Bc. Nikita Carulkov
Mathematician turned Product and Innovation Manager
Hi, I’m Niki and I help organizations navigate change and develop innovations with positive impact.
With a background in theoretical mathematics and 5 years of experience leading complex projects, I help corporations, family businesses, and NGOs design human-centered innovations with positive impact on our society and environment.
I’m open to work as a Co-founder, Researcher, Product Manager or Innovation Project Lead.
Professional Experience
Innovation Project Leader | Q Designers | 2023 – Present
Lead innovation projects for global corporations, family-owned businesses, and NGOs.
Facilitated workshops that helped key stakeholders commit to change in their organization.
Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to create human-centered solutions with positive impact on our society and environment.
Actively proposed further collaboration with current clients and prepared cooperation proposals which resulted in sales for over 3,75 million CZK over 3 years.
Previous Experience
My previous experience was a couple of years of freelance work as an Ethical hacker, Backend programmer and Product manager. Ultimately it helped me to realize that I want to do a human-centered service design and use my IT knowledge to design and prototype solutions.
How I approach my work and complex problems
Project leadership and teamwork: As a team leader, I see my main value in understanding context and helping my team understand what we are doing and why we are doing it. I trust my team and let each individual take responsibility for their part of the project.
Interdisciplinary approach (mathematics, design, social sciences): My experience in social sciences helps me learn as much as possible from the user’s perspective. My approach from mathematical studies helps me categorize information and see patterns. While the design approach helps me come up with solutions and iterate them.
Stakeholder management and communication: Ultimately, I see myself as kind of a Detective Columbo researcher. I kindly and relentlessly approach people with humble interest in their motivations and opinions that help me design solutions.
Key skills
Leadership
- 1.Leading Design sprints
- 2.Stakeholder management and mapping
- 3.Listening
Tech
- 1.Deep understanding of tech infrastructure
- 2.Vibe-code rapid prototyping
- 3.Cybersecurity patterns
Service design
- 1.Customer journey mapping
- 2.Research design
- 3.Iterating Unique value proposition
My best projects
Building a digital health tool for gender diverse people on HRT
Align Nutrition
Crafting a strategy to communicate the impact of wetlands preservation
Veolia Foundation
Defining the value proposition for the first energy cooperative in Czechia
Friends of the Earth Czech Republic (Hnutí DUHA)
Designing a program that helps young adults from foster homes to successfully become independent
Komerční Banka Corporate Foundation
Designing a service that enables households to take part in balancing the grid
E.ON Czechia
Scaling a family owned business with a service that supports women after birth
STOB – Stop Obesity
Education
Bachelor’s Degree in Social studies (major: Sociocultural anthropology)
Charles University - Faculty of Humanities | Expected 2026
Bachelor’s Degree in Theoretical Mathematics (major: Cryptography)
Language skills
Czech: Native speaker
Russian: Native speaker
English: C1
Danish: A2
Three wishes I have for my next work
A team of accountable and kind people: I can’t overstate how important it is having the right people around. Accountable management that can admit mistakes and communicate with transparence.
Trust: I want to work in a team of competent people where I can trust that promises are kept and where I’m trusted to deliver my goals and handle my responsibilities.
Flexibility & integrity: While I’m fairly flexible in terms of having to work more for a short period of time and I’m happy to help my teammates out when needed, I work to live, not the other way around. Burn out is a nasty condition and sustainable workload is a must.
Schedule a coffee with me via nikita.carulkov@gmail.com or LinkedIn.