# Michelle Chin > Seasoned UX Professional: Design systems, DesignOps, User Research | UX Career Coach | Co-host UXIRL and DSWTF Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/michellechin I help teams understand user needs and build more inclusive, scalable design solutions. With 15+ years of experience in UX, research, and design, I bring a unique perspective that combines deep user empathy with systems thinking and operational expertise. My approach centers on research-informed decision making, whether I'm helping teams adopt design systems, streamline operations, or improve accessibility. I specialize in translating complex user insights into actionable strategies that empower teams to succeed. My expertise includes: • User Research: behavioral analysis, stakeholder interviews, usability evaluation, and insights synthesis • DesignOps & Design Systems: research-driven strategy, adoption, governance, and change management • Accessibility: user-centered auditing, inclusive design research, and implementation guidance • Cross-functional Leadership: facilitating alignment between research, design, and business goals • Speaking & Mentoring: sharing insights on UX methods, inclusive design, and UX career development I'm open to research opportunities, speaking engagements, and conversations about inclusive practices, systems thinking, and tree equity! ## Work Experience ### Senior User Experience Researcher @ Paylocity Jan 2025 – Present I get to know folks and see how we can create solutions that make their life easier. ### Founder, Coach & Strategist @ From the Margins Jan 2024 – Present I help individuals design careers they’re proud of—and support teams in building design practices that scale. Through coaching and consulting, I offer the clarity, strategy, and encouragement it takes to move forward with confidence. ### Principal-level Product Designer, Design Systems (official title: Senior Design Advocate) @ zeroheight Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Oakland, California, United States At zeroheight, a B2B design system SaaS platform, I served as Senior Design Advocate, educating the design systems community and consulting with enterprise clients on their design system challenges. This role required deep user empathy, systems thinking, and strong communication skills to translate complex user needs into educational content and actionable insights for the product team. Accomplishments include: • Led annual industry research surveying 300+ design system practitioners, producing *How We Document* reports that influenced documentation best practices (50K+ views). • Conducted user research through consulting interviews and hosting dozens of educational webinars, identifying common challenges, friction points, and emerging trends among design system practitioners. • Transformed research insights into 75+ actionable community resources (templates, courses, e-books, and articles) directly addressing practitioners’ most pressing needs. • Analyzed user behavior through Amplitude and HubSpot to inform quarterly content strategies, identifying engagement patterns and lead generation opportunities for business growth. • Delivered 12+ talks at conferences worldwide, sharing research-backed insights on design with 2,000+ practitioners across the community. • Co-hosted the Design Systems WTF and Design Systems: Beyond the Button podcasts with 2400 live subscribers and 1000+ monthly downloads. ### Principal DesignOps Manager, Product Design @ Citrix Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | Santa Clara County, California, United States At Citrix, an enterprise software company, I established the DesignOps practice for a 60-person product design org. I researched team workflows, pain points, and process inefficiencies to inform strategic initiatives and program development. Working with design and cross-functional leadership, I translated insights into actionable projects, defined milestones, and managed implementation. Accomplishments include: • Investigated challenges and drove initiatives that impacted cross-functional teams across all 8 of Citrix’s product areas to ensure design excellence. Initiatives included design systems, design tooling transitions, and fostering collaboration between disciplines. • Developed scalable and measurable design processes and 24+ playbooks based on workflow analysis and team feedback research. • Led Citrix’s design system, managing a 16-person team, collaborating with 5 engineering teams, creating governance for 30+ products/endpoints, and crafting a strategy praised by the CPTO. • Established learning and development programs, including training 10+ mentors, creating courses for 60+ employees, and advocating for a foundation approach to craft inclusive products. • Collaborated on compliance initiatives as an accessibility subject matter expert, distilling complex technical requirements into clear, tactical guidance for design, engineering, and PM stakeholders. ### Manager II, Product Design / DesignOps @ Citrix Jan 2018 – Jan 2021 | Santa Clara, California, United States I led the Workspace Intelligence and Automation product area, defining OKRs and guiding teams through the product development lifecycle. I partnered with PMs, engineers, and leadership to scope work, establish roadmaps, and advocate for research-informed decisions while balancing business objectives with customer needs. Accomplishments include: • Launched developer experience standards for Citrix's new microapps marketplace, guiding the team on developer workflow research and overseeing the creation of educational resources and UX vetting criteria for marketplace submissions. • Established research operations for internal user research and coached 5 designers to independently facilitate user research sessions, building team research capabilities. • Drove strategic planning and OKR development for key growth projects, including an AI-powered chatbot, workflow builder, and work management solutions. • Led a 12-person federated design system team, infusing user research activities to ensure adoption of component libraries, patterns, and documentation. ### Principal Product Designer @ Citrix Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area For Citrix's ShareFile and RightSignature, I led high-impact initiatives for enterprise solutions used by 80K customers and 20M+ users. I conducted user research independently and with dedicated researchers to convert insights into strategic priorities and seamless user experiences. Accomplishments include: • Spearheaded the UX strategy for Custom Workflows, ShareFile's first enterprise workflow automation product, conducting discovery research to identify manual process pain points and translating insights into product requirements that enable automated workflows, reducing employee reliance on multiple tools and manual handoffs. • Led accessibility audits and remediation efforts, collaborating with engineers to implement ARIA, semantic HTML, and other WCAG guidelines to deliver compliant, accessible solutions. • Won 1st place at the 2018 Raleigh Tech Fair for the Citrix Workspace Push Notifications feature. • Presented pitches and product demos at company-wide and executive meetings, translating complex concepts into compelling stories. ### Lead Product Designer @ Citrix Jan 2014 – Jan 2017 | Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area • Led and supported user research for RightSignature's redesign iterations, facilitating usability sessions, synthesizing findings, and creating research reports (improved SUS scores from 76 to 86 across two design cycles). • Conducted user research for ShareFile's medical imaging expansion, analyzing healthcare workflows and testing concepts via video prototypes (70% positive switching intent). • Introduced information architecture research methods to the team, leading content inventory, Modified-Delphi card sorting, and tree testing, which improved task success rates by 33%. • Mentored 6 designers in developing user research competencies, including planning studies, facilitating sessions, and synthesizing insights to inform product decisions. • Independently managed ResearchOps activities to support an understaffed research team—created screeners, managed consent forms, recruited and scheduled participants, and facilitated synthesis sessions to ensure user insights continued informing critical product decisions. ### Senior User Experience Strategist @ Rock Creek Strategic Marketing Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | Chevy Chase, MD I managed multiple projects simultaneously, guiding clients unfamiliar with UX and accessibility through methods and deliverables to achieve project goals. This role required explaining complex concepts to diverse stakeholders, negotiating scope amid changing deadlines, and delivering user-centered strategies for high-profile clients. Accomplishments include: • Led and mentored teams on UX strategies and design solutions, while collaborating on multiple conference talks to share best practices. • Identified and implemented UX activities throughout project lifecycles, including user interviews, card sorting, wireframes, usability testing, and a QA testing plan that improved responsive site experiences. • Successfully scoped UX work for multi-million dollar bid proposals. • Identified pain points and improved in-house practices, including a QA testing plan for responsive sites. • Clients included the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Education Pioneers, EBSA, Export-Import Bank, and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. ### User Experience Designer @ Serco Inc. Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | Rockville, Maryland In this role, I created graphics/UIs for training applications and tested those products. Our clients were government agencies, which meant accessibility was required of our deliverables. I tested web sites/apps, PDFs, and videos for accessibility. I became the accessibility expert and scaled accessibility efforts across the department by teaching writers, designers, and developers about best practices. ### Quality Assurance Specialist @ Serco Inc. Jan 2003 – Jan 2012 | Rockville, Maryland • Tested WBTs, electronic performance support systems (EPSS), assessments, websites, cross-platform mobile apps, and other digital media for defects, usability, and accessibility compliance • Managed, organized, and revised a thorough and stringent quality assurance testing process • Performed testing procedures under extremely tight deadlines without sacrificing the quality of testing • Developed a comprehensive list of machine configurations for cross-platform testing • Managed the schedule and tasks of part-time quality assurance testers ### Senior Graphic Designer @ Serco Inc. Jan 2003 – Jan 2012 | Rockville, Maryland • Designed and created user interfaces and content graphics for WBTs, Web sites, EPSSs, mobile applications, and promotional print products for various federal government clients • Specifically requested to design and develop deliverables on high-profile projects which included: • VA for Vets because of my innovative and creative ideas • Department of Justice – Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section because of my attention to detail and ability to handle tight deadlines • Developed and composed storyboards for Web sites, programmed HTML and CSS code for the sites’ templates and pages, authored Web site maintenance manuals for clients • Served as lead designer on major, high-visibility projects including marketing and design efforts for the company’s demonstration center and client open house events • Revitalized the look of print-based documents to make the content easier to read and understand – sometimes providing creative solutions for clients with budget or software constraints ### Multimedia Developer @ Serco Inc. Jan 2001 – Jan 2003 | Washington, DC • Assigned to the Library of Congress - Congressional Research Service (CRS) Contract, Washington, District of Columbia • Redesigned the "HotMap," a pivotal site for Congressional staff, for better usability • Introduced a new, more readable format for instruction manuals • Enhanced the CRS site visually to be user-friendly and on par with current Web standards • Revised the architecture and layout for the CRS site's heavily-used search page for increased usability • Consulted and troubleshot HTML and CSS issues with report editors • Customized maps, charts, and other graphics for reports, hearings, television appearances for Congressional senators, representatives, and staffers ### Junior Web Developer @ DeepBridge Content Solutions Jan 2000 – Jan 2001 • Improved and converted training courses from CD-ROM to Web-based using Authorware • Designed and developed company multimedia marketing materials utilizing Flash • Optimized and sliced images for Web sites using Photoshop and ImageReady • Programmed HTML pages for accurate appearance and functionality across multiple browsers • Assisted others with troubleshooting Flash and HTML projects ## Education ### Master of Science Degree in Interaction Design and Information Architecture University of Baltimore ### Certificate in Interactive Multimedia The George Washington University ### Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resources Management, Environmental Education focus University of Maryland ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michelletchin - Portfolio: http://www.michelletchin.net --- Source: https://flows.cv/michellechin JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/michellechin/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13