Hugh Hitchens

About Hugh Hitchens

I lead creative and technical organizations through complex, high-stakes environments where design, technology, and operations intersect—turning ambiguity into durable, shippable outcomes.Across automotive, consumer hardware, media platforms, and entertainment, my work has focused on making creative teams effective at scale—building the systems, labs, processes, and partnerships that allow designers and engineers to do their best work and ship real products.I’ve led multi-disciplinary teams and programs spanning UX, industrial design, motion, research, prototyping, and engineering; built immersive labs and simulation environments; owned budgets, vendors, and tooling ecosystems; and partnered closely with legal, IT, security, finance, and facilities to turn ambitious ideas into durable reality.My strength is acting as a translator and stabilizer: aligning creative intent with technical constraints, organizational realities, and business goals—especially in ambiguous or fast-moving programs.I’m most effective in roles that combine:Creative + technical leadershipPlatform, lab, or environment ownershipCross-functional program authorityScaling teams, tools, and processes responsiblyOpen to senior roles in creative technology, immersive systems, advanced labs, or hybrid hardware–software organizations.

Experience

1. Lead User Experience Program Manager

   Lucid Motors

   Jul 2020 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US

   Lead operational and program leadership for UX across vehicle, mobile, and immersive platforms in a hardware-software organization.Guided the design team through key product milestones including the Lucid Air launch Lucid Gravity launch and the Sanctuary experience development.Acted as primary integrator across design, brand, product, engineering, IT, legal, finance, and facilities to align creative vision with technical and organizational constraints.Owned and managed the design budget; implemented data-driven controls and vendor oversight that reduced expenditures by 60% over two years while maintaining delivery quality.Established UX intake and prioritization frameworks that improved sprint planning and reduced delivery friction.Managed the design and development of an immersive, three-position driving simulation lab used for usability testing and advanced UX research, enabling realistic evaluation of in-vehicle experience scenarios.Owned the design software tools used by over 800 users across 30+ departments globally, ensuring access, compliance, and cost-effective licensing.

Skills

• Production Managment
• Visual Effects
• Post Production
• Computer Animation
• Film Production
• 3d
• Animation
• Maya
• Pre-Production
• After Effects
• Computer Graphics
• Traditional Animation
• Shake
• Cinematics
• Television
• Compositing
• Production Management
• Film
• Video Production
• Special Events Production
• Feature Films
• Vfx Supervision