Top Talent like Michael are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Michael Clingerman, M.Sc.

UX Designer
Affinity Designer
Journey Mapping
Graphic Design
Design Thinking
UX Strategy
Product Design
Affinity Diagrams
Adobe Creative Suite
Product Development
Web Accessibility
UX
User-Centered Design
Process Improvement
Design Systems
Product Strategy
Process Optimization
User Personas
UX Copywriting
Usability Testing
Design Research
User Flows
User Research
Design
User Interface Design
Heuristic Evaluation
UX Writing
UI/UX Design
UX research
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Full-Time Roles
Senior UX Manager | HCI & UX Expert
With a robust background in Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience Design, I have cultivated a career that bridges the gap between technology and user-centric design. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and advanced degrees in HCI and UX from both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kent State University. My professional journey includes leading UX initiatives at Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp., VoiceOps, OpSec Security, Deloitte, and SAP Hybris. At Adaptive Biotechnologies, I spearheaded the rebuild of the UXD/UXR team, enhancing workflow efficiencies and fostering strategic partnerships. My tenure at VoiceOps involved steering design strategy and integrating emerging AI trends. I have a proven track record in managing cross-functional teams, conducting ethnographic research, and implementing design systems, all while ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

Projects

Onboarding an Enterprise Design System

From 2021 to 2024, I led the effort to audit and onboard an enterprise-level design system for Adaptive Biotechnologies. The primary goal was to replace a fragmented collection of front-end libraries and outdated design systems with a modern, unified solution. After a thorough evaluation, we selected IBM’s Carbon Design System for its scalability, robust support for data visualization, and capability to handle complex dashboards, including charts and graphs, within a single cohesive framework. To ease the transition and adoption, we implemented a “skeletonized” set of foundational components, providing our front-end developers with an approachable starting point. This initial framework enabled us to scale into multiple software projects within the first year. By the second year, the development team’s familiarity with the components facilitated the expansion into a broader range of design patterns and customizations, ensuring the system’s adaptability to diverse project needs. This streamlined approach significantly enhanced developer efficiency—familiarity with the unified components translated into faster sprint outcomes and overall improvements in software development productivity. The success of this initiative demonstrated the strategic value of investing in scalable, well-documented design systems to support enterprise-level product development. Advantages of onboarding an enterprise design system. 1. Access to deep documentation and tooling for your development team. 2. It's like hiring a design and documentation team that has already thought of supporting a team of developers for years. 3. If the system is open-source, the customizations can be shared with the world. See More

Journey Mapping Lab Accessioning for a leading Cancer Therapeutics Company

I lead a UX research project for Adaptive Biotechnologies, a publicly traded Seattle biotech, accomplishing a longitudinal study over several years to discover deep inefficiencies in the company's order management and laboratory session workflows. Our discovery has led to surgical improvement opportunities, allowing the company to make improvements that made the lives of users and laboratory succession more effective and efficient. This led to an extended $30 million budget to improve our order management software platform.See More

Leading Deloitte's Human Capital Thoughtleadership

Seamless Integration - Transforming Deloitte's HR Platform for the Future Introduction Following the success of the new HR E-Reader tool, the next step was integrating the platform into Deloitte’s larger ecosystem. The challenge was to ensure a smooth transition while aligning the product with Deloitte’s design standards and brand guidelines. Client: Deloitte. Berson By Deloitte. Position: Lead UX Design and ResearchSee More

System UX Revamp

The Science of Smarter Training: How AI, Microlearning, and Color Psychology Transform Call Center Performance Combining the Precision of Artificial Intelligence with the Proven Science of Microlearning and Color to Drive Sales Excellence. Voice Ops is a San Francisco-based startup that has completed several financing rounds. The primary value of the software and service is to act as an AI-assisted training and educational tool for call center associates and trainers. The technology - listens to calls completed by call center associates. Then, the text is categorized into tags with different training categories. The trainers on the floor are then queued with training opportunities for individual associates and teams. The software can allow teams to compete against each other in a game of education manor.See More

Creative Direction

In my past life. I was a Creative Director for campaign development and copywriting for some fun brands.

Embracing the Future: How BCA Inc. Leveraged Technology Partnerships for Digital Innovation.

Led BCA’s digital research phase, expanding high-security printing services to digital solutions. Interviewed state representatives on Mobile Driver’s Licenses, Digital Vital Records, and E-Visas services topics to understand state needs. Helped accelerate a 5-year Go-To-Market strategy to 1.5 years, achieving critical milestones within months under a reduced budget. Formed strategic partnerships with leading technology providers to enhance offerings, including a Digital Trust System and digital Wallet, and formulated a case study solution for state implementation.See More

Work History

B

Technology Strategist, Project Manager, UX Research - 05/2024 - 11/01/2024 (Contract)

BANKNOTE OF AMERICAContract EmployeeMay 2024 - Oct 2024 • 6 mosLed BCA’s pilot Digital Research Sprint Phase, expanding high-security printing services to digital solutions. Accelerated Go-to-Market: Reduced 5-year strategy to 1.5 years with a $500K budget for proof of concept. Global Partnerships: Recruited international tech partners to expand capabilities. User Research: Conducted interviews to validate the need for mobile driver’s licenses and digital wallet features. Product Development: Designed wireframes and flows to align offerings with business goals. Customer Personas: Developed personas to drive ad revenue and monetize the digital wallet.
A

Senior Manager UX

Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.Jun 2022 - May 2024 • 2 yrsOversaw the entire rebuild of the lean UXD/UXR team; fostered Service Bureau-style relationships with key business partners. Managed team effectively within the constraints of the lean budget. Led recruitment efforts for UXD/UXR positions and mentored junior designers/researchers to foster professional development; conducted SME interviews and ethnographic observations to identify workflow challenges in Adaptive’s Order Management platform. Utilized story mapping, scenario mapping, and journey mapping to translate strategic goals into actionable plans.
V

Lead Product Design | Research & Strategy

VoiceOpsMay 2021 - Jun 2022 • 1 yr 2 mosOversaw strategic direction and usability research planning; managed the team through the discovery phase, ideation, and envisioning future states while ensuring seamless execution of design initiatives. Conducted industry research to identify emerging trends in Generative AI. Assisted in building a custom design system based on Google Material guidelines. Utilized story mapping to translate goals into actionable Agile UX initiatives.
O

Director of UX Design & Research

OpSec SecurityJul 2018 - Apr 2021 • 2 yrs 10 mosOversaw the creation of a UX strategy and research plan that aligned with sprint cycles; managed a team through discovery, ideation, future-state planning, project management, and reporting while conducting usability research. Administered qualitative observations onsight with a sampling of 200+ analysts and ethnographic observations/data collection with 25+ analysts to identify process improvements and gain opportunities in major workflows. Led story (affinity) mapping to achieve empathy; developed personas, product design tenets, and journey mapping for aspects of customer UX. Utilized Figma across six teams for efficient collaboration.
D

Lead Product Design & Research

DeloitteMar 2017 - Jul 2018 • 1 yr 5 mosOversaw complete product redesign for Bersin following the Deloitte acquisition; led a team of designers through strategy for deployment within two years.
S

Lead Product Design

SAP HybrisJul 2016 - Aug 2017 • 1 yr 2 mosOversaw a full platform redesign for Abakus following the SAP acquisition valued at $632M+. Collaborated with founders and developers to focus on client usability and moderated testing, ensuring improved customer understanding and comprehension of CRM Marketing scoring dashboards.

Education

K

Kent State University

Master of Science - MS, Qualitative HCI & User Experience Research2018
M

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CSAIL Human-Computer Interaction for User Experience Design, HCI & UXD2018
S

Savannah College of Art and Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA, Graphic Design1995
S

SCRUM Alliance

SCRUM MASTER CERTIFICATION, SCRUM MASTERJun 2016
I

IDEO

HUMAN-CENTERED SERVICE DESIGN: COMPUTER INTERACTION INTENSIVE IDEO U, Date of Graduation: 06/2015, HUMAN-CENTERED SERVICE DESIGN: COMPUTER INTERACTIONJun 2015

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Senior UX Manager | HCI & UX Expert
With a robust background in Human-Computer Interaction and User Experience Design, I have cultivated a career that bridges the gap between technology and user-centric design. I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design and advanced degrees in HCI and UX from both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kent State University. My professional journey includes leading UX initiatives at Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp., VoiceOps, OpSec Security, Deloitte, and SAP Hybris. At Adaptive Biotechnologies, I spearheaded the rebuild of the UXD/UXR team, enhancing workflow efficiencies and fostering strategic partnerships. My tenure at VoiceOps involved steering design strategy and integrating emerging AI trends. I have a proven track record in managing cross-functional teams, conducting ethnographic research, and implementing design systems, all while ensuring alignment with business objectives and user needs.

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call

Top Talent like Michael are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Michael Clingerman, M.Sc.

UX Designer
Affinity Designer
Journey Mapping
Graphic Design
Design Thinking
UX Strategy
Product Design
Affinity Diagrams
Adobe Creative Suite
Product Development
Web Accessibility
UX
User-Centered Design
Process Improvement
Design Systems
Product Strategy
Process Optimization
User Personas
UX Copywriting
Usability Testing
Design Research
User Flows
User Research
Design
User Interface Design
Heuristic Evaluation
UX Writing
UI/UX Design
UX research
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Full-Time Roles

Projects

Onboarding an Enterprise Design System

From 2021 to 2024, I led the effort to audit and onboard an enterprise-level design system for Adaptive Biotechnologies. The primary goal was to replace a fragmented collection of front-end libraries and outdated design systems with a modern, unified solution. After a thorough evaluation, we selected IBM’s Carbon Design System for its scalability, robust support for data visualization, and capability to handle complex dashboards, including charts and graphs, within a single cohesive framework. To ease the transition and adoption, we implemented a “skeletonized” set of foundational components, providing our front-end developers with an approachable starting point. This initial framework enabled us to scale into multiple software projects within the first year. By the second year, the development team’s familiarity with the components facilitated the expansion into a broader range of design patterns and customizations, ensuring the system’s adaptability to diverse project needs. This streamlined approach significantly enhanced developer efficiency—familiarity with the unified components translated into faster sprint outcomes and overall improvements in software development productivity. The success of this initiative demonstrated the strategic value of investing in scalable, well-documented design systems to support enterprise-level product development. Advantages of onboarding an enterprise design system. 1. Access to deep documentation and tooling for your development team. 2. It's like hiring a design and documentation team that has already thought of supporting a team of developers for years. 3. If the system is open-source, the customizations can be shared with the world.

Journey Mapping Lab Accessioning for a leading Cancer Therapeutics Company

I lead a UX research project for Adaptive Biotechnologies, a publicly traded Seattle biotech, accomplishing a longitudinal study over several years to discover deep inefficiencies in the company's order management and laboratory session workflows. Our discovery has led to surgical improvement opportunities, allowing the company to make improvements that made the lives of users and laboratory succession more effective and efficient. This led to an extended $30 million budget to improve our order management software platform.

Leading Deloitte's Human Capital Thoughtleadership

Seamless Integration - Transforming Deloitte's HR Platform for the Future Introduction Following the success of the new HR E-Reader tool, the next step was integrating the platform into Deloitte’s larger ecosystem. The challenge was to ensure a smooth transition while aligning the product with Deloitte’s design standards and brand guidelines. Client: Deloitte. Berson By Deloitte. Position: Lead UX Design and Research

System UX Revamp

The Science of Smarter Training: How AI, Microlearning, and Color Psychology Transform Call Center Performance Combining the Precision of Artificial Intelligence with the Proven Science of Microlearning and Color to Drive Sales Excellence. Voice Ops is a San Francisco-based startup that has completed several financing rounds. The primary value of the software and service is to act as an AI-assisted training and educational tool for call center associates and trainers. The technology - listens to calls completed by call center associates. Then, the text is categorized into tags with different training categories. The trainers on the floor are then queued with training opportunities for individual associates and teams. The software can allow teams to compete against each other in a game of education manor.

Creative Direction

In my past life. I was a Creative Director for campaign development and copywriting for some fun brands.

Embracing the Future: How BCA Inc. Leveraged Technology Partnerships for Digital Innovation.

Led BCA’s digital research phase, expanding high-security printing services to digital solutions. Interviewed state representatives on Mobile Driver’s Licenses, Digital Vital Records, and E-Visas services topics to understand state needs. Helped accelerate a 5-year Go-To-Market strategy to 1.5 years, achieving critical milestones within months under a reduced budget. Formed strategic partnerships with leading technology providers to enhance offerings, including a Digital Trust System and digital Wallet, and formulated a case study solution for state implementation.

Work History

B

Technology Strategist, Project Manager, UX Research - 05/2024 - 11/01/2024 (Contract)

BANKNOTE OF AMERICAContract EmployeeMay 2024 - Oct 2024 • 6 mosLed BCA’s pilot Digital Research Sprint Phase, expanding high-security printing services to digital solutions. Accelerated Go-to-Market: Reduced 5-year strategy to 1.5 years with a $500K budget for proof of concept. Global Partnerships: Recruited international tech partners to expand capabilities. User Research: Conducted interviews to validate the need for mobile driver’s licenses and digital wallet features. Product Development: Designed wireframes and flows to align offerings with business goals. Customer Personas: Developed personas to drive ad revenue and monetize the digital wallet.
A

Senior Manager UX

Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.Jun 2022 - May 2024 • 2 yrsOversaw the entire rebuild of the lean UXD/UXR team; fostered Service Bureau-style relationships with key business partners. Managed team effectively within the constraints of the lean budget. Led recruitment efforts for UXD/UXR positions and mentored junior designers/researchers to foster professional development; conducted SME interviews and ethnographic observations to identify workflow challenges in Adaptive’s Order Management platform. Utilized story mapping, scenario mapping, and journey mapping to translate strategic goals into actionable plans.
V

Lead Product Design | Research & Strategy

VoiceOpsMay 2021 - Jun 2022 • 1 yr 2 mosOversaw strategic direction and usability research planning; managed the team through the discovery phase, ideation, and envisioning future states while ensuring seamless execution of design initiatives. Conducted industry research to identify emerging trends in Generative AI. Assisted in building a custom design system based on Google Material guidelines. Utilized story mapping to translate goals into actionable Agile UX initiatives.
O

Director of UX Design & Research

OpSec SecurityJul 2018 - Apr 2021 • 2 yrs 10 mosOversaw the creation of a UX strategy and research plan that aligned with sprint cycles; managed a team through discovery, ideation, future-state planning, project management, and reporting while conducting usability research. Administered qualitative observations onsight with a sampling of 200+ analysts and ethnographic observations/data collection with 25+ analysts to identify process improvements and gain opportunities in major workflows. Led story (affinity) mapping to achieve empathy; developed personas, product design tenets, and journey mapping for aspects of customer UX. Utilized Figma across six teams for efficient collaboration.
D

Lead Product Design & Research

DeloitteMar 2017 - Jul 2018 • 1 yr 5 mosOversaw complete product redesign for Bersin following the Deloitte acquisition; led a team of designers through strategy for deployment within two years.
S

Lead Product Design

SAP HybrisJul 2016 - Aug 2017 • 1 yr 2 mosOversaw a full platform redesign for Abakus following the SAP acquisition valued at $632M+. Collaborated with founders and developers to focus on client usability and moderated testing, ensuring improved customer understanding and comprehension of CRM Marketing scoring dashboards.

Education

K

Kent State University

Master of Science - MS, Qualitative HCI & User Experience Research2018
M

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

CSAIL Human-Computer Interaction for User Experience Design, HCI & UXD2018
S

Savannah College of Art and Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA, Graphic Design1995
S

SCRUM Alliance

SCRUM MASTER CERTIFICATION, SCRUM MASTERJun 2016
I

IDEO

HUMAN-CENTERED SERVICE DESIGN: COMPUTER INTERACTION INTENSIVE IDEO U, Date of Graduation: 06/2015, HUMAN-CENTERED SERVICE DESIGN: COMPUTER INTERACTIONJun 2015

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Pangea empowers fractional work across the world for marketing and design roles.