Kunal Abichandani, Rilla’s Head of Product and DesignImage used with permission by copyright holder
Designers and engineers are no longer working alone with static tools and linear workflows. Today’s product development cycle is becoming faster, more flexible, and increasingly collaborative, powered by intelligent systems that can generate code, mockups, and test cases in seconds.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming how teams build products, shifting the role of designers and engineers from manual creators to high-speed collaborators. From generating code to accelerating testing, AI is streamlining every stage of the development cycle. At Rilla, a company known for its virtual ride-along software, this transformation is already well underway.
Behind much of that evolution is Kunal Abichandani, Rilla’s Head of Product and Design, who views AI not as a threat but as a productivity multiplier. “AI isn’t replacing engineers or designers,” he says. “It’s helping them work faster, iterate more, and stay focused on the problems that matter most.”
Building Rilla: From Code to Craft
Kunal’s journey at Rilla began as the founding engineer, where he laid the technical foundation for Rilla’s core web and mobile platforms. As the company grew, he transitioned into the role of founding product designer, shaping intuitive user experiences and launching critical features.
Today, he leads Rilla’s product and design org – defining the roadmap, aligning teams around customer needs, and setting the quality bar across design and UX. Collaborating closely with leadership, he drives strategy, ships high-impact features, and champions a design system that scales with the business.
Shipping Fast, Iterating Faster
At Rilla, speed is part of the culture. “Shipping product insanely fast is in Rilla’s DNA,” Abichandani states. That mindset has remained consistent since the company’s earliest days. “From the beginning, the founders built the entire product on their own and expanded quickly.”
Abichandani believes in the importance of combining velocity with empathy. “We’re always trying to solve real-world pain points for field teams. Our goal is to make our tools feel indispensable, not just usable.”
To achieve this, the team adopts an iterative development model. “We ship quickly, learn from every release, and use those insights to refine the product. That constant feedback loop drives everything.”
“Vibe Coding” and AI-Driven Development
One of the most transformative tools at Rilla has been the integration of AI into the development process, particularly through a practice the team calls “vibe coding.”
“Vibe coding means telling an AI tool, like Cursor, what you want in plain language and letting it generate the code,” explains Abichandani. Rather than writing HTML or CSS line by line, Rilla’s engineers can prompt the AI to create near-production-ready components. “You can say, ‘Create a dark-mode modal to delete this recording with 16 px padding,’ and it just generates the code.”
But the output isn’t always perfect. “By default, AI tools often pick random colors or placeholder text that don’t match our brand,” he says. To address this, the team is developing a code-first design system. “It’s a single source of truth—every color token, spacing scale, and component lives there. Once our AI tools pull from that system, the code they generate will look and feel like native Rilla UI.”
That approach, he notes, has changed everything. “Instead of spending hours cleaning up AI-generated boilerplate, we’re getting code that fits almost perfectly. It slashes cleanup time and lets us focus on real problems.”
Prototyping That Feels Real
Abichandani finds that product ideas are best evaluated when they’re tangible. “Static mockups don’t capture the feel of an interaction. you may’t see how data flows or how a button behaves just by looking at a screenshot.”
Instead, he prefers building interactive prototypes. “I often skip static mocks and go straight to code. I’ll create a scrappy prototype that loads mock data and lets stakeholders click through the flow.”
That hands-on approach allows for faster feedback. “When you’re able to actually use a feature, even in rough form, it’s easier to decide what works and what doesn’t.”
The Rise of Designers Who Code
For Abichandani, one of the most exciting trends in product development is the rise of hybrid talent: designers who code.
“When designers can write code, they think about the entire experience: how it performs, how it feels, and how real users interact with it,” he says. “They own both form and function.”
This mindset shortens development cycles. Instead of writing a spec and handing it off, a designer can push a working version, watch users interact with it, and refine it immediately.
AI tools like Cursor make this even more accessible. “Even if a designer isn’t fluent in code, they can ask AI to update a hover state or tweak spacing, and the code updates itself.”
AI as a Partner, Not a Replacement
At Rilla, AI is used to extend human capabilities, not replace them. “We use AI to eliminate repetitive tasks,” Abichandani explains. “It can review pull requests, generate UI variations, write unit tests, or polish copy.”
That shift frees up engineers to focus on higher-impact work. “It removes blockers and creates consistency across the board.”
AI also serves as an ever-present mentor. “It helps with idiomatic code, layout ideas, and better copy. It’s like having a senior engineer or designer sitting beside you 24/7.”
In a fast-paced environment, Abichandani says guidance makes a measurable difference. “It fills the gap where traditional mentorship might fall short.”
Tinkering as a Team Philosophy
Rilla’s product culture encourages experimentation with AI. “We want everyone to tinker with models and tools,” Abichandani says. “Not just engineers, designers, PMs, everyone.”
This hands-on curiosity fuels innovation. When someone encounters a customer challenge, they can utilize an AI tool to see if it sparks a solution. “Some of our best ideas have come from quick internal tests,” Abichandani notes.
He states that the pace of AI progress means the team must constantly adapt. “It’s evolving so quickly. The only way to stay ahead is to stay curious.”
Building Toward What’s Next
Rilla believes that AI will remain central to how its team works. “We’re building a system where AI and humans collaborate,” Abichandani says. “From idea to prototype to final product, every step is supported by tools that boost our capacity to deliver.”
But the ultimate goal isn’t just efficiency, it’s empathy. “We’re building tools that make people’s lives easier in the field. That only happens when we stay close to our users, move fast, and use AI to remove what’s in the way.”
For teams looking to follow Rilla’s lead, Abichandani offers this advice: “Start small. Let your team explore. And remember, AI is not a shortcut. It’s a way to spend more time on what matters most: listening, adapting, and delivering solutions that truly help.”
In a world where product cycles are shorter and expectations higher, that philosophy may be the blueprint for the future. As AI continues to evolve, it’s the teams that stay agile, curious, and human-centered who will design what comes next. Companies that succeed will be those who see AI not as a replacement but as a creative partner. By rethinking how people and systems interact, they can unlock faster innovation without sacrificing quality, vision, or purpose.
