Emily Watson Purewal
What I Do
Product and culture leader with 13 years in UX, 10 at Microsoft, driving 0-to-1 launches, cross-functional alignment, and the team culture that lets designers do their best work. I speak Design, PM, and Engineering, and I build the rituals and trust that make real collaboration possible. I bring AI and agentic workflows into how my team operates, while shipping AI-driven experiences that deliver real value.
Experience
Principal Design Manager
Sep 2022 – Present · Remote
Currently leading design for SharePoint Discover, Company home, and News; thoughtfully integrating AI through Copilot and agents. Supporting adoption of agentic workflows on my team with AI-assisted discovery, analysis, and reusable component-based prototyping templates. Previously introduced the Community Expert experience and AI assisted answers for Viva Answers, and rebuilt team culture from the ground up through inclusive planning, structured critique, and psychological safety.
Senior Design Manager
Apr 2019 – Sep 2022
Lead for M365 Frontline. Shipped multiple Frontline apps 0-to-1, from early customer roundtables through design delivery and engineering handoff. Established the cross-functional rituals, roadmaps, and planning cadences that kept design, product, and engineering in genuine alignment, and grew designers into expanded scope and leadership.
Designer 2 → Senior Designer
2016 – 2019
Grew from mid-level designer into a leadership voice; built fluency in complex enterprise systems and a reputation for collaboration.
UX Designer / Developer
Mountain View, CA
Introduced UX practice to a web-design-focused team, designing and building features for an education platform at scale and bridging design and engineering through direct implementation.
Web Designer
Asheville, NC
Independent design practice serving local and regional clients.
Education
BA, New Media / Interactive Design