About

Hola, Im Jay

I'm a people-centric design leader and principal who has built and scaled world-class design organizations — from co-founding Schoolwires (acquired by Blackboard for $92M) to leading design at AWS. Currently operating as a design leader at Amazon—setting vision, aligning cross-functional teams, and building the frameworks that shape AI-first experiences for 1.2M+ employees.

I've led teams of 15+ designers at Amazon, AWS, T. Rowe Price, and Blackboard, establishing design systems, research capabilities, and transformative user experiences from startup to enterprise scale — and promoted 10+ designers and managers along the way. Core member of the Inc. 500/5000 leadership team for eight consecutive years.

15+

Years leading design teams

10+

Promoted designers and managers

$92M

Acquisition value, Schoolwires

Leadership
Design Strategy & Vision
Critical Thinking
Org Building & Scaling
Mentoring & Team Development
Stakeholder Management
Craft
Product Design
AI-first Design
Interaction Design
UI Design
User Research
Methods
Generative Prototyping
Workshop Facilitation
Systems Thinking
Problem Framing
User Testing
IN THEIR WORDS

Feedback from colleagues and leaders

Working with Jay is like working with innovation in motion. His vision is breathtaking, his balance between client and business needs is remarkable, and the culture he builds makes an already amazing job, perfect.

Jennifer Aldrich

Jennifer Aldrich

Senior Content Designer

TikTok

Jay is one of the most impactful professionals I've collaborated with. He has a rare ability to drive large-scale projects from concept to execution while keeping stakeholders aligned the whole way. Strategic thinker and hands-on executor — I haven't seen many who do both well.

Ricardo Montes

Ricardo Montes

Sr. Product Manager

Amazon

Jay is one of those rare design leaders who operates effectively at both the Principal IC and Design Manager levels. His work is thoughtful, systems-oriented, and grounded in a strong understanding of user needs and business objectives. What distinguishes him is his ability to calibrate his style to the situation — stepping in with hands-on expertise when it accelerates progress, and stepping back to create space for others to lead.

Randy Kincaid

Randy Kincaid

Lead UX Designer

AWS

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Let's build world-class
design experiences

Open to Principal and Director-level design leadership and advisory roles.

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