# Erika Cary

> Staff Product Designer · Content, AI & Personalization · Pinterest

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/erikacary

UX design strategist with experience designing AI-powered products — from personalization algorithms and recommendation systems to AI content frameworks. Currently at Pinterest leading design for content relevance and distribution. Formerly at The YES, an AI-first shopping platform, where I led design for the core recommendation and feedback loop experiences that taught the algorithm to learn user taste.  
https://erikacary.com/

## Work Experience
### Staff Product Designer @ Pinterest
Jan 2023 – Present
- Lead designer for content & signals.  Designed a context-aware framework for AI-generated content at Pinterest, defining appropriateness based on user intent — enabling inspirational use cases while protecting users in high-stakes, action-oriented contexts.
- Lead designer for Shopping at Pinterest ('22-'24). Led design for company wide shopping efforts, resulting in Pinterest's first $1B+ quarter.

### Senior Product Designer @ Pinterest
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | Kirkland, Washington, United States
- Lead designer for Shopping at Pinterest
- Defined a feedback mechanism framework, capturing the full spectrum of user signals to inform personalized recommendations — a system that continues to be iterated on today.

### Product Designer @ THE YES (acquired by Pinterest)
Jan 2018 – Jan 2022 | Burlingame, CA
The YES was an AI-powered shopping platform (acquired by Pinterest, $30M raised). I led UX design for the core AI shopping experience — including the onboarding taste profile, product recommendation surfaces, and the feedback loops that trained the personalization model on user behavior.

- Designed the app and site from scratch.
- Led all UX design
- Partnered with visual designer and creative team to apply app branding
- Established quick and iterative design process working closely with product and engineering.
- Bonus: Making front-end (React Native, React.js) changes to the site and app in my spare time.

### Product Designer @ Yahoo
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018
Worked with Polyvore team in an internal incubator program at Yahoo, taking new product concepts from storyboard to MVP in 60-day sprints — 30 days designing and building, 30 days testing and iterating. Conducted user research to validate concepts before committing to build, collaborated cross-functionally with engineers to ship, and iterated based on real user feedback.

### Mobile UX Designer @ Polyvore
Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | Sunnyvale, California
Acquired by Yahoo

- Designed features for UGC, community based app that brought passionate users together through digital, affiliate linked collages.
- Influenced and shaped product design to create usable and delightful experiences.
- Built a strong foundation of best practices for onboarding, user generated content creation, and social mechanics.
- Created design deliverables including user scenarios, storyboards, user flows (high level and detailed), wireframes, interactive prototypes, animations, and visual designs to support the entire product development cycle.

### UX Designer @ Fuzz Productions
Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | Brooklyn
- Led designs for iOS and Android projects. Delivered experiences for clients such as Zagat and Disney
- Built a strong foundation of best practices in Android and iOS components.
- Created user flows, wireframes, and prototypes for stakeholder buy-ins and reviews.


## Education
### BS in COE - Commerce, Organization, and Entrepreneurship
Brown University


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ecary
- Portfolio: http://erikacary.com/

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Source: https://flows.cv/erikacary
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/erikacary/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-31