Michael Helman
Senior Product Design Manager
Senior Product Design Leader and UX Strategist with 25+ years of experience driving product strategy, design leadership, and scalable design systems for enterprise platforms. Proven ability to connect user experience with business objectives to increase engagement, simplify complex workflows, and drive growth. Experienced in AI-driven interfaces, cross-functional design operations, and building and mentoring high-performing design teams to deliver intuitive, accessible digital experiences.
UX & Product Strategy
User-Centered Design
Design Operations
UX/UI Design & Usability
User Research & Insights
Information Architecture
Design Systems
Prototyping & Validation
Enterprise SaaS Products
Cross-Functional Alignment
Team Management & Mentorship
AI-Assisted Product Design
Continuous Discovery
Experience
Principal Product Designer
Mar 2025 – Jun 2026
Surefront · Remote / San Marino, California
- Led UX strategy and end-to-end design for a retail-focused SaaS platform integrating PLM, PIM, and CRM, establishing a cohesive cross-device experience that improved usability and increased product adoption by 30%.
- Defined the UX strategy for AI-powered enterprise experiences, including conversational onboarding, workflow assistance, product recommendations, automated product variant generation, and AI-generated imagery. Partnered with Product and Engineering to establish AI interaction patterns that simplified complex workflows, reduced manual data entry, improved data consistency, and accelerated catalog, quote, and order creation.
- Translated complex B2B requirements and data-driven workflows into intuitive enterprise experiences through continuous user research, usability testing, and data-backed UX insights, driving a 75% increase in feature adoption and informing product roadmap decisions.
- Established and evolved the enterprise design system using Figma and zeroheight, creating reusable components, governance standards, and documentation that reduced UI inconsistencies by 40% and front-end development rework by 45%.
- Built scalable UX processes, collaborative frameworks, and design standards while coaching and mentoring designers, improving team productivity and delivery efficiency by 25%.
- Led cross-functional workshops and executive design reviews, communicating UX strategy and design rationale to align Product, Engineering, and executive stakeholders, strengthen decision-making, and drive confident product investments.
- Leveraged AI-assisted research and design tools - including generative prototyping, automated journey mapping, and AI-powered analytics - to accelerate discovery, improve decision-making, and increase design team efficiency.
Senior UX Manager, Digital Commerce
May 2019 – Jul 2024
US Foods · Rosemont, Illinois
- Directed UX vision, strategy, and execution for US Foods’ multi-billion-dollar e-commerce platform, serving on the Digital Commerce leadership team and aligning customer experience, product strategy, and business outcomes across web and mobile.
- Built, led, and mentored a multidisciplinary team of 12 UX designers, researchers, and front-end developers, fostering a high-performance, data-driven culture centered on continuous discovery, rapid prototyping, and collaborative delivery.
- Championed an enterprise-wide atomic design system across Figma and digital products, establishing reusable components, inclusive patterns, interaction standards, and governance that unified web and mobile experiences, reduced design inconsistencies by 70%, and improved team efficiency by 35%.
- Led a research-driven redesign of critical B2B ordering journeys, synthesizing insights from 100+ customers and internal stakeholders to simplify complex workflows, increase feature engagement by 75%, and improve customer satisfaction scores by 30%.
- Defined and advanced AI-driven personalization strategies, partnering with Product and Data Science to deliver tailored content recommendations and adaptive experiences based on customer behaviors and preferences.
- Partnered with Product, Data Science, Engineering, and 12+ front-end developers to translate UX strategy into accessible, technically feasible, and high-quality experiences, influencing roadmap priorities and ensuring consistent execution across releases.
- Advocated for accessibility and inclusive design across product teams, embedding inclusive practices into design standards and product development to reduce barriers and improve the overall customer experience.
- Analyzed competitive trends, customer needs, and market opportunities to identify product gaps and provide data-backed recommendations that shaped roadmap prioritization and strengthened feature adoption.
Senior Manager, UX Design and Development
June 2013 – Apr 2019
US Foods · Rosemont, Illinois
- Led the design, execution, and branding of digital products and mobile apps for customers and employees, keeping experiences consistent to support business goals.
- Defined and executed UX strategy across web, mobile, and Salesforce-based platforms, leveraging customer insights, analytics, and usability testing to drive adoption and growth.
- Drove user research initiatives — interviews, usability testing, journey mapping, persona development — shaping product direction and design decisions.
- Directed wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and visual mockups for complex enterprise applications.
- Established and scaled UX processes, reducing design rework by 65% and accelerating delivery timelines.
- Championed accessibility and WCAG compliance through regular audits and design reviews.
- Managed project portfolios, budgets, and vendor relationships, driving innovation through evaluation of emerging technologies and Agile/Scrum practices.
Art Director (Contract)
Jun 2012 – Apr 2013
Retrofit · Evanston, Illinois
- Championed creative direction for the corporate website and all marketing campaign pages, ensuring a visually engaging and cohesive brand presence.
- Led end-to-end marketing strategy and content development, guaranteeing brand consistency across all channels.
- Authored and implemented a comprehensive brand style guide for all digital platforms and marketing materials.
- Forged partnerships with external vendors, designers, and search engine marketing specialists to execute high-impact campaigns.
Senior Web Designer and Front-End Developer
Nov 2009 – May 2012
HCSC / Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois · Chicago, Illinois
- Led the design and development of a public website used across multiple states, overseeing information architecture, CMS-based delivery, visual design, and cross-browser compatibility.
- Managed QA and testing efforts while working closely with engineers to establish usability best practices.
- Established and governed global UI components and documented workflows to support scalable product development.
Freelance Experience
Founder & Principal Designer/Developer
1997 – Present
Flying Monkeys Studio
- Founded and lead an independent design practice delivering UX strategy, digital experiences, visual branding, and front-end solutions for diverse clients, owning engagements from business discovery and strategy through creative direction, execution, and delivery.
- Provide strategic design leadership and consultative partnership to clients across industries, translating business objectives, customer needs, and market opportunities into cohesive digital experiences and brand strategies that strengthen engagement and support growth.
- Lead end-to-end UX/UI and creative direction across responsive websites, digital platforms, brand identities, marketing campaigns, and multimedia experiences, ensuring accessibility, usability, visual consistency, and high-quality execution across channels.
- Design and develop accessible, responsive digital experiences using modern front-end practices and platforms including WordPress, Drupal, HTML, and CSS, collaborating across design and development to deliver scalable, maintainable solutions.
- Drive business operations and growth, including client acquisition, strategic proposals, scope and budget management, stakeholder relationships, and delivery planning, while building long-term client partnerships through consultative engagement.
Earlier Career Experience
Creative Director and Information Architect
America's Best Companies · Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
May 2008 – May 2009
Senior Graphic and UI Designer
ShopLocal (TEGNA / Tribune Media Co.) · Chicago, Illinois
Mar 2006 – May 2008
Senior Graphic / Flash Designer
Direct Advantage · Chicago, Illinois
Dec 2004 – Mar 2006
Technical Skills
Technical Tools
Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Sketch, InVision, Zeplin, Balsamiq, Axure, ChatGPT, Replit, Claude
Coding Skills
HTML/HTML5, CSS/CSS3, JavaScript, WordPress
Analytics & SEO
Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, SEO
Collaboration & Management
Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, Adobe Experience Manager, Lucidchart, zeroheight, Microsoft 365
Education
Bachelor of Science, Communication Arts
Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois
Graphic Design, Animation
Associate of Arts, Liberal Arts
Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Heights, Illinois