL incentive management preview PM Internship · KOBL 2025

Dynamic Incentive Management CRM

Stakeholder research and end-to-end systems mapping for a rule-driven CRM that computes every incentive automatically and transparently, the system behind a ~60% drop in disputes.

Impact~60% fewer disputes
View project
MealPlan honest meal planner preview Product & PRD · Hackathon 2026

MealPlan, an honest meal planner

A SNAP budget becomes an honest 7-day plan that names the shortfall instead of faking it. I led the PRD, research, and vibe-coded build in a six-day sprint with a team of four.

Shipped live6 days · team of 4
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Self Checkout+ touchscreen interface preview Product & UI Lead · Senior Design 2025–2026

Designing trust into a barcode-free checkout

A computer-vision grocery checkout with no barcodes. I owned the customer-facing experience and the integration layer, the full software stack above the CV model.

Result<6s · 0 barcodes
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Schedule Builder redesign preview UX Research & Design · CompSci 325 (HCI) 2026

Rebuilding the campus Schedule Builder

A 30-person survey plus 9 interviews surfaced three friction points. Paper prototypes led to a hi-fi flow that unified prerequisites, ARR tracking, and conflict detection.

Impact7 screens → 1 flow
View project