# James Jacobsen > Director of UX | Enterprise SaaS & AI Product Design | 0-to-1 Builder | Design Systems & Team Leadership Location: Santa Rosa, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/jamesjacobsen Design leader with 15+ years driving product strategy and user experience for enterprise SaaS platforms, AI-powered tools, and high-scale B2C and B2B products. Proven track record leading global design teams, influencing C-suite product strategy, and driving measurable outcomes through systems thinking, experimentation, and data-informed design. Deep expertise in 0-to-1 development, design systems, and embedding UX as a strategic driver of adoption, retention, and revenue. ## Work Experience ### Director of User Experience @ Grocery Outlet Jan 2024 – Present | California, United States Lead product design strategy across Grocery Outlet's consumer loyalty ecosystem and internal enterprise platforms for a Fortune 1000 retailer, partnering cross-functionally to improve engagement, retention, and operational efficiency. • Lead product design strategy for Grocery Outlet's mobile app and digital ecosystem, serving 2M+ monthly active users with a 4.5 App Store rating, aligning Product, Engineering, and Marketing on shared design principles and release priorities. • Define product experience strategy across multiple platforms, aligning business goals, brand standards, and technical feasibility. • Led redesign of the customer-facing mobile loyalty app to drive repeat engagement, retention, and revenue growth. • Remain hands-on across high-stakes product work, contributing Figma prototypes, user flows, design system components, and facilitating design sprints while driving engagement and conversion improvements through A/B testing and funnel analysis. • Established insight-led prioritization through usability testing, qualitative research, and partner/store feedback loops. • Guide experience quality through UX acceptance standards, interaction patterns, and scalable design practices. ### Senior Design Manager @ FourKites, Inc. Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | Chicago, Illinois, United States I led design strategy and delivery for next-generation enterprise logistics products at FourKites, a Series D+ SaaS platform used by Fortune 500 logistics teams to track and manage global supply chains in real time. • Led a cross-functional design team shaping product vision and execution for enterprise logistics experiences. • Defined UX strategy for AI-driven platforms tracking 3.2M+ shipments daily across 50% of the Fortune 500, improving adoption through redesign of data-heavy surfaces and reducing manual steps by 30%. • Improved alignment across Product/Engineering through shared frameworks, critique rhythms, and delivery standards. • Presented design strategy and roadmap recommendations directly to the CPO and C-suite, influencing product investment decisions and shaping platform direction. • Conducted enterprise research to validate roadmap priorities, improving product adoption and reducing time-to-value for new account onboarding. ### Head of Product Design- TradeLens @ A.P. Moller - Maersk Jan 2022 – Jan 2023 | Jersey City, New Jersey, United States As Head of Product Design I owned the end-to-end design vision for TradeLens, a Maersk and IBM joint venture that became one of the world's largest blockchain-powered trade platforms, supporting global documentation, compliance, and shipment visibility across international shipping partners. • Owned end-to-end product design across TradeLens, leading a global team of designers and researchers from discovery and research through final UI delivery. • Partnered with IBM and international stakeholders to deliver secure, intuitive enterprise experiences on a novel blockchain infrastructure, balancing complex technical constraints with real user needs. • Grew from founding designer to Head of Product Design over four years, promoted three times across the TradeLens program. • Partnered with IBM and international stakeholders to deliver secure, intuitive enterprise experiences on a novel blockchain infrastructure, balancing technical constraints with user needs. ### Design Manager- TradeLens @ A.P. Moller - Maersk Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | Jersey City, NJ As Design Manager I scaled the design practice across TradeLens during a period of rapid platform growth, building the systems and standards that allowed the team to move faster without sacrificing quality. • Established a shared component library adopted across all product teams, reducing design redundancies by 20% and improving cross-team consistency and release velocity. • Drove research and usability testing programs that measurably improved clarity and efficiency across core trade documentation and compliance workflows. • Led UX, visual, and information design and serving as the voice of UX while passionately advocating for end users. • Worked collaboratively with Product Owners, Engineers and customer facing stakeholders to deliver wireframes, high fidelity mocks, new concepts and end-end user flow designs. • Interpreted business needs and client feedback and turned them into compelling creative solutions, while working to increase user engagement and reduce pain-points. ### Senior UX Designer- TradeLens @ A.P. Moller - Maersk Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Jersey City, New Jersey, United States I joined TradeLens as the founding designer, responsible for designing a net-new enterprise platform built on blockchain infrastructure for global supply chains. Over four years I was promoted three times, growing from individual contributor to Head of Product Design. • Designed the foundational platform UX for TradeLens from the ground up, contributing to early product definition, interaction design, and iterative usability improvements. • Managed junior designers, providing design direction, coaching, and critiques as the team scaled. • Collaborated directly with senior stakeholders and engineering leads to ensure design decisions met both user needs and complex technical constraints. • Worked cross departmentally, meeting with several internal stakeholders, as well as the CEO to ensure requirements and business goals were met. ### Senior Visual Designer @ iPullRank Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | New York, New York • Conducted user testing and usability research along with design analysis in a fast-paced, SEO-focused agency. • Partnered with clients on SEO-driven UX enhancements, feature requests, and conversion improvements. • Delivered working prototypes, digital mockups, user personas, and custom graphics for clients. • Developed marketing collateral and decks, resulting in a 40% increase in brand reach and 20% increase in lead generation. • Worked with notable clients such as American Express, Sucuri, MGM Resorts, Adidas, BestVPN and UndergroundHipHop.com. ### Senior UI/UX Designer @ Ziff Davis Jan 2014 – Jan 2018 | New York, NY Led visual storytelling across high-traffic digital media brands, collaborating with editorial, video, and audience teams to turn complex topics into engaging, shareable content. • Lead designer across brands including PCMag, IGN, Mashable, and Geek, shaping UX and visual systems across web, mobile, and social. • Delivered platform and template enhancements that improved engagement (+15%) and increased traffic (+30%). • Defined design patterns and editorial templates to improve consistency and speed content production. • Partnered with editors, producers, and audience development to align design execution with growth priorities and campaign goals. • Led usability analysis and surveys to identify experience gaps and inform decisions for site improvements. • Managed designers, videographers, and photographers across high-visibility editorial initiatives and campaigns. ### Designer @ Ziff Davis Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | New York • Led Design on major redesigns of PCMag.com and Geek.com. This included wireframing, mocking, interactive prototyping, and specification creation. • Oversaw brand guidelines and created assets for use across multiple platforms, including desktop, mobile and print. • Designed magazine layouts and produced animations for live videos, contributing to a 20% increase in reader engagement and a 10% increase in content consumption. • Designed annual awards and logos for use on all sites and in paid licensing/promotion. • Created digital video’s and animations for use across multiple social media platforms. • Oversaw and helped grow Instagram follower base by over 55%. ### Contracted Designer @ Various Jan 2006 – Jan 2015 | Greater New York City Area • Clients included Hawkins International PR, Read Ahead, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC. • Over 10 years experience in work that focuses on UI/UX, photo editing, illustration for web, web/print design, typography, motion graphics and marketing, with superior expertise in Sketch, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign for both Mac and Windows platforms. • Work includes outreach material for benefits, parties and various special events. ### Graphic Designer @ Hawkins International Public Relations Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | New York, NY • Revamped online and print marketing materials, establishing visual standards. • Collaborated with key stakeholders on RFPs and client proposals. • Created branded communication materials for use in increasing client base and acquiring new international partners. • Designed interactive PowerPoint layouts/templates for use in client presentations. ### Email Outreach Designer @ Metropolitan Opera Jan 2012 – Jan 2012 | Greater New York City Area • Designed visually compelling email campaigns promoting performances, events, and fundraising initiatives for a global arts institution. • Collaborated with marketing and editorial partners to translate artistic programming into engaging, on-brand email content. ### Development Manager @ iMentor Jan 2010 – Jan 2012 | New York ### Consultant/Social Media @ Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC Jan 2010 – Jan 2010 ### Development Associate @ American Jewish World Service Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 ### Outreach Manager @ Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC Jan 2008 – Jan 2009 ## Education ### User Experience Design- UX/UI in Interaction and Research, Design and Applied Arts General Assembly ### Master of Science - MS in Business Administration and Management, General New York University ### Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA in Graphic Design SUNY New Paltz ### High School Diploma Montgomery High School ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jamesjacobsen - Portfolio: http://www.jamesljacobsen.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/jamesjacobsen JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/jamesjacobsen/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13