I’m Mike
Building and leading design teams in AI with Entanglement, passionate about honey, and mentoring designers at every level. With over 22 years dedicated to design, I’ve continuously grown and learned from the incredible people I’ve encountered along the way.
Currently @ Entanglement, Inc., an AI Company
Previously // AWS, Amazon, agencies, and freelance
22 years in design • Denver
NDA
Description of role
Ground-Truth is an advanced cybersecurity tool designed to enhance the efficiency of SOC analysts by clustering anomalies in real-time and providing natural language summaries. I led the UX design and front-end development, bridging the gap between design and engineering teams to deliver a user-friendly product that met the needs of high-profile clients. Our GenAI and RAG implementations helped users efficiently understand complex data, qualify leads, and respond to security threats swiftly. The project secured key clients like GlobalStar and Bank of America, significantly increasing customer satisfaction.
Role and Details
Principal UX Designer
Led UX design for Ground-Truth seQure.
Eanaged front-end development and collaborated with GenAI/ML Engineers.
Roadmap prioritization and feature writing.
Conducted user research, testing, and iterative design processes.
Highlights
Implemented real-time anomaly clustering with natural language summaries.
Established a design system that streamlined development and increased velocity.
Positioned Entanglement as a leader in the cybersecurity space with innovative features like AR/VR integration plans
NDA
Description of role
The Entanglement Design System (EDC) was developed to streamline and standardize design across Ground-Truth and other Entanglement products. I led the creation and implementation of EDC, working closely with a front-end engineer to establish a cohesive component library. This system significantly increased our development velocity, ensuring consistency and efficiency across multiple projects. EDC played a crucial role in enabling rapid iterations and scalable design solutions, positioning Entanglement for success across its product suite.
Role and Details
Principal UX Designer
User Researcher
Standardized design practices across Ground-Truth and other Entanglement products.
Facilitated cross-team collaboration to align on design standards and implementation.
Managed iterative design processes and ensured consistent application of the design system.
Highlights
Increased development velocity across Ground-Truth and other Entanglement products.
Enabled rapid iterations and scalable design solutions through a standardized component library.
Enhanced design consistency and efficiency across multiple projects.
Positioned Entanglement for scalable success with a robust, flexible design system.
Successfully bridged design and engineering teams, ensuring smooth implementation of EDC.
Description of role
The AWS Supply Chain Insights project aimed to provide customers with AI-driven insights based on their ERP data, enabling them to take quick action on supply chain issues. As Sr. UX Designer and Team Lead, I guided the design process from initial concept through to the final launch at Re:Invent 2022, focusing on creating an intuitive and differentiated user experience. The project introduced innovative features like Watchlists, an Insights Manager, and a Network Map to help users manage their supply chain more effectively. My contributions were critical in ensuring a successful launch and setting the foundation for future enhancements.
Role
Product Designer – Supply Chain Insights
Team Lead – Core App and Data Ingestion
User Researcher
Facilitated quick iteration cycles and feedback loops to refine the design based on user and stakeholder input.
Highlights
Launched at Re:Invent 2023
YouTube – Adam Slipsky – AWS Supply Chain Launch Keynote
YouTube – AWS Supply Chain Demo
Created and iterated on key features like Watchlists, the Insights Manager, and Network Maps, enhancing user engagement.
Ensured a smooth onboarding experience with minimal setup, allowing users to quickly benefit from actionable insights.
Facilitated a fast-follow process to incorporate additional features post-launch, ensuring continued product growth and user satisfaction.
Description of role
The AWS Supply Chain Datalake and Auto-Association project aimed to streamline data ingestion and transformation for supply chain management by simplifying the connection, mapping, and ingestion processes. As the Sr. UX Designer, I led the design and prototyping efforts, ensuring a user-friendly experience that enabled quick data integration and error management. The project culminated in a successful launch at Re:Invent 2023, showcasing a revolutionary approach to automated data ingestion and mapping. My work contributed to building a scalable design system that will drive future enhancements and iterations.
Description of role
Sr. UX Designer
Led UX design and prototyping for AWS Supply Chain Datalake and Auto-Association.
Collaborated closely with PMs, engineers, and internal stakeholders to align on goals and deliverables.
Developed and iterated user journeys, wireframes, and prototypes based on continuous feedback.
Simplified complex data workflows into intuitive interfaces for data stewards and business users.
Description of role
Successfully delivered a simplified data ingestion and transformation workflow for AWS Supply Chain, enabling rapid data integration.
Led the design efforts showcased during the AWS Supply Chain launch at Re:Invent 2022.
Contributed to a robust design system, allowing quick iterations and supporting future enhancements.
It enabled EDI message mapping automation, significantly reducing user manual effort.
Facilitated cross-team collaboration, ensuring the project stayed on track and met critical deadlines.
These are my ‘Core’ strategies. They keep me grounded in what really matters—creating meaningful designs that put humans first. They help me stay focused, collaborate better, and set sound foundations for solving big problems.
In the age of endless screens, it’s easy to lose sight of the real purpose: serving people. Human connection breaks through assumptions. Curiosity and empathy are the foundations that drive effective research and synthesis, leading to truly impactful product design.
The creative process may differ from person to person, but one thing remains constant: the need for uninterrupted focus. In a collaborative environment filled with diverse talents, setting clear boundaries ensures productive work and content teams.
Product design is a balancing act of compromises, but true innovation thrives within constraints. A commitment to excellence and an unwavering drive to stand out lead to results that aren’t just good—they’re groundbreaking.
A strong finish sets the stage for a meaningful start. What impact will you leave behind? Will it be something you’re proud to claim? Defining the desired outcome helps us map out the path, measure our progress, and anticipate future changes.
Collaboration and continuous feedback are the cornerstones of high-quality products. Challenge assumptions, identify gaps, share ideas, and embrace new viewpoints. Prototyping and testing early help solve problems and reveal fresh opportunities.
Growth is sparked by reflection. Regular retrospectives, coaching sessions, one-on-ones, and time set aside for self-assessment are key to continuous improvement. The best product teams prioritize learning, ensuring everyone evolves and benefits.
My design process is undergoing a significant transformation as I integrate AI tools and methodologies across my workflow. What was once a linear approach has evolved into a dynamic orchestration of human expertise and artificial intelligence capabilities.
I’m currently documenting this evolution through a series of articles that explore how AI is reshaping the role of product designers, enhancing research capabilities, and revolutionizing delivery workflows. These pieces will examine both the practical applications and strategic implications of AI in modern design practice.
Stay tuned as I share insights on becoming a “Product Design Orchestrator,” breaking design bottlenecks, and maintaining human-centered principles while leveraging powerful new technologies.
First article coming April 2025: “The Product Design Orchestrator: How AI Transforms the Modern Designer”
The digital tools that help me bring ideas to life, stay organized, and collaborate with teams. These are my trusted companions in the creative process.
My go-to design tool where I create interfaces, prototype ideas, and build design systems.
Polished Graphics, SVGs, Visual Design
Records and transcribes user interviews so I don't miss anything important (and can actually pay attention).
Collects user feedback on designs without me having to schedule a million meetings.
Helps me write, think through problems, and come up with ideas when I'm stuck.
Quick idea generator and writing helper for when I need to get something done fast.
My default code editor that uses AI to help me write better code and understand complex codebases.
Visual node-based interface for mapping and connecting AI models, giving me control over the generation process and creative workflow.
Design mentorship is at the core of my professional values, and the relationships I build with my team are my highest priority. I am deeply committed to earning trust and fostering growth, ensuring that those who rely on me as a leader and mentor feel supported and empowered. My greatest satisfaction comes from seeing my team succeed and delivering on the promises I make to them.
Georgia Tech + EarSketch // Design PM
Weekly mentorship engagements
150+ Interview Prep Sessions over previous 5 years
Making Great Hiring Decisions – Course Complete // AMZN
Amazon Design Community Contributor // 2018-2023
Adobe Creative Jam Partner
Mike has a brilliant mind for design strategy and has an adaptable process that makes working with him smooth and easy. When he first started working for me Mike and I met to discuss the vision of an AI based cyber security product. I had an idea of what I wanted to represent to the users but no idea what it should look like. Within a few days I had new design concepts for the product that was exactly what I intended. It was exciting! His appetite to improve design went beyond any UX professional I have worked with, for example he set up and led meetings that produced tangible results with our customers to improve the UI which also led to other breakthroughs on the product.
Mike gets stuff done, a 100% of the time. He brings a lot of drive, attention to detail, and process to the job. It was a pleasure working with Mike on Amazon’s vendor services product road-map. He led on all fronts – setting up UX process for a globally spread out product / engineering org to collaborate, working across time zones (including 4 am meetings), and coaching our sometimes semi UX-literate team on engaging effectively with UX.
Mike has a unique talent for bringing clarity to chaos.
Mike is the kind of design leader who makes the impossible seem easy. When we faced an overwhelming influx of 1.4 million page views on our newly designed landing page, the small business was drowning in leads, and the pressure was on to scale quickly. He stepped in, leading both the GenAI/ML Engineers and the Design team with precision and purpose. He was critical in bridging the gaps between these teams, ensuring seamless collaboration and clear communication. Through a series of focused design sprints, Mike guided us in creating an internal tool that transformed chaos into a streamlined, user-friendly system. His ability to simplify the complex while uniting everyone towards a common goal was invaluable.
Growing Design Teams in the AI space with Entanglement, obsessing over honey, and mentoring designers of all skill levels. Focused on design as a career for 22+ years, growing and learning from all the great humans I’ve met in the process.
Denver, CO
Honey Obsessed -> Owner; Honey House Honey
Mentor @ ADP List
Road Trip Enthusiast -> Most recent; Black Hills + Mt Rushmore
Live Music
Food 🌮 🍔 🍕
