AUJ BackOffice
A backoffice for connecting junior devs with their first real job, presented to midudev and mouredev.
2024
Timeline
Product Designer
Role
The Problem
As Adopta un Junior scaled, coordinators were managing placements across dozens of companies and hundreds of juniors using spreadsheets and manual tracking. The operational overhead was slowing the program down: a purpose-built backoffice was needed, one that was dense with data but fast to use.
The Challenge
The core challenge was designing a dense backoffice tool that coordinators could use quickly: cross-referencing juniors, companies, and open projects without getting lost in data. Starting from a full site map allowed me to define the information hierarchy before touching any UI. The result was a system where every view has a clear purpose and the most frequent actions are always within reach, without oversimplifying the underlying data model.
Goals
Centralize junior visibility
Build a clear, scannable view of all available juniors with their profiles, skills, availability status, and matching criteria, giving coordinators instant access to the information they need to make decisions.
Manage project availability
Track open slots in participating companies, their requirements, and the status of each opportunity, so coordinators always know where there's room for a new placement.
Streamline assignment and follow-up
Design an efficient workflow for matching juniors to projects and tracking their progress, reducing the manual overhead of managing placements across multiple companies and cohorts.
Background
Adopta un Junior is a growing Spanish initiative that helps junior developers land their first IT job by connecting them with companies willing to mentor and onboard them. As the program scaled, coordinators needed a dedicated tool to efficiently manage the matching process, replacing manual tracking with a purpose-built backoffice. I was responsible for the full design: from information architecture and site mapping to user flows, component design, and final handoff.
My Role & Approach
My scope covered the full design process, from information architecture to handoff. I started with a complete site map before touching any UI, then defined every entity relationship (juniors, companies, projects, assignments) and designed all coordinator flows. I built the full component system in Figma and presented the platform to program leads and the Spanish dev community.
Process
01. Brief & Discovery
Mapped the Adopta un Junior program structure: the relationship between juniors, companies, and coordinators, and the manual process being replaced. Understanding the coordination workflows was the prerequisite before any design decisions.
"Starting with the site map, not the UI, was the design. The information architecture had to be right before any screen made sense."
02. Site Map
Defined the full information architecture before touching any UI. Mapped entities (juniors, companies, projects, assignments) and their relationships to establish a clear hierarchy: the foundation that made the rest of the design systematic.
"Every entity in the system needed its own clear definition before the UI could reflect it."
03. User Flow Design
Designed coordinator workflows: browse available juniors → review profiles → find a matching project → assign → track progress. Each flow was optimized for speed and minimal clicks on the most frequent tasks.
"Coordinator tasks are repetitive: browse → evaluate → match → assign. Every flow was optimized for that specific sequence, not for novelty."
04. Component & UI Design
Built a scannable, data-dense backoffice system in Figma: tables, profile cards, status indicators, and assignment modals, all designed to let coordinators process multiple juniors without losing context.
"A data-dense backoffice that slows users down defeats its own purpose. Scannability was the primary design constraint, not visual polish."
05. Handoff & Presentation
Prepared the complete Figma file for React development and presented the platform to program leads and key figures of the Spanish developer community, including midudev and mouredev.
"The Figma handoff needed to anticipate React component structure: a poorly organized file is a missed opportunity to reduce developer guesswork."
Outcome
The platform shipped in 3 months, then went further: it was presented to prominent figures in the Spanish-speaking developer community, including midudev and mouredev, two of the most influential developer content creators in Latin America and Spain. Their recognition validated the design approach and the initiative's social impact.
Tools
