Rachael Cicero

Rachael Cicero

Design Lead in Seattle, WA, She/Her

About

I’m a product and experience designer with a background in strategy and operations, a master's degree in Human-Centered Design & Engineering, and experience working with companies like Twitter, Uber, Microsoft, and the City of Seattle.

Education

2017 — 2019
Master's Degree Human Centered Design and Engineering at University of Washington
2008 — 2011
Bachelor of Science at San Francisco State University

Work Experience

2021 — Now
Design Lead / Associate Design Director at Artefact
Seattle, WA
  • Lead the execution and delivery of design, research, and strategy initiatives, managing teams of 2-6 individual contributors.

  • Lead overall project management, including developing project timelines, managing team resourcing, and providing quality assurance (QA) to design deliverables.

  • Deliverables include UX + UI prototypes of varying levels, design research findings and recommendations, product strategies and roadmaps for clients such as Hopelab and the Gates Foundation.

2019 — 2021
Civic Design Lead at City of Seattle
Seattle, WA
  • Led research, design, prototyping, and testing testing of City products and services, including City service websites, and a mobile application co-designed with college students to help them navigate the COVID pandemic.

  • Mentored City department partners and other stakeholders in design methods through workshops, conference lectures, and project-based engagements.

  • Designed strategy for and led the research process informing Seattle’s Fare Share legislation, guaranteeing a minimum compensation threshold to transportation network drivers (i.e., Uber and Lyft drivers).

2018 — 2019
Student UX Designer at Uber
Seattle, WA
  • Part of my Master's in Human-Centered Design & Engineering program. Partnered with Product, Design, and Engineering partners to develop the "Favorite Driver" feature, launched in 2020.

  • Led the research and design of the feature to enhance trip predictability and experience consistency.

  • Identified interaction opportunities and developed solutions for (1) Favoriting a driver for the first time/rider onboarding, (2) During-trip favoriting, (3) Scheduling a future ride with a favorite driver, and (4) Driver opt-in/acceptance.

2017 — 2018
Design Program Manager at Artefact
Seattle, WA
  • Managed the delivery and execution of design and research projects with Design and Research Directors.

  • Responsibilities included leading project stakeholder discussions, orchestrating design and research operations, and driving cross-functional collaboration with team members and stakeholders.

  • Employed agile project management on over 10 projects, often 3 or more at a time. Clients included Magic Leap, Samsung, Intel, Microsoft, and the Mastercard Foundation.

2014 — 2017
Project Manager - User Services at Twitter
San Francisco, CA
  • Partnered with Product, Design, and Engineering to develop new and improved support agent workflows for significant product updates (10+), improving the user experience and support team productivity.

  • Led a redesign of the Twitter Beta program’s bug reporting, bettering the onboarding and reporting experience for over 20,000 users/testers, leading to 200+ issues reported and triaged.

2013 — 2014
Project Lead - User Support at Keas (Acquired by Welltok)
San Francisco, CA
  • Led and managed the User Support division, developing KPIs, organizing support strategies, and overseeing daily operations.

  • Conducted informal user research through surveys and email campaigns and partnered with engineers for QA and functional testing of new product features, including regression testing for iOS and browser-based platforms.

Volunteering

2022 — Now
President at HCDE Alumni Leadership Board
2021 — 2022
Member of Core Planning Team at Seattle Design Festival
2016 — 2018
Volunteers Director at AIGA Seattle