001 / INTRO
Building designorganizationsand productsthat makecomplexbusinesses work.organizations andproducts thatmake complexbusinesses work.
VP of Design & Research with 15+ years leading design through acquisitions, growth, transformation, and scale across startups, marketplaces, platforms, and enterprise.
- Years
- 15+
- Companies
- 7
- Acquisitions
- 2
002 / SELECTED WORK
VP of Product Design across CLEAR’s Travel and Identity businesses, with a remit spanning design strategy, product experience, and organizational leadership across digital products and physical touchpoints.
TRAVEL & IDENTITYTRUST & SAFETYPLATFORM
Context
CLEAR operates across travel and identity, bringing together digital products, physical experiences, and identity services for consumers, members, and enterprise customers. The opportunity is to create a cohesive experience across these interconnected businesses while balancing customer needs, trust, and operational complexity.
Focus
- Design strategy across CLEAR’s Travel and Identity businesses
- Product experience spanning digital products and physical touchpoints
- Design leadership across consumer, member, and enterprise experiences
- Cross-functional alignment with Product, Engineering, Security, Legal, and business leadership
Mandate
Connecting CLEAR’s diverse products and experiences through a coherent design vision—making complex interactions feel intuitive, trusted, and seamless.
Head of Product Design and UXR for the leading restaurant discovery and reservation platform that connects diners with top dining experiences. The platform helps millions of users explore restaurants, make informed decisions, and seamlessly book tables with confidence. Part of American Express.
HOSPITALITYTwo-sided
Context
Resy is a two-sided hospitality marketplace connecting diners, restaurants, and the broader American Express ecosystem. I led product design through a period of growth and transformation, spanning the customer experience, restaurant products, and the design organization.
Highlights
- Set design strategy across consumer and restaurant experiences
- Led and developed the product design organization
- Shaped product direction across discovery, reservations, and restaurant tools
- Connected Resy’s experience with the broader American Express ecosystem
- Partnered with product, engineering, and executive leadership on strategy and growth
Outcome
Building the design organization and product ecosystem to move Resy beyond reservations and become a more connected platform for restaurants, diners, and American Express members.
Head of Product Design for a leading hiring marketplace that connected talented professionals with top employers. The platform helped thousands of candidates discover opportunities, showcase their skills, and navigate the job search with transparency and efficiency.
TALENTSaaS
Context
Hired was a two-sided talent marketplace connecting companies with highly skilled professionals. I led product design across both sides of the marketplace, while helping evolve the product strategy, design organization, and experience through a period of growth and transformation. Hired was acquired by Adecco Group.
Highlights
- Set design strategy across candidate and employer experiences
- Led and developed the product design organization
- Shaped the marketplace experience across discovery, matching, and hiring
- Used research to understand and balance the needs of both sides
- Partnered with product, engineering, and executive leadership on marketplace strategy
Outcome
Creating a more coherent marketplace experience while building the design organization and product practices to support Hired’s next stage of growth.
I joined Shutterstock to lead the 0→1 design and launch of Offset, a new premium creative brand. As the business evolved, my remit expanded to lead product design across Shutterstock’s core e-commerce experience, shaping how millions of customers discover, license, and purchase images, video, and music.
COMMERCEMarketplaceBrand
Context
Shutterstock is a global creative marketplace spanning images, video, and music. I joined to launch Offset, a new premium brand, then expanded my role to lead product design across the core e-commerce experience.
Highlights
- Led the 0→1 design and launch of Offset
- Defined the experience for a new premium creative brand
- Led design across search, discovery, licensing, and purchase
- Unified experiences across Shutterstock’s content verticals
- Partnered with product, engineering, and business leadership on e-commerce strategy
Outcome
Created a new premium business while evolving the core commerce experience across a global creative marketplace.
All work
- 01CLEARVP of Product Design · 2026 — Present
- 02WeedmapsVP of Design & Research · 2026 — 2026
- 03ResyDirector of Product Design · 2021 — 2026
- 04HiredDirector of Product Design · 2019 — 2021
- 05WorkframeDirector of Product Design · 2017 — 2019
- 06ShutterstockPrincipal Product Designer · 2013 — 2017
- 07Huffington PostSenior UX Designer · 2011 — 2013
003 / Approach
I lead design where the business is complex, the customer needs are diverse, and the stakes are high — connecting product, research, and organizational strategy to create measurable impact.
01
Insight-led
Make customer insight and evidence a core input to business and product decisions — creating clarity around where to invest, what to build, and why.
02
Organizational
Build the structures, talent, operating models, and culture that allow design organizations to perform at their best as they scale.
03
Strategic
Partner with executive and cross-functional leaders to shape strategy, then turn it into products and experiences that create value for customers and the business.
004 / About
Building teams. Shaping strategy. Staying curious.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Currently
- VP of Product Design, CLEAR
- Discipline
- Product Design · UX · UXR
- Experience
- 15+ years
- Verticals
- Marketplaces · E-commerce · SaaS · Editorial
Ken is a VP of Product Design with 15+ years leading design through growth, transformation, and scale across startups, scale-ups, and enterprise.
His work spans two-sided marketplaces, platforms, commerce, SaaS, and editorial, from early-stage products to experiences serving millions of people. He leads multidisciplinary teams across Product Design, UX, and Research, connecting customer insight, product strategy, and business goals.
He thrives where multiple audiences, incentives, and systems have to work together—using design to create clarity for customers and leverage for the business.
005 / Contact
Let's talk.
I’m always interested in thoughtful people, ambitious products, and complicated problems. If you’re working on something interesting, say hello.