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ron@rjfernandez.com
www.linkedin.com/in/ronfernandez

Accomplished product design leader with 20+ years of experience implementing product design methodologies at early-stage startups as well as Fortune 250 companies. Extensive non-AI verbal and visual communication skills, including funding pitch decks, launch materials, and corporate branding. Proven track record in shaping design culture, implementing UX strategies, and leading cross-functional teams. Adept at balancing user needs with business objectives to drive engagement and create successful hardware and software solutions. Expert in UI/UX, interaction design, and visual design implemented via Figma and other design tools.

Work successfully within boundaries set by business requirements, limited development resources, project management processes, and corporate marketing strategies by aligning across corporate teams to design and deliver breakthrough, user-centric products.

Previous Web and mobile product designs for startups and Fortune 250 companies supported direct revenues and associated sales totaling over $1 billion (Palm handhelds, Amazon Kindles, service contracts, etc.). Experience in finance, manufacturing, SaaS, AI, IoT, medical, communications, and consumer electronics.

HIGHLIGHTS 

  • Experienced designer and builder of strategic SaaS design solutions

  • Deep alignment with Development, Product Management, Customers, and executive stakeholders

  • Creative and innovative leader, manager, and mentor

  • Agile design methodologies

  • Experience in regulated industries (medical, fintech)

  • Platform design expertise with both consumer and enterprise experiences

  • Strong science and math background

  • Cross-functional team player

  • Always useful, delightful, user-centric design solutions

Employment & Consulting

Head of Design, Gallup
5/2025 - present
Lead first unified design team. Implementing new design methodologies and procedures, including integrating design into development and business schedules. Key contributor to business and product strategy.

  • Established first consistent design methodology and practice.

  • Created first multi-quarter schedule for all technology initiatives; fully integrated design requirements to provide a single source of truth.

  • Integrating AI into the creation of fundamental design deliverables such as architectures and user journeys.

Senior Vice President, User Experience Product Manager, U.S. BANK
4/2022 - present
Designed in-house, cloud-based portal for internal teams’ access to unified data, analytics, and AI/ML services with increased privacy validation and data governance features.

  • Increased data migration to the cloud by aligning portal architecture with business teams’ established processes.

  • Collaborated with in-house compliance experts to to design roles-based privacy validation and data governance flows to meet regulatory standards.

  • Evaluated and influenced selection of third-party data quality tools including Microsoft Purview, Manta, and Collibra Data Intelligence.

Head of Design, PARSABLE TECHNOLOGIES (startup)
7/2019 - 1/2022
Addressed usability problems with existing Web and mobile “connected worker” checklist platform, completed long-term product feature implementation roadmap, and hired five additional designers.

  • Increased client satisfaction by rearchitecting frontend Web and mobile UX to align with clients’ processes while minimizing backend impacts.

  • Identified and hired UX experts on accessibility, design systems, and healthcare procedure management.

  • Wrote and designed pitch deck and supporting materials used to close $60 million funding round.

Insulin pump app design, Eversense (subcontract with Dubberly Design Office)
2019
Re-designed mobile glucose monitor application (which was FDA approved). Simplified real-time status display, standardized notifications model, updated visual design.

Senior Design Director, Senior Marketing Manager, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS
7/2016 - 2/2019
Managed in-house Internet of Things (IoT) software and hardware R&D team. Promoted to marketing manager for all IoT sales, marketing, and trade show content.

  • Designed prototype smart speaker with integrated voice interface, touchscreen, and a mechanical interface showcase IoT tech at CES 2017. Prototype developed in less than six months with $250K budget.

  • Wrote and designed content for IoT platform marketing efforts, sales collateral, and trade shows.

  • Wrote Samsung’s IoT data privacy policy to meet GDRP compliance requirements.

Head of Product, ACME Technologies (startup)
5/2014 -6/2016
Product manager and UX lead for multi-platform/SaaS venue management and ticket sales platform.

  • Designed point-of-sale iOS app that closed deals with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and New Museum in New York City and the DeYoung Museum and Red-and-White Fleet in San Francisco.

  • Enabled new business by spec’ing and designing multi-vendor B2B2C ticket sales flows.

  • Spec’ed and designed backend data model and frontend UX for dynamic ticket pricing features.

Head of Product, Palate Home (incubator startup consulting)
5/2014 – 12/2015
Designed and delivered iOS app design at the request of Don Norman (Nielsen Norman Group) for Internet of Things (IoT) “smart grill” project at Y Combinator, a startup incubator in San Francisco.

  • Secured initial Apple Store buyer contacts by scripting and participating in a product graduation demos.

  • Rebranded Palate Home to position it as a premium hardware product company.

CES Strategist, Asurion (six-month contract, extended)
8/2013 – 4/2014
Spec’ed and designed Asurion’s CES 2014 call center agent dashboard product strategy vision in six months.

  • Designed and delivered all CES demo materials, including interactive, click-through prototype.

  • Devised product integration strategy for new acquisition (Soluto).

Vice President of Design, HAN:DLE (startup)
7/2012 - 8/2013
Designed Getting Things Done (GTD)-inspired integrated email and task management portal introduced at the TechCrunch 2013 “Startup Battlefield” event, beating Zendesk.

  • Managed all concurrent product launch efforts, including PR messaging, demo script, and rebranding.

Senior Director of Kindle User Experience, AMAZON
7/2010 - 7/2012
Designed and shipped UX for three generations of Kindle eReader. Rebuilt Kindle UX team.

  • Innovative UX solutions reduced hardware costs: onscreen keyboards allowed elimination of hardware keyboards: on-device account setup eliminated need for pre-provisioning; and new look-and-feel, typefaces, and lighting controls supported high-resolution and back-lit screens.

  • Executed UX design strategy that enabled new businesses and markets: design updates to support internationalization required for sales in EMEA and APAC; on-device sales transactions to support spontaneous media purchases; and integrated advertising. 

  • Regularly pitched design solutions at C-staff level, including Jeff Bezos.

Director of Product Design, Strategy & Emerging Technologies, AVAYA
Director of Product Design, Traverse Networks (acquired by AVAYA in 2008)
5/2005-6/2010
Developed front- and backend strategies for integrating voice, voicemail, contacts, video, and other services across mobile, desktop, and web clients. Designed mobile, desktop, and web communication app suite which positioned Traverse Networks as a necessary acquisition for Avaya.

  • Identified and wrote 60+ technical product requirements identified by user-centric UX design.

  • Initial successful integration of design processes into an Agile development framework.

Senior HI Design Engineer, Human Interface Team, PALM COMPUTING, INC.
7/1999-4/2004
Established modern mobile computing standards as founding member and manager of the Palm Human Interface (HI) Team.

  • Modernized the 2nd generation Palm OS by updating existing apps, desktop clients, and on-device product tours to support high-res graphics, typefaces, and color.

  • Delivered innovative UX solutions to enable hardware innovation in the Palm Zire 71 (the first multimedia PDA), and the Palm Tungsten T2 (expandable form factor).

Publications

Visual voicemail management
US8396456B2

Conference material bot method and apparatus
US8290136B2

Specified Constraints For Message Responses
US20100262921A1

Adapting display fonts for reflective displays
US9190025B1

Real-time communications application
US20180249004A1

CallorNot alerting application
US20160316056A1

Patents

Stanford University
BA in History

​Aargauische Kantonschule (Canton Aargau Technical School), Aarau, Switzerland

The Palm Zire 71 Camera Interface
Paper and presentation to SigCHI in Vienna, Austria 

Approaching Macintosh (first and second editions)
Addison-Wesley