Clarity in the product. Momentum in the work.

I’m Kristian. I design useful products and lead the work that gets them launched, from payments platforms to websites and internal tools.

I’m Kristian. I design useful products and lead the work that gets them launched, from payments platforms to websites and internal tools.

Open to the right fit
Open to roles and client projects.
Product design, websites, internal tools, and program delivery. Based in Montréal; open to remote work and the right opportunity.
Kristian Clinton, product designer and technical program leader in Montréal

Support-desk instincts, from discovery to delivery. I ask the awkward question early and make the next step clear for the people doing the work.

Support-desk instincts, from discovery to delivery. I ask the awkward question early and make the next step clear for the people doing the work.

Product design & technical program delivery · ValPay

Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Connect on LinkedIn

9+ yrs

across payments, SaaS, and eCommerce

~60%

YoY increase in merchant go-lives, Q1 2025

48h

fastest merchant go-live

3×

partner growth without added support headcount

300%

of support quota at Lightspeed

200%

above the enterprise project objective at Shopify

Don't take my word for it.

From formal letters and LinkedIn recommendations, lightly trimmed. Real people, real work.

LinkedIn · Sep 2026 · Summary
Kristian combines strong payments knowledge with transparency, tenacity, and attention to detail. He cares about doing things well and approaches product problems thoughtfully, with clear outcomes in mind.
Nicolas Grevet
Former Head of Engineering, ValPay · Worked with Kristian
Signed letter · May 2025
Kristian’s versatility is one of his strongest assets. Whether setting strategic direction or rolling up his sleeves to execute, he adapts quickly and delivers in fast-paced, high-stakes environments.
Samuel Jobin-Morissette
VP of Operations, ValPay
LinkedIn · Aug 2026
Kristian has a rare ability to take something complex and make it clear and usable. He’s thoughtful, generous with his time, and someone who elevates the people around him.
Kenneth Jack Fallon
Founding CS in FinTech · Worked with Kristian at ValPay
LinkedIn · Aug 2026
Kristian is highly competent, thoughtful, and dependable, with a strong ability to navigate complex work. He brings candor, a clear point of view, and focus on quality outcomes.
Blake Rouse
Worked with Kristian at ValPay
LinkedIn · Oct 2024
Kristian is an absolute savior! He opens the door to new ideas. He’s direct and to the point, and he’s an amazing team player.
Melissa Good
Worked with Kristian at ValPay
LinkedIn · Feb 2021
When Kristian started, he was already exceeding expectations in quality and quantity. He was consistently top solver of the month and always willing to help the team.
Tatiana Abi Nader
His team lead, then manager, at Lightspeed
LinkedIn · Feb 2023
Kristian is dedicated to customer satisfaction and consistently goes above and beyond. He tackles problems with ease, brings a contagious attitude, and is always willing to help.
David Desrosiers
Hired Kristian at Lightspeed
LinkedIn · Jan 2023
Kristian is proactive in sharing improvement ideas and helping implement them. He has a critical eye and massive knowledge, and I would happily work with him again.
Laurence Turgeon-Di Stefano
Head of Operations EU, Lightspeed
LinkedIn · Nov 2018
Kristian dominated a project with our enterprise sales team that was ambiguous, acted like an owner and took charge when he saw opportunity to add value.
Matt Hyde
Managed Kristian at Shopify
LinkedIn · Dec 2018
Kristian excels at websites, marketing, and communications. He is charismatic, well-spoken, and consistently an asset to any team he joins.
Bart van Meurs
Client of Kristian

Ways I help teams move forward.

A few themes I keep coming back to.

Product design

Discovery, user flows, prototypes, design systems, and developer handoff.

Websites and internal tools

Public websites and operational products that make everyday work clearer.

Program delivery

Roadmaps, dependencies, stakeholder alignment, and coordinated launches.

Support desk first, program plans second.

2010 – 2016
The scenic route
Taught English in Beijing, au paired in the Netherlands, and ran live events for thousands. I learned to explain complicated things to every audience imaginable.
2016 – 2017
Tucows
Worked as a domain technician, building the technical foundation in domains, DNS, and customer problem-solving that led into commerce support.
2017 – 2019
Shopify
Started on the merchant support desk, helping thousands of businesses launch and grow online. Every design instinct I have traces back to those conversations.
2020 – 2024
Lightspeed
Three years of technical support for online stores, then go-to-market operations. I learned how commerce actually works, from the storefront code to the contract.
2024 – now
ValPayNow
Joined to lead customer success, moved into product design, and now pair design with program delivery: roadmaps, sprint planning, and release cycles across product, engineering, and compliance, plus an onboarding redesign that cut go-live to as fast as 48 hours.
Follow my journey · hover, tap, or focus a city
Europe · 2010–2012China · 2012–2013Canada · 2014–Present

Tools, systems, and platforms.

Design & systems
Figma
Framer
Design systems
WCAG accessibility
Payments
Stripe
Adyen
Fiserv
Merchant onboarding
AI workflow
Claude
ChatGPT
Gemini
Vercel v0
Project & delivery
Jira
Confluence
Notion
Asana
Platforms
Shopify
Salesforce
Magento
WordPress

Outside the work.

Montréal, year-round
Home base through every ice storm and construction season. Poutine opinions available on request. Strong ones.
My Husky/Shiba Inu mix arrived with a page-long disclaimer: anxiety meds, destructive, “trouble housebreaking.” Two weeks in the right home and he was off everything and thriving. Environment is everything: true for dogs, true for products.
Perpetual AI experiments
Always tinkering with Claude, v0, and whatever shipped this week. Half the experiments make it into my workflow. The other half make good stories.
Volunteer, raw milk division
I help the Canadian Artisan Dairy Alliance, champions of raw milk, with websites, infrastructure, and fundraising. Compensation occasionally arrives in dairy form. I do not object.
First aid, tested
Certified since my Air Cadet days, thanks to an instructor whose intensity I only understood twenty years later, the day the training kicked in. Take a course. Seriously.
Ten days of silence
One ten-day Vipassana retreat: no phone, no talking, no eye contact. Harder than any incident review, and the best perspective reset I know.

I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

Hiring for a role or planning a project? Tell me what you need help with: product design, a website or internal tool, or program delivery. I’ll follow up by email.

Hiring for a role or planning a project? Tell me what you need help with: product design, a website or internal tool, or program delivery. I’ll follow up by email.

© 2026 Kristian Clinton · Made in Montréal.