# Nannearl Brown > UX Researcher at Figma | Co-host of the PAGES Pod Podcast Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/nannearl I came into the UX field by way of systems engineering and the social impact space, so naturally, I approach user research and human-centered design with heart and genuine curiosity. I'm a compassionate UX strategist with a love for storytelling and holistic design. I care most about amplifying the voices of people to facilitate the creation of meaningful and intuitive, end-to-end experiences, especially for products with positive social repercussions. My leadership experience includes leading user experience workshops and facilitating discussions on tech and culture in the Los Angeles community as the co-creator of the community-oriented program, Tech Cypher. I'm also the creator and host of the UX-focused YouTube channel, Unpacked Angles. My portfolio: www.nannearlswork.com I also welcome opportunities to speak, especially for causes that aim to empower women or Black/Brown people in STEM or business. Upcoming speaking engagements: ➤ Agile Testing Days USA, Chicago (June 2022) Prior speaking engagements include: ➤ Black Tech Takeover, Virtual (2021) ➤ The UX Conference, Virtual (2021) ➤ HUE Tech Summit, Virtual (2020) ➤ UCLA Tech Summit - UCLA, Los Angeles (2019) ➤ Tech Cypher, Los Angeles (2018) ➤ Inside Careers in UX/UI Design - UCLA Career Center, Los Angeles (2018) ➤ Technology | Hustle | Culture 2.0 Conference - Dev Jam Labs, San Diego (2018) ➤ UX for A.I. Workshop - Creative Spoons, Los Angeles (2018) ## Work Experience ### Researcher @ Figma Jan 2020 – Present Helping teams ground their decisions in a deep understanding of what people need. Conducts research collaboratively to help teams frame the problem space. ### BLX (Black & Latinx) ERG Co-Lead @ Figma Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 ### User Experience (UX) Educator @ Thinkful Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Remote At Thinkful, I remotely mentored and educated students enrolled in the UX/UI Design Flex and Bloc Designer Track online bootcamps on a part-time basis. Additionally, I reviewed design assignment submissions to monitor and assess the students' understanding of user experience research and design topics. ### Director of User Experience (UX) @ Emma Beauty Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Greater Los Angeles Area Owned the entire UX research and design process, leading the organization in generative and evaluative research methods including in-depth, one-on-one interviews, field studies and remote and in-person usability testing in order to inform and create wireframes and mockup designs for mobile and responsive web products. • Authored user tasks, defined usability testing priorities and tested high-fidelity prototypes using usertesting.com; increased successful task completion by 50% • Planned, moderated, and analyzed generative and evaluative research like user interviews, usability testing, field studies, and other nontraditional methods with 100+ participants • Led UX efforts to increase use of Emma Beauty Assistant iOS app by 250% over 7 months without marketing efforts • Analyzed qualitative and quantitative research data to identify, evaluate, and produce tangible findings • Planned, moderated, and scribed one-on-one usability studies to better understand user motivations, behaviors, and needs under a $200 budget • Created personas, stories, and scenarios to establish product requirements and increase team understanding of users • Presented research results to communicate actionable insights and prioritized recommendations via storytelling • Partnered closely with the CEO to balance company goals with user needs • Effectively tailored research strategy and approach within the constraints of a fast-paced, complex environment • Designed wireframes, accessible and CCPA-compliant high-fidelity mockups, and prototypes that incorporated user feedback to contribute to user-centered design efforts • Created style guides to promote and maintain design consistency ### Lead User Experience (UX) Researcher @ Teens Exploring Technology Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Greater Los Angeles Area • Collaborated with design and engineering teams during web and mobile product development process • Synthesized research findings; presented actionable recommendations to executives and non-design audiences • Oversaw the design of surveys and survey analysis for generative research studies • Organized, tailored, and moderated in-person and remote usability testing sessions for 100+ participants ### User Experience (UX) Designer @ Creative Spoons Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Greater Los Angeles Area • Utilized card sorting and affinity diagramming to enhance website information architecture, reducing bounce rate by 20% and increasing average visit time by 90% • Defined usability testing parameters, recruited users, facilitated usability tests, and synthesized and reported results for 3 client websites • Created user personas and scenarios in order to enhance functionality and usability for key audiences ### Jr. User Experience (UX) Research Consultant @ ICF Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Rockville, Maryland • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to design a research plan and 3 surveys reaching 1000+ (statistically significant) users, resulting in the delivery of concise user stories and actionable recommendations • Delivered 2 detailed reports on research study findings to non-technical stakeholders, resulting in recommended software updates for 10 divisions and offices  • Gathered requirements from 10+ users; conducted 5+ interviews and focus groups to discover stakeholder needs ### Business Technology Analyst @ FCI Enterprises LLC Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Pentagon - Washington, D.C.; Ft. Belvoir, VA • Crafted technical requirements as the main liaison between the U.S. Army CIO and IT departments, resulting in a 50% efficiency increase of all virtual meetings • Designed five standard protocols for the use of conference technology, and solved 20+ technical issues through troubleshooting ## Education ### Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management (Focus: Social Entrepreneurship) University of Southern California ### Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Systems Engineering University of Virginia ### Software Product Management Product School ### Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering Science University of Virginia ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nannearlbrown - Portfolio: http://www.nannearl.com - Portfolio: http://www.nannearlswork.com - Portfolio: http://www.nannearlswork.com/blog --- Source: https://flows.cv/nannearl JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/nannearl/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-25