Jonathan Stephens

Jonathan Stephens

Independent Consultant in Raleigh, North Carolina, he/him

About

A multi-disciplinary product design & software development leader with 17+ years experience across a wide-range of clients: from local and federal governments, to start-ups, scale-ups, and global enterprises.

Work Experience

2024 — Now
Hybrid

Leading design of a 0 → 1 strategic web application for the United States' Space Force, enabling rapid commercial data analytics and enhancing operational decision-making through innovative technological solutions.

2022 — Now
Raleigh, North Carolina

A multidisciplinary, independently owned design consultancy that co-creates strategies, applications, and processes that solve client's unique business challenges.

2024 — 2024
Remote

Designed the foundations of a comprehensive design system focused on accessibility, UX improvements, UI consistency while refining onboarding flows while advising on long-term product strategy.

2023 — 2023
Independent Consultant at Moon Audio
Cary, North Carolina

Modernized design, collaboration, and content operations while cultivating a data-informed culture to drive business growth and efficiency.

  • Evolved and designed an accessible cross-platform color palette;

  • Introduced new technologies, statistically improving inter-departamental communication and transparent collaboration, internally and with external vendors;

  • Developed and successfully pitched hiring strategies and interview processes for storefront conversion optimization; and

  • Led and facilitated company co-creation sessions, establishing content production processes for foundational funnel efficiency and KPI's creation

2019 — 2022
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Scaled mobile app and organization to accommodate diverse property types, improve UX, and align with evolving mission: from reservations to experiences.

  • Expanded team from 10 to 85+ people across 14 inter-departmental, multi-disciplinary teams;

  • Increased daily active users from 500k to 1.5mil+;

  • Significantly reduced TTM for feature development;

  • Streamlined workflows, increased partner efficiency;

  • Re-architected app's front-end and push notifications while implementing a new design system; and

  • Increased multi-platform parity and cross-platform usage.

2017 — 2019
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Led the three partner platform verticals: API, Web, and Native Apps; comprised of 75+ people, 15 direct reports, and 7 product teams. This was the team's 5th leadership change in 9 months. So, I focused on building essential foundations for my portfolio of teams.

  • Cultivated technical and managerial leadership, successfully promoting 10+ new managers and 15+ individual contributors;

  • Established technical leadership across department, culminating in Department Community Projects led by Craft Principal and Leads (engineering, design, copy, quality);

  • Organized two departmental day conferences for the department (300+ attendees);

  • Managed change through multiple large-scale organizational, team, and product pivots ;

  • Created product teams and technical writer role to strengthen Booking.com's API as a product (rather than just developers); and

  • Led the Innovation Week Project developing Booking.com's Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging portal with an ad-hoc team of developers and designers.

2016 — 2017
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Led growth and organizational development across Growth & Localization, driving team autonomy, performance, and cross-functional collaboration while managing complex organizational transitions.

  • Established Localization Community Projects, Field Testing, and Global Insights Resource, connecting cross-subdepartment communication

  • Improved team engagement and product focus through strategic leadership

  • Facilitated significant personnel transitions across multiple teams

  • Advanced blog.booking.com strategy, increasing monthly publication frequency

  • Initiated strategic initiatives like Accessibility Team, Tech Team Impact Survey, Copywriter Competency Framework, and Copy Experimentation Tool

2008 — 2016
Hybrid

Designed and developed websites for: National Geographic Photographer, Ad-Tech Scale-up, and collection of small local businesses. Additionally: small business marketing materials and the speaker & sponsor animations for the 2014 Future of Web Design/Development conference series.

2015 — 2016
Senior Product Designer (Multiple teams) at Booking.com
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013 — 2015
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2011 — 2012
Durham, North Carolina
2009 — 2010
2008 — 2008
2020
Playmaker Award from Booking.com

1 of 35 Playmakers recognized from a 22k+ global workforce, Playmakers actively shape Booking.com's culture into a welcoming space for all.

2019
Playmaker Award from Booking.com

By actively seeking opportunities to bridge differences and champion inclusion in every interaction, they make colleagues feel valued and empowered to contribute their unique voices. Their dedication extends beyond daily tasks, challenging the status quo and educating others to build a brighter future for the organization.

2011
1st Place; Extreme Web Makeover Challenge from N.C. State Entreprenuer Games
2011
Semifinalist, Mobile Design from Adobe Design Achievement Awards
2010
Winner, Poster Design from N.C. State Entreprenuer Games

Contact

LinkedIn
Substack

Writing

2024

A collection of micro-stories written in a 5-7-5, haiku-like, meter

2024

Five stories of typographic, geometric, and illustrative tattoos

2024

Synthesizing my leadership philosophy into a coaching practice

2024

Reflections while reading the necessary second edition of Mike Monteiro's "Design is a Job"

2021
Preparing for Professional Practice; Some Stories & Lessons Learnt at Guest Lecturer @ NC State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
2019
Inclusion is hard; it's the only way forward at Tech Department Conference
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2018
Diversity is easy; Inclusion is hard at Tech Department Conference
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017
How does the IT Department work? at Booking.com's Annual Meeting
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2015
10 Principles of Design at Booking.com at Conference
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014
Storyboarding in UX Design at Internal Design Community Event
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014
Git Bisect for Designers at Internal Design Community Event
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014
Data Driven Design at Guest Lecturer @ NC State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
2013
Typography:Internet::Butter:Southern Cooking at Tech Department Conference
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Side Projects

2019
Partner Services Day: 2nd Edition at Booking.com

The first went so well, I was asked to organize a second one to transition the department into the next year.

2018
Partner Services Day: 1st Edition at Booking.com

Internal, departamental conference bringing together the 300+ people—senior leaders, managers, designers, developers, copywriters, quality specialists, data scientists, product owners, and product marketing professionals—that develop the accommodation partner products.

  • Coordinated with stakeholders to align conference goals with organizational objectives

  • Curated conference content and designed program schedule

  • Researched and secured appropriate venue meeting capacity and technical requirements

  • Coordinated audiovisual setup and technical support

  • Oversaw catering services and dietary requirement planning

Volunteering

2022 — Now
2024 — 2024
2011 — 2012
Co-Organizer at Refresh the Triangle
Research Triangle, North Carolina