Zach Mesa
A design leader based in Connecticut, USA.
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UX Leadership
Leadership
2019 – Present

UX Leadership

Building great teams. Making great things.

 UX Methods + AI
AI Process
2024 – Present

UX Methods + AI

Supercharging UX with AI — from research to agentic design.

 Google Checkout
Systems Design UX/UI
2023

Google Checkout

Creating a platform checkout for all of Google.

 Security Center
Analytics Security UX/UI
2016 – 2020

Security Center

A security startup within Google Workspace.

 Pixel Setup
Payments UX/UI
2024

Pixel Setup

Payments onboarding in emerging markets.

 Workshop Sessions
Culture Process
2016

Workshop Sessions

Make design critique a beloved part of the culture.

 Oasis
Identity
2024

Oasis

Brand identity for a unique garden restaurant.

Professional experience

Empathetic design leader with a passion for making, craft, and levity.

I grew up on the tiny, Pacific island of Guam. My dream when I was young was to be a musician, but here I am – having worked in the design field for over 15 years. Your life never turns out quite how you thought it would, does it? I've had ups and downs, built products from the ground up, built multi-disciplinary teams, navigated lots of organizational drama, and shipped experiences that are used by billions of people. What I'm most proud of at the end of the day are the relationships I've made along the way. The various successes, and failures learning moments, are punctuations on all of the time spent working with some incredibly amazing people.

The role of a design leader is shifting — and I'm leaning into it. AI has given me something I didn't expect: I get to make again. Not just direct and review, but actually build — prototyping ideas in an afternoon that would have taken a team weeks. That hands-on practice keeps me sharp and honest, and means I can lead from the front in a way that's genuinely useful to my team. I've also started building custom tools for design leadership problems — connecting AI to my actual workflows and sharing what I learn as I go. Honestly, I'm more energized by the craft right now than I've been in a long time.

Zach Mesa