Kristen Zelenka Lee
Staff UX Researcher & Strategist | Building programs for clarity, connection & long-term impact | Google · Ex IBM Quantum
- Role
- Staff User Experience Researcher Strategist at Google
- Location
- Austin, TX, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Kristen Zelenka Lee
I’ve built research and foresight practices in two frontier domains — first at the edge of scientific innovation (quantum computing), and now within one of the world’s most complex socio-technical systems (Android).Across both, my focus has been creating the structures and methods that help teams navigate uncertainty, see farther, and design with care for the futures we’re building toward.At Google, I became the first UX researcher embedded in a low-UX platform team, helping ground decisions in user needs while introducing foresight practices to prepare the Android ecosystem for long-term futures. Now, as a Staff Researcher and Strategist, I’m scaling these methods across teams and shaping how research evolves alongside AI.Before that, at IBM, I helped establish the quantum computing UX research team and built its foresight practice.I’m drawn to the challenge of building from the ground up — defining methods, redefining them with AI, shaping systems, and ensuring the organizations I work with are not just solving today’s problems but preparing for tomorrow’s possibilities.
Experience
Staff User Experience Researcher Strategist
Oct 2025 — Present
Education
University of Michigan
Bachelors of Arts
Northwestern University
Business + Digital Innovation
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