Product & UX Research Leader with 10+ years shaping emerging technology products in fintech, robotics, defense, and AI-enabled systems. PhD-trained researcher specializing in human-computer, human-AI, and human-robot interaction. Skilled in understanding mental models, trust, autonomy, and decision-making in high-stakes environments. Recognized for translating ambiguous technical problems into actionable product strategy through rigorous mixed-methods research, cross-functional leadership, and compelling storytelling. Experienced in influencing executive prioritization and guiding 0→1 product development.
BILL — Remote / San Jose, CA-based | April 2022 – Present
Delivered strategic research for BILL's AI-enabled tools, enhancing customer experience with the W-9 Collection Agent; recognized as a top new product for accountants in 2026 by Accounting Today.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to define research priorities and influence product strategy. Triangulated data from closed-loss reports, customer support data, NPS feedback, market reports, and customer interviews to prioritize a customer support AI agent, increasing user self-service from ~16% to 34%, and significantly speeding case resolution times.
Led generative research with company-wide impact: Conducted a Jobs-to-be-Done study of Accounts Payable workflow, mapping processes and pain points. The resulting journey map remains to be used by VP+ colleagues over three years later.
Presented insights to senior leadership, directly influencing roadmap decisions. Conducted a mixed-method study using interviews and MaxDiff survey to prioritize Accounts Receivable features, resulting in a 20+% increase in customer engagement post-update.
Assisted leadership to de-prioritize a costly investment in financial planning capabilities.
Mentored other researchers and contributing to organizational research operations, templates, priorities.
Promoted to Senior Staff from Staff Product Researcher in February 2025.
Capital One, Small Business Card (Spark) — Remote / Richmond, VA-based | May 2020 – April 2022
Led mixed-methods research supporting small business credit card financial workflows and communications. Conducted usability studies, journey mapping, stakeholder/customer interviews, survey design, analysis, and message testing to improve product experiences.
Synthesized customer pain points and workflow analysis to influence product decisions. Conducted a mixed-methods study (survey of internal stakeholders and customer interviews) on high-spending user segments, directly driving the decision to hire a new product manager.
Built scalable research processes, enabling efficient onboarding of 6 new researchers.
Led creation of a monthly research newsletter and speaker series for the 600-person organization.
Promoted to Principal from Senior UX Research Associate in January 2022.
Piaggio Fast Forward — Boston, MA | July 2018 – March 2020
Delivered foundational research for critical 0→1 product stages in consumer robotics. Created and narrowed the pipeline to gita mini, enabling the company's second product launch. Consistently presented to the executive team. Developed concept evaluation frameworks to assist in product decisions.
Collaborated with product and design to run experiments and field studies, shaping expectations, trust, collaboration, and physical interaction design for the ground-based following robot, gita.
Secondary projects: Developed Python code to connect G Suite to Airtable for a file database. Calculated carbon footprint of gita. Collaborated with engineers to define robot data collection and storage needs, compliant with GDPR.
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. — Cambridge, MA | May 2015 – June 2018
Supported R&D for self-driving and semi-autonomous technologies in government, military, and commercial contexts, delivering research that advanced system capabilities.
Designed and executed controlled experiments, usability evaluations, and in situ contextual inquiry for advanced human-machine systems, including mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Managed project teams (4 ICs) and budgets for 2 multi-stage projects, driving collaboration with engineers, scientists, and operational stakeholders.
Research Methods: Mixed Methods Research • Generative Research • Evaluative Research • Usability Testing • Contextual Inquiry • Interviewing • Survey Design • Diary Studies • Experiment Design • Concept Testing • Journey Mapping • Survey Analysis • Data Visualization
Strategic & Leadership Skills: Research Strategy • Executive Communication • Cross-Functional Leadership • Product Strategy • Workshop Facilitation • Mentorship • Storytelling • Insight Synthesis • Prioritization Frameworks
Subject Matter Expertise: AI/Automation UX • Human-Computer Interaction • Human-Robot Interaction • Mental Models • Trust & Transparency • Decision-Making • High-Stakes / Mission-Critical Systems • Fintech UX • Emerging Technology Research • B2B Customers
Tools: Figma • FigJam • Qualtrics • UserTesting • Miro • Google Workspace • Microsoft Office • Data Visualization & Presentation Tools • QuestionPro • Rally • Maze • SurveyMonkey • R
10+ years researching complex intelligent systems across fintech, robotics, defense, and AI.
Published academic researcher in human-robot interaction and human-autonomy teaming with over 25 publications and 400+ citations since 2021.
Patent holder: Image-based authorization systems US Patent 12112329 · Issued October 2024
Vanderbilt University — Nashville, TN
Specialization: Human-Robot Interaction | Member of the Human-Machine Teaming Lab | Advisor: Julie A. Adams
Dissertation focused on human-robot peer-based teaming, workload modeling, interaction design, and performance metrics for intelligent systems. Secondary project on robot swarms.
University of Virginia — Charlottesville, VA