Resume
Natalie Heins
UX Research & Design Strategist
Chicago, IL | (224) 600-7581 |
natalieheins@gmail.com |
natalieheins.com
Summary
UX research and design leader with 20 years of experience turning ambiguous, large-scale problems into evidence-based product and experience strategy. I specialize in framing the real problem before designing the solution — pairing behavioral analytics, usability testing, and cross-functional discovery with hands-on design craft to shape decisions at the enterprise level. I've built design standards and operating models from the ground up, translated research and insight into scalable systems adopted across global teams, and mentored designers to carry that thinking forward. I do my best work in ambiguous, front-end problem spaces — the kind where the brief isn't written yet and the real problem still needs to be found.
Professional Experience
Senior Design Expert — SAP
July 2023 – December 2025
- Led end-to-end usability testing and synthesized findings into actionable design direction, translating ambiguous user problems into concrete product and experience decisions across iterations.
- Combined behavioral analytics (Adobe Analytics, Activity Map) with qualitative research to identify friction points and pressure-test assumptions before committing to a design direction.
- Facilitated cross-functional discovery and ideation workshops, aligning design, product, and engineering stakeholders around evidence-based problem framing rather than pre-set solutions.
- Reframed the global homepage as a unified, scalable "front door," defining the strategic direction for consistent messaging, localization, and personalization across the enterprise platform.
- Mapped the end-to-end homepage user journey and built a functioning prototype to test it; interviewed users on content needs and navigation behavior, and paired those findings with click-pattern analytics on the navigation and footer to determine what should surface first.
- Established design standards and contributed to a Strategy–Design–Run–Build operating model, building the scalable practices a fast-growing design organization needed to operate consistently.
- Modernized core navigation systems (masthead, footer, in-page navigation) to improve accessibility and usability across a global platform.
- Mentored UX designers on research-informed design thinking and strategic judgment, building team capability beyond individual project work.
Full Stack UX Designer — TEKsystems @ SAP
February 2007 – July 2023
- Led a global redesign of the enterprise platform from ambiguous problem to iterative, evidence-based delivery, shaping a modern, user-centered experience adopted company-wide.
- Designed the SAP personalization dashboard and downstream adaptive pages, translating behavioral and preference data into experiences tailored by role, behavior, and context.
- Defined end-to-end support chat and live-agent journeys, shaping self-service, chatbot, and human escalation paths for high-stakes, trust-sensitive user moments.
- Synthesized usability testing, heatmaps, funnels, and click-tracking data into clear recommendations, presenting findings to cross-functional leadership to shift CTA hierarchy and content priorities.
- Partnered with product and engineering on A/B testing programs, using evidence to guide iteration and reduce cognitive load across high-traffic flows.
- Built scalable, modular patterns for email, forms, and landing experiences, aligning UX standards with design-system and SEO strategy across a large enterprise portfolio.
UX Designer — InfoNXX, Inc.
July 2006 – February 2007
- Applied human-centered design principles across web, email, and campaign touchpoints, partnering with brand and marketing to translate identity into consistent UX patterns.
- Conducted ongoing audits and optimized content and layout decisions based on performance insight and observed user behavior.
- Documented UX strategy and design rationale to support cross-team alignment and decision-making.
UX Designer and Developer — City of Richmond, VA
August 2004 – July 2006
- Led UX design across key public-facing journeys, establishing accessibility (WCAG) and usability standards for a diverse audience with no prior design system to build from.
- Conducted usability reviews and iterated based on direct user feedback, translating findings into navigation and task-completion improvements.
Core Strengths
Strategic Problem Framing & Discovery
Human-Centered Design Research
Usability Testing & Insight Synthesis
Cross-Functional Influence & Stakeholder Alignment
Design Systems & Scalable Standards
Data-Driven UX & Behavioral Analytics
Personalization & Adaptive UX
Workshop Facilitation & Ideation
Mentorship & Capability Building
A/B Testing & Iterative Optimization