# Chrissie Denniston > Senior UX Researcher Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/chrissie I’m an experienced mixed-methods UX researcher and app designer. For 20+ years, I’ve specialized in creating digital and physical products for engaged learning, becoming the go-to expert by maintaining a keen empathy for the user. I select the right research methodology depending on needs and constraints to get insights quickly: 1:1 interviews, usability testing, unmoderated surveys, user analytics, and prototype testing. I get deep satisfaction from uncovering insights that help users achieve their jobs to be done, be that getting a job or learning to read. I’m an innovator. I’ve designed 100+ original concepts and prototypes for new digital products, and new technologies spanning a range of media, for startups and large corporations. I’m a team player. Collaborating with cross-functional teams, and translating findings into actionable, “engineering-ready” speak is my jam. I thrive when working with a diverse set of backgrounds and points of view. I'm an "all-rounder" who is equally happy working on research and usability as I am on designing product or process solutions. I’m a mom to two teens, a volunteer reading tutor to two struggling 2nd graders in Oakland, and an adept time juggler. I know how to choose high-impact efforts to get the most out of limited resources. ## Work Experience ### Senior UX Researcher @ Glassdoor Jan 2024 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area ➢ Design and execute end-to-end custom primary research with job seekers, community members, and B2B customers, using a wide variety of research methods ➢ Apply an understanding of marketing funnels and growth tactics to conduct research studies contributing to business impact ➢ Collaborate cross-functionally with design, product management, content strategy, engineering, and marketing ➢ Generate insights that both fuel ideation and propose potential solutions ### UX Research & Design Consultant @ Chrissie Denniston UX Research + Design Strategy Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area • With a human-first approach, I conduct generative and evaluative research to identify insights that help tech start-ups find product-market fit and established companies release effective feature enhancements. • Working closely with the client's product, design, and strategy teams, I tailor research studies to meet their business priorities and resource constraints, building empathy, helping organizations gather target insights, and turning them into actionable ideas. • Using the latest in AI productivity tools, I marry the human touch with efficiency, speed, and pass the cost savings to my clients. ### Lead Game & Product Designer, UX Researcher @ Amira Learning Jan 2020 – Jan 2023 • Led primary and secondary customer/player research including parent interviews, usability testing with young kids, surveys, usage analytics, concept prototyping, discovery, and churn studies that directly influenced the product roadmap. • Narrative designer and creator for innovative first Augmented Reality + AI story app to engage early readers in immersive play while weaving in just-in-time tutoring, based on the Science of Reading. • Synthesized compelling and actionable insights through clear storytelling via presentations, reports, and highlight reels • Leading with a collaborative design-thinking approach, led new product ideation, from strategy, research, prototyping, concept to interaction design, to final QA, and post-launch usage analytics and A/B testing ### Senior Game Designer, R&D @ Age of Learning, Inc. / ABCmouse.com Jan 2015 – Jan 2020 | Greater Los Angeles Area & San Francisco Bay Area • Lead product designer, interaction designer, and content strategist for My Reading Academy: a Science-of-Reading founded adaptive learn-to-read system for 4-7 year-olds. • Designing mobile learning games, videos, and ebooks for PreK-1st grade to build foundational literacy and math skills using adaptive technology • R&D product pitches and content strategy recommendations to senior management • Prototype and explore new technologies and features to stay on top of sensibilities and trends for kids ages 2-8 • Close collaboration with developmental experts to apply research best-practices ### Kids' Game Designer, Product Ideator for Nickelodeon, Hasbro, LeapFrog and other kids media @ Chrissie Denniston Consulting Jan 2010 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco Bay Area & Los Angeles Area Specializing in interactive design, playtesting, and content strategy for educational technology, mobile learning, and kids media companies. Designing interactions that put the needs of the *child* first on all kid-appropriate platforms. Providing design analyses, original product pitches, and recommendations to clients. Past clients include Nickelodeon, Pearson, Hasbro, LeapFrog & Age of Learning. Past shipped products feature both licensed and original kid's IP and games for both the consumer and K-12 markets, with a special focus on reading and language learning. ### Senior Product Manager & UX Designer @ Rosetta Stone Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco, CA Led vision and product definition for Rosetta Stone Kids! A new preschool kids line of speech-recognition-based literacy and language learning mobile games and creation of library of ebooks As the Content/Editorial Lead: - Hired and directly managed team of writers, - Led the editorial and audio production of 85 children's leveled e-books in both English and Spanish, designed to promote oral reading fluency and literacy in emerging readers. ### Senior Learning Game Designer @ Scientific Learning Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | Oakland, CA Leading the creative design of brain-training apps for preschoolers on mobile, tablet and cloud-based platforms. Collaborating with neuroscientists, researchers, teachers and kids to create fun interactive learning games that improve executive function skills of preschoolers. I designed a new character set, teased out the cognitive goals from neuroscientists, designed the interactions, and lead the production of Scientific Learning's first consumer-focused children's game. Eddy's Number Party teachers math skills, while enhancing 3-5 year old's memory and planning skills - all executive function skills needed to thrive in school. ### Senior Producer & Game Designer @ LeapFrog Jan 2001 – Jan 2007 | Emeryville, CA Design -Established design vision on 15 learning games, books, interactive videos and toys -Led cross-functional teams in the creation of new characters, storylines, and sound design -Designed for a broad range of user experiences and platforms, ranging from babies to teens -New concept development core team member, pitching to senior management -Ideated on 100’s of new product concepts -Led dozens of play testing and focus groups with young children and parents (separately) Patent holder Production -Released 15 new game and toy titles to the consumer market -Drove product definition, vision, and priorities through entire product cycle -Directly managed and mentored teams of seasoned and junior digital designers and producers/PMs. -Coordinated global, simultaneous release of products in multiple languages -Created and managed multiple schedules and set the pace of development -Managed simultaneous project budgets: small and large ($3 Million) ### Web Producer and Video Director @ Scholastic Jan 2000 – Jan 2001 | Watertown, MA Tom Snyder Productions: Produced, scripted, and filmed middle school focused online simulation videos featuring role-playing learning games on science and social studies current events topics. ### Kid Tester/Usability Researcher @ WGBH Jan 1999 – Jan 1999 | Boston, MA Produced and led focus group sessions with children to assess age-appropriateness, comprehension, appeal of proposed scripts and games sent in by child viewers for the PBS Kids show: ZOOM. ## Education ### EdM in Technology, Innovation, and Education (TIE) Program Harvard Graduate School of Education ### BA in Political Science, English Wake Forest University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/chrissiedenniston --- Source: https://flows.cv/chrissie JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/chrissie/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-05