Storytime!

My story into UX and Product Design begins with a tour I took as a junior in high school to Ultimate Software's (now UKG) headquarters in Weston, FL. I did not know what I wanted to study in college, so my sister set up this tour to see what a cool place Ultimate Software was to work for. I remember walking down the halls and seeing the whiteboard walls all drawn on with sketches and ideas. I asked the tour guide what that was about and what kind of work that was. He said, "Some people specialize in just trying to figure out where a button should go on the screen that would make the best sense for people". That was so intriguing to me. As simple as it was, I felt connected to it. I did not know what it was then, but I was told the path I must take in school was Computer Science. So I did. I did not know what I got myself into. It was hard! Though, to my surprise, I enjoyed it. It was so cool to tell the computer exactly what I wanted it to do and see it show up on the screen.

After a year at Florida International University (FIU) in 2015, I applied for an internship at Ultimate Software and my journey as a Software Engineer began. I was not exposed yet to Front-End Development until then and I immediately gravitated towards that. Soon I started working with AngularJS and then Angular and I've been doing so since then. Angular made it so easy to make ideas a reality, in addition to HTML and CSS skills. After a couple of years of doing that, in the Spring of 2020, I decided to make a big decision while COVID-19 was on the rise and after reading "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson. I realized that I longed to come up with design solutions to the ideas I was building. I wanted to go a step up in the process of Product Development. Those kinds of problems, design problems, are the ones that intrigued me and I decided the best way forward was to get my Masters in UX. Through research and recommendations from colleagues, I started my Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design in the Fall of 2020. I never thought I would go back to school after graduating from FIU in 2017, but here I was again in the world of academia, learning from the best. 

Throughout my master's degree, I learned so much about the fundamentals of creating intuitive product experiences and why they worked. Also, the user testing tools and guidelines to understand human behavior. Read more on LinkedIn about my favorite classes! While I was working on my master's, in 2021, I transitioned to another company, Kalibri Labs, where I started as a Senior Front-End Engineer and within 1 year, was promoted to Engineering Manager. Leadership was another route that I wanted to try even while I was working at Ultimate Software because it aligned with one of my core values: service. I took leadership classes and workshops, and to this day, still work on my emotional intelligence skills. At Kalibri Labs, I applied UX principles to everyday processes, documentation, and the overall employee experience of my direct reports.

In 2023, while I wrapped up my master's degree, I wanted to start turning the wheels at Kalibri Labs to transition into a Product Designer role. After months of conversations and reorgs, the pace at which I wanted to reach my goals was not being met. And that is where I am today. I am ready, willing, and able to start at a company where not only is my primary role a remote full-time Product Designer, but it is a company that matches my core values of creativity, service, optimism, and integrity. I want to work at a company where I can bring all the skills and tools I have, learn a ton, and make a great impact on the people around me and the people who will use the products. 😊

Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Do you work at a company where I can meet my goals? Reach out to me!

linkedin.com/in/aliciaflows   |   +1 (305) 608-5803   |   rodriguez.aliciaf@gmail.com