Hi, I’m Jess 👋
I'm a strategic designer with 14 years in the tech world, and I've worn just about every hat you can imagine—from a hands-on individual contributor to design leadership, and most recently, a strategic partner to a CEO/CPO, helping set the entire product direction.
Having worked with both startups and large enterprises, I've learned that a great product vision isn't enough; it's the ability to truly understand human needs and, in close collaboration with engineering and product, turn that understanding into a product experience that people love.
For me, it's about so much more than just the design. It's about using data to find the sweet spot between business goals and human needs. I love crafting MVPs to prove out ideas, ensuring we build the right thing at the right time. Learn, build, ship, and repeat.
As a design leader, I've had the privilege of guiding teams through exciting times of change and growth. I genuinely love fostering human connections through empathy and active listening, seeing collaboration and inclusion as essential for true innovation. Happy people create awesome stuff.
Let’s talk!
References
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As the Senior Manager for Product Design and a member of the Tech Leadership Team, Jess has helped to further unite Engineering, Design and Product at Acast which led to better and more successful product deliveries in all teams. She has also used her extensive knowledge not just to advance the skills of the Product Designers in her team but also inspired many Product Managers and Engineers in study circles focussed around product discovery and user interviews. Last but not least, Jess has also served as an individual contributor on several of our product teams in additional to her leadership responsibilities. Her contributions were both impactful in results and relationships she's built within teams.
Christian Milz, Product Director
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Jess is a force of nature when it comes to user experience and design. Her experience let her work across the wide spectrum and can coach designers and UX individuals to perform in their teams. Her principles are state of the art when it comes to making the relationship to the rest of the cross-functional team work, making sure to focus efforts on one or two teams at the time and always plan ahead to avoid last minute requests. She champions the EDP model where engineering, design and product leadership work together in a strong triad, taking a proactive stance for the design perspective, kicking off work in time to have the insights at the right time in the product development cycle. This awareness is crucial as the UX/design cycles are often longer than development sprints. She then coaches teams lacking design/UX people how to proceed in between. She can deliver interactive workshops under pressure to teach the wider org important design concepts.
Cecilia Borg, Interim CTO
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I worked with Jessica when she was Head of Design at our startup. She stood out for her strong user empathy and ability to quickly turn open-ended conversations into clear, actionable designs. She brought great energy to the team, combined with a solid grasp of user research and customer contact. Importantly, she managed a strong-willed stakeholder in our CEO with confidence — listening well, but also holding her ground when it mattered to keep the product user-centered. I’d recommend Jessica to any team looking for a designer who can thrive in ambiguity, handle tough stakeholders, and deliver thoughtful designs at speed.
Anton Hedblad, Head of Engineering
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When improving the product, Jess always considers the practicalities and costs, helping find ways to evolve towards where we want to be. She is always keeping an eye on the horizon while finding a way to navigate the current landscape. As a leader she improved and implemented processes where needed, tackling any strategy gaps. She provides productive feedback, balancing accountability, kindness and motivation. Her ability to provide said feedback is a skill I wish I could replicate.
Max Brewer, Engineering Manager
