Sr. UX Researcher
eBay (2020 - 2022)
Sr. UX Research Manager
In 2020, I joined eBay and since then I've been leading research on the Payments & Protections team. I manage a team of 3 researchers working on complex problems related to how buyers complete transactions on the eBay site and how sellers receive and use their sale proceeds. For the most part my team conducts research to inform and enable our team's roadmap and strategy. Specifically, researchers working on Payments have been informing the transition from PayPal to eBay's own payment management system. On the Protections side, we have been focusing on deep understanding of returns and the eBay review system and shaping various strategic decisions.
Journey:
Walmart (2018 - 2020)
UX Research Lead
In 2018, I joined the Walmart Global eCommerce team as a senior user researcher. I worked with designers and product managers on the Cart & Checkout team. My work informed important initiatives such as the addition to the add-on module, which significantly increased attach rates for care plans, and all other services provided by Walmart. In 2020, I was promoted to a Research Lead role and took on a new challenge. I played a critical horizontal role on the Customer Champion team. I was responsible for the research that shaped understanding of decision-making processes related to shopping and repurchase, which influenced teams across the entire organization. I also created a research repository to make the team's research insights more discoverable and relevant. The repository was broadly used by our cross-functional teams.
Journey:
Realogy (2017 - 2018)
UX Researcher
I joined the Realogy's innovation tech hub (Zaplabs) in 2017. Realogy is a leader in the real estate industry and known for its franchise brands such as Better Homes & Gardens, Century 21, and Coldwell Banker. As a design researcher, I led research efforts for customer-facing products (mobile and web) across Realogy’s real estate portfolio. In particular, I conducted generative research on home buying and selling, resulting in thorough understanding of first-time home-buyers' journeys. I also led educational workshops on buyers and sellers' journeys for new hires and mentored UX research interns.
Genworth Financial (2016 - 2017)
UX Analyst (contract)
Genworth Financial is a leading insurance holding company focused on helping people navigate caregiving options, protect and grow their retirement income, and prepare for the financial challenges that come as we age. I joined Gernworth for an 1-year contract to work with a team of UX analysts (generalists working on research, design and strategy), business analysts, product managers and engineers. While working at Genworth, I informed UX strategy in an agile environment by leading research end-to-end. Some of my projects included generative research to inform the development of the Timecard App to submit invoices to Genworth and redesign of the Payment Center where policyholders would complete their LTC policy and payment-related tasks on the site.
Independent Contractor (2015 - 2016)
Research Consultant
I came across the term UX Design and Research in 2013. I was fascinated by the the field and decided to dedicate time to learning more about the UX discipline. For one year, I was an independent contractor, taking on small projects. I conducted research to shape development of mobile and web applications for startups such as Upperstack, a college market, resume building platform.
Research Square (2010 - 2015)
Operations Manager
After finishing my PhD, I joined Research Square, which is the largest author services company in the US. I led the translation team as an operations manager. My team reviewed translations of academic papers written by authors from the global research community. Very frequently, I talked to our customers to understand their experience using software and services and identified pain points and opportunities. In addition to user interviews, I conducted competitive
analysis and managed my team's operations to achieve revenue, profit, and business goals during my time at Research Square.
Duke University (2004 - 2010)
Research Fellow
My time as a research fellow at Duke University consisted of 5 years working on my PhD in Neurobiology and 1 year as a post-doctoral fellow. During this period, I consistently designed and conducted research, collaborated with other grad students, post-docs, technicians and professors, collected and analyzed data from my experiments and mentored undergraduate students.