# Tammy Coombs > Product Design Engineer | Agentic AI, Cybersecurity, Data Visualization Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/tammycoombs https://uxfol.io/tammycoombs I’m a principal product designer with 15 years of experience building enterprise software and developer tools from cybersecurity platforms at Palo Alto Networks to clinical study systems and early-stage startups. My strength lies in translating complex, technical workflows into intuitive, trustworthy, and scalable design systems. I’ve led design efforts across startups, regulated industries, and large-scale platforms, often partnering directly with founders, PMs, and engineers to bring products from 0→1. Recently, I’ve been focused on the emerging frontier of AI-native and agentic product design, exploring how tools like LLMs, system prompts, and autonomous agents reshape how we build and interact with software. Through short-term engagements with nbhd.ai and AlertD, I’ve prototyped debugging tools, agent monitoring UIs, and experimental workflows that help developers better understand and trust AI systems. I thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and love working hands-on from shaping strategy to crafting the pixel details. Whether in Figma, code-adjacent tools like Cursor, or through deep collaboration with cross-functional teams, I bring thoughtful, systems-level design to every problem. ## Work Experience ### Agentic & AI-Native Product Designer/ Design Engineer @ Self - Supporting pre-seed and seed-stage startups - stealthium.io, nbhd.ai, AlertD, UNPKL... Jan 2025 – Present Exploring the frontier of agentic and generative AI product design, creating tools and workflows that help developers and builders harness emerging technologies with human-centered design. My focus is on turning LLMs into reliable agents by improving observability, trust, and usability. Selected Contributions • Natural Language Policy Design: Designed and built a policy system for network security management where MSPs create firewall rules in plain English and AI interprets intent into structured policies. Directed frontend development using AI-assisted development. • AI Agent Orchestration: Designed the agent selection and step-by-step execution model for an SRE infrastructure platform. Design decisions drove architectural changes, shifting from autonomous AI loops to human-guided execution. • LLM Vulnerability Testing: Designed experimental interfaces for model robustness and toxicity testing, enabling AI teams to stress-test LLMs quickly through lean prototypes. • Agentic Observability: Designed and prototyped an "Agentic Wireshark", an AI observability tool that blends network analysis, activity mapping, and interaction tracing to help developers debug, optimize, and trust agent systems. • AI Safety & Experimentation: Partnered with nbhd.ai to explore novel agentic use cases, balancing rigor in AI safety with playfulness in experimentation, thriving in ambiguity and rapid iteration. Highlights • Supported pre-seed and seed startups, collaborating directly with founders and engineers to bring 0→1 AI-native products to life. • Blended product strategy, design systems, and LLM experimentation to accelerate early-stage development cycles. • Focused on agentic UX, developer tooling, and design for trust in complex, data-rich environments. ### Principal Product Designer @ AppOmni Jan 2023 – Jan 2025 | Remote As Principal Product Designer, I led the end-to-end UX design for AppOmni’s security and data visualization products, bringing a fresh, modern look and feel to the platform and shaping how security teams interact with threat intelligence and identities management tools. • Led end-to-end UX for security and data visualization products, modernizing platform UI and shaping how security teams interact with threat intelligence and identity management tools. • Redesigned chaotic alert system into actionable dashboards, improving decision-making and increasing mid-market adoption. • Standardized design components and interaction patterns, reducing eye strain and improving usability. • Built identity management module from scratch with intuitive visualizations, permissions analysis, and threat detection. • Unified onboarding workflow for event sinks and destinations, integrating visual data and UIDs to improve usability. Key Achievements: • Modernized legacy security solutions into scalable SaaS tools. • Enabled faster incident response through AI-driven threat analytics. • Empowered security teams with actionable identity threat insights. • Significantly improved user satisfaction and reduced support burden. ### Senior Product Designer @ AppOmni Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 • The product felt outdated, with clunky navigation and inconsistent design. I led the effort to introduce standardized components and cohesive interaction patterns, creating a sleek, modern experience. The refined look enhanced usability, reduced eye strain, and earned great feedback from internal sales teams and customers alike. • I built an identity management module from concept to launch, transforming it into a powerful security tool. By incorporating intuitive data visualizations, end-user discovery, detailed permissions analysis, and real-time identity threat detection, I empowered customers to swiftly identify risks, correct over-permissioning, and strengthen their SaaS security posture. ### Sr. Principal User Experience @ Elisity Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Remote As Senior Principal Designer, I led UX, research, and design strategy—building a cross-functional design system and translating complex security workflows into intuitive experiences. I streamlined onboarding, policy creation, and dashboards, improving usability and accelerating time-to-value. • Designed and implemented a 3-step, self-service onboarding process to reduce user friction and improve time-to-value. • Simplified policy creation workflows with in-app guidance, enabling self-sufficient users within 48 hours. • Revamped dashboard UX with actionable insights and data visualizations, improving decision-making. • Led creation of Elisity’s first design system to unify brand and interface, boosting usability and consistency. Key Achievements: • Reduced onboarding time from hours to minutes. • Increased product adoption and customer satisfaction. • Strengthened cross-functional collaboration across teams. • Scaled design consistency across engineering and marketing. ### Senior User Experience Designer @ Elisity Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Fully Remote • Elisity’s cluttered, non-actionable dashboard overwhelmed users with abstract data and no clear direction. I crafted an actionable insights platform with an intuitive design that transformed raw information into dynamic visuals, allowing users to quickly identify vulnerabilities and make real-time decisions to secure their environments, track trends, and optimize policies effortlessly. Within months, user satisfaction soared, and the dashboard became an essential tool for strategic decision-making. • Elisity’s product lacked a design system, leading to a fragmented user experience and inconsistent brand representation. I led the redesign, collaborating with experts to establish a cohesive brand identity and modern interface. The result was improved usability, brand consistency, and enhanced user satisfaction. ### Senior Staff User Experience Designer @ Palo Alto Networks Jan 2018 – Jan 2022 | Fully Remote Lead and own the entire flagship security product of SaaS Security and it’s featured 6 offerings, API (Sanctioned Apps), Data Lost Prevention(DLP), SaaS Inline (Shadow IT), Posture Management, User Behavior Analytics, and License Management • Directed UX for SaaS Security Suite, including Shadow IT, SSPM, and User Behavior Analytics. • Designed Shadow IT tool from ground up, providing visibility into unauthorized cloud apps. • Developed SSPM configuration UI, enabling security settings control with high user satisfaction. • Created executive-ready user behavior risk reports, facilitating faster strategic decisions. • Co-developed Prisma’s first design system for company-wide design consistency. • Designed "Discovered Users" dashboard for proactive threat detection and forecasting. • Mentored junior designers, improving team output and skill development. Key Achievements: • Improved risk detection through enhanced data visualization. • Enabled faster executive decisions with concise reporting. • Standardized design across teams, speeding dev cycles. • Elevated team performance through mentorship. ### Senior UX/UI Designer @ Evident.io (Acquired by Palo Alto Networks) Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 • First UX designer hired; led major redesigns across workflows, dashboards, and reporting tools. • Improved dashboard clarity to highlight security risks for faster prioritization. • Built compliance standards tool for managing controls and importing templates. • Designed report scheduling/history module for streamlined audits and reporting. Key Achievements: • Enabled GDPR compliance management through reporting features. • Simplified complex security workflows through user testing. • Increased risk visibility and usability via targeted data visualization. • Contributed to successful acquisition by Palo Alto Networks. ### User Experience/ Human Factors Designer @ Carl Zeiss Meditec AG Jan 2015 – Jan 2017 | Dublin, CA Industrial Designer, Digital Health Designer As a UX & Human Factors Designer, I reimagined retinal imaging software to meet the fast-paced demands of clinical environments—transforming complex diagnostic workflows into intuitive, efficient experiences. By translating dense medical data into clean, usable interfaces, I bridged the gap between cutting-edge tech and real-world care, improving diagnostic speed, accuracy, and outcomes. • Overhauled UX architecture of retinal imaging software to improve clinical workflows. • Conducted clinician usability testing to guide iterative, high-impact UX improvements. • Integrated smart visualizations for faster scan interpretation and diagnosis. • Delivered full design assets for consistent product delivery. Key Achievements: • Boosted diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. • Reduced clinician cognitive load in fast-paced environments. • Successfully bridged clinical needs with technical design. ### User Experience & Interaction Designer @ goBalto, Inc. (acquired by Oracle Health) Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | San Francisco As a UX & Interaction Designer, I led research and design for goBalto’s clinical trial platform, transforming rigid, manual workflows into intuitive digital tools. By designing with empathy for the pressure and precision of study startup, I empowered users to stay ahead of critical deadlines, streamline document timelines, and reduce costly delays—ultimately accelerating trial launches and access to life-saving treatments. • Designed UX for digital tools replacing manual study startup processes. • Conducted research sessions to uncover pain points and validate solutions. • Built interactive scheduling tools to manage regulatory document workflows. • Streamlined compliance-heavy processes into guided digital flows. Key Achievements: • Accelerated trial startup timelines. • Improved regulatory readiness with document workflow tools. • Enhanced cross-site collaboration with intuitive, guided UX. ### User Experience Designer (Contract) @ Spring Studio Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | San Francisco • Contributed to client discussions and working sessions related to redesign of responsive websites, software applications, and mobile applications • Review and analyze user research and usability reports, for use in determining best user interface design solutions • Researched, designed, and developed deliverables and detailed documentation for wireframes, user flow, site maps, and user personas • Created highly detailed artifacts such wireframes, sitemaps, pageflows, flowcharts, and user personas • Held onsite and remote usability testing sessions • Presented UX designs to client and gather feedback for the next stage of iterative design Client projects: Wells Fargo, HP, Charles Schwab ### User Experience/Interaction Designer (Contract) @ Favorite Medium Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 | Remote • Worked closely with product management, the development team, and the CEO to refine all projects into a successful and enjoyable product • Aided the design process by producing wireframes to showcase the interaction and flow • Lead interaction design by creating cross-platform mobile designs including native app design for both iOS & Android interfaces that make usage better for small businesses Client projects: AAA and mobile projects for the Korean market ### Photographer @ Tammy Coombs Photography Jan 2007 – Jan 2013 • Principal photographer for portrait, family and boudoir photography
 • Create content for marketing purposes: print, blog, social media outlets, client satisfaction
 • Developed a workflow to consistently cull, edit & retouch & deliver images • Developed workflow process from client intake to client fulfillment
 • Manage business expenditures and income ### Customer Service/Software & Mobile QA Manager @ John Deere (JDAS) Jan 2006 – Jan 2011 | Lathrop, CA • Frontlines beta customer service of solving bugs and quality issues of products by understanding what the customer is really looking for • Making sure the intended experience unfolds as planned by designing user interfaces for application and slowly rolling out for end users • Perform heuristic evaluation usability testing with beta customer of mobile Labor Tracking V2.0. • Helped establish internal best practices for better integrating user experience design within Agile/Scrum methodology. Participated in Agile sprint and release planning ### Senior Software/Mobile QA Engineer @ Genentech Jan 2004 – Jan 2006 | South San Francisco • Supported a pharmaceutical FDA approved drugs Sales force automation application and vendor rollouts • Tested Sybase UltraLite Palm application for backup palm .pdb; palm database, for deployment option of a SQL database, PC initial and subsequent synchronizations • Collaborated with developers, product managers, and testers reviewing key stakeholders and customer users' tasks and goals • Supported third party QA to focus on delivering the intended experience of the product and business requirements ## Education ### Bachelor of Science (BS) in Design University of California, Davis ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tammy-coombs - Portfolio: https://uxfol.io/tammycoombs --- Source: https://flows.cv/tammycoombs JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/tammycoombs/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13