Jay Mursch
Who is Jay Mursch?
I’m a Principal-level Product Designer with a strong foundation in front-end development, giving me a unique edge in bridging the gap between design and engineering. Over the past decade, I’ve led product design across complex industries like freight logistics—creating intuitive, scalable solutions that support both business goals and real user needs.
My background as a developer allows me to design with implementation in mind, streamlining handoff, anticipating technical constraints, and collaborating deeply with engineers to bring ideas to life efficiently and effectively. I love digging into messy, high-impact problems, clarifying the path forward, and guiding cross-functional teams toward smart, user-centered outcomes.
I’m now looking for opportunities where design is valued as a strategic function, where I can help shape product direction, and where there’s room to grow and lead. I’m especially energized by teams building from 0 to 1 or evolving established products to the next level.
My Strengths
As a Principal-level Product Designer with a background in front-end development, I bring a rare blend of strategic thinking, executional excellence, and cross-functional leadership. I thrive in fast-paced environments thanks to my experience in early-stage startups, where speed, adaptability, and ownership are key. My strengths include driving product vision through user-centered design, simplifying complex systems, mentoring teams, and delivering measurable impact—like improving adoption, reducing friction, and accelerating delivery through thoughtful design systems and research-driven iteration. I’m equally comfortable zooming out to shape long-term UX strategy or diving into the details to ensure every interaction feels intentional.
- Strategic Design Leadership:
- Lead product vision and UX strategy in alignment with business goals.
- Drives initiatives that result in measurable impact.
- Strong Communication & Storytelling:
- Presents work clearly to stakeholders at all levels, turning insights into compelling narratives that drive alignment and investment.
- Mentorship & Team Growth:
- Uplifts the design team by mentoring junior and mid-level designers, establishing best practices, and codifying patterns.
- Cross-Functional Influence:
- Trusted partner to Product and Engineering; bridges technical and user needs seamlessly.
- Shape roadmap priorities by advocating for user-centered outcomes supported by data and research.
- Operational Excellence:
- Creates systems and processes that improve design consistency, scalability, and implementation efficiency.
- User & Business Impact:
- Advocates for outcomes, not just output—every design decision maps to user and business value.
My Skills
- AI: Leverages AI tools to accelerate ideation, user research synthesis, and design exploration—bringing speed, clarity, and innovation to the product development process.
- Experience: Over 15 years, I’ve continually evolved my skills, embracing feedback and learning from both successes and setbacks. This rich experience allows me to anticipate and mitigate potential issues, delivering projects with exceptional efficiency and accuracy.
- Tech Knowledge: 5+ years in the code trenches as a Jr. Developer honed my technical fundamentals and communication skills. Now, I bridge the gap between tech and design teams, fostering seamless collaboration and efficient project execution.
- Innovative: I proactively delve into project goals through insightful questioning, uncovering hidden needs and ensuring solutions exceed both business and user expectations. Through thorough needs analysis, I’ve consistently exceed business and user satisfaction benchmarks.
- Leadership: I believe leadership is more than delegation. I take an active role in fostering a collaborative culture through proactive mentorship. My commitment to transparent communication and shared ownership boosts team morale and improves project success rates.
- Efficient: My design agility shines in dynamic environments. Juggled UX research, rapid prototyping, and iterative design refinement for 8+ engineering teams at a very high level that always exceeds expectations.
- UX Tools: My expertise in Figma’s UI design and prototyping tools allowed me to create interactive mockups that facilitated stakeholder buy-in and push projects ahead of schedule.