Jesse Zolna

About Jesse Zolna

Experienced professional and leader in user experience research and customer insights, including interface design, brand perception, and trendspotting. Methodological rigor and clear communication to help design and product teams create user-centered solutions.Conduct, and guide others to conduct, mixed methods research to support all phases of product development life cycle in B2B, B2C context on desktop, mobile, conversational interfaces. Generate strategic and tactical insights with actionable recommendations. Apply research to exploring the design of AI features, chat bots, mobile devices (hardware and platform software), mobile apps, websites, and desktop/enterprise software. Influence designers, product managers, engineers, marketers, and executives to influence product design, strategy, and roadmaps. Thrive in fast-paced, entrepreneurial start-up environment with ability to navigate large corporate environments and get hard work accomplished. Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research | Usability Testing | Surveys | Net Promoter Score (NPS)| HEART | Journey Mapping | Ethnography | Contextual Inquiry | Focus Groups | Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique | Behavioral Analytics | Personas and Archetypes | Jobs to be Done | Task Analysis | Experimental Design |Statistics | A/B Testing | CRO | Workshop Facilitation | Leadership | Team Collaboration | Hardware | Software | Enterprise | Consumer

Experience

1. Director, User Research

   Publicis Media

   Dec 2024 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Driving transformation in global Advertising Technology through user-centered design, I lead end-to-end generative and evaluative research for GrowthOS, a flagship product at Publicis Media. Partnering with cross-functional teams, I shape product roadmaps and ensure customer-centric solutions. By implementing diverse research methods and maintaining a repository of actionable insights, I support the development of scalable, data-driven platforms and applications that enhance the media planning lifecycle on a global scale.

Education

• Tufts University

  Professional Certification, Human Computer Interaction

• Georgia Institute of Technology

  PhD, Engineering Psychology

• Tufts University

  BS, Psychology

Skills

• Information Design
• Contextual Inquiry
• Persona
• Human Computer Interaction
• Strategy
• Card Sorting
• User Research
• Management
• User Interface Design
• Qualitative Research
• Mobile Devices
• Analytics
• Survey Research
• Business Strategy
• Ethnography
• In-Store Intercept
• Usability
• Vendor Management
• User Experience
• Content Strategy
• Product Design
• Marketing Strategy
• Market Research
• Communications Testing
• Rapid Prototyping
• Research Design
• User Experience Design
• Focus Groups
• Brand Development
• Usability Engineering
• Customer Insight
• User-Centered Design
• Product Development
• Usability Testing
• Heuristic Evaluation
• Mobile Applications
• Information Architecture
• Site Intercept
• Consumer Insight
• Quantitative Research