Robert del Prado

Los Angeles, CA | 917-605-0418 | robertdelprado.com | robertdelprado@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/rdelprado

Expert Innovation Designer with 15+ years of strategic problem-solving experience across enterprise organizations including healthcare, financial services, media, and government sectors. Skilled in cost optimization research, design systems, and translating user insights into measurable business outcomes ($44M+ in documented savings). Focused on operational efficiency and strategic facilitation methodologies that drive organizational transformation. Contribute to the design community through speaking engagements at UXDX Los Angeles, LA Product Design Group, and Techqueria.

EXPERIENCE

Expert Innovation Designer

12/22 to Present

Capital One (acquired Discover Financial Services 5/25): Fortune 100 financial services company where I led cost optimization and innovation initiatives for cloud infrastructure and payment processing systems. 

  • GreenFinOps cloud provisioning research: Conducted 45-minute interviews with 10 engineering participants, identified 30% overprovisioning rate, developed training recommendations that drove $28M in cost savings through AWS ECS optimization

  • FIN-OCR Innovation Squad: Served as facilitator and project lead using SCIPAB methodology to develop in-house OCR solution, achieved 97% accuracy with 20,000+ check validation, delivered $16M in annual savings through vendor elimination and licensing cost reduction

  • Cross-functional workshop facilitation: Coached product managers on customer empathy and user research methodologies, facilitated strategic workshops driving alignment on innovation initiatives

  • Patent innovation: Received 2 patents in progress for accessibility (dyslexia) and image processing (optical character recognition) technologies

Principal Design Strategist

11/21 to 11/22

SameSky Health: Healthcare technology startup where I led culturally intelligent member engagement platform design for health plans serving diverse population

  • CultureGuide platform optimization: Led research with 9 Community Health Guides and redesigned flagship Salesforce communication tool using Lightning System components, improved member engagement workflows

  • Bilingual user research: Conducted Spanish-language qualitative research with diverse member populations, created culturally inclusive content strategy and progressive disclosure design improvements

  • SMS messaging strategy: Led moderated and unmoderated UX research including contextual inquiry and A/B testing, developed new content design approach for health plan member communications

  • Mobile health MVP: Designed mobile health application curated to serve member medical needs with cultural sensitivity framework

Senior UX Design Strategist

6/18 to 10/21

Inovalon: Healthcare analytics and B2B SaaS provider where I led UX research and design for payer, provider, and health plan applications

  • Multi-state healthcare research: Conducted research across 5 states and Puerto Rico, led first user-centered design workshop using MURAL, achieved 20% reduction in abandoned SOAP notes, 45-60 day improvement in completion rates, and 30% increase in self-service account creation

  • Call center application redesign: Designed application using Material Angular design system components, tripled productivity within 90 days and achieved record-breaking scheduled visits

  • Design system creation: Created company's first design system using Material Angular UI framework, established design operations and component standards for B2B SaaS applications

  • Design operations: Built processes including remote collaboration tools, user recruitment methodologies, and research repository systems

UX Designer

11/16 to 5/18

Comcast: Fortune 50 Media and technology company where I led enterprise HR systems design for employee experience and training platforms

  • Learning Management System development: Conducted qualitative research and heuristic evaluations driving new LMS for 90,000+ employees, improved training completion rates and reduced support tickets

  • HR applicant tracking redesign: Researched and redesigned legacy system with improved user flows, navigation optimization, and call-to-action placement

  • Enterprise UX process: Delivered end-to-end UX design as sole resource for HR Systems team serving large-scale employee populations

UX Design Fellow

7/16 to 12/16

City of Philadelphia: Office of Open Data and Digital Transformation where I co-led research to redesign the city website 

  • phila.gov digital transformation: Conducted citizen-centered field research and developed information architecture providing foundation for multi-year transformation consolidating 300+ city services on single platform

  • Content strategy: Built user experience improvements for government digital services using human-centered design methodologies

  • Civic technology research: Applied public sector UX research methodologies and contextual inquiry techniques for diverse urban populations

UX & Innovation Strategist

1/16 to 2024

Freelance: Independent design strategist delivering UX strategy and facilitation for healthcare, finance, real estate, and hospitality clients

  • Healthcare product strategy: Facilitated design thinking workshops and product strategy sessions to develop product roadmaps and strategic planning initiatives

  • Digital agency UX strategy: Provided guidance to agencies, created content and user experience solutions for finance, hospitality, and real estate clients

  • Startup research and prototyping: Conducted user research, wireframing, and prototyping for travel and energy startups, developed dashboard strategies and mobile application concepts

Senior Director of Strategy and Operations

10/14 to 9/15

Mastery Charter Schools: Charter school network where I led strategic operations across facilities, community engagement, and organizational planning

  • Operations leadership: Managed cross-functional team of 7 Directors of Operations and 50+ operations staff across charter school network

  • Service design project management: Developed methodology for school renovations (200,000+ square feet in 2-week timelines) using strategic planning

  • Community research: Conducted stakeholder engagement and user research to understand community needs for new school development

Project Consultant

1/13 to 10/14

New York City Department of Education: Largest U.S. public school system where I supported teacher experience, educational technology, and assessment improvements

  • Teacher experience research: Conducted contextual inquiry with teachers to improve assessment scoring support systems

  • Hiring system redesign: Redesigned teacher hiring system including user flow optimization and interface improvements

Director of Strategy and Operations

9/09 to 7/12

Achievement First: Charter school network where I led cross-functional operations including HR, finance, and facilities

  • Team leadership: Managed cross-functional team of 9 staff including HR, finance, quality assurance, and compliance functions

  • Operational excellence: Led data-driven decision making, strategic planning, and operational efficiency initiatives

  • Systems management: Oversaw facilities, technology systems, human resources operations, and compliance processes

Assistant Director, Product Management

9/03 to 9/09

The College Board: Educational assessment organization where I supported SAT program development and product management

  • Product management: Served as product manager for SAT readiness program serving students nationwide

  • Strategic planning: Contributed to product strategy and cross-functional collaboration for educational technology solutions

  • Program leadership: Managed consultant network of 500+ training professionals, developed program management processes for large-scale deployment

EDUCATION

Master of Public Administration, Public Policy Analysis | 5/2009 New York University, New York, NY

Bachelor of Arts, English | 5/2006 Fordham University, Bronx, NY

SKILLS

Design: Cost optimization research, enterprise UX, service design, prototyping, systems thinking, workshop design, inclusive design, cognitive bias, design systems

Research: Qualitative research, contextual inquiry, usability testing, heuristic evaluation, A/B testing, user interviews, surveys, persona development, JTBD methodology, bilingual research (Spanish), competitive analysis

Tools: Figma, MURAL, Miro, UserTesting, Userzoom, Dovetail, Salesforce Lightning System, Material Angular UI, Jira

Methodologies: Design thinking, Lego® SeriousPlay® facilitation, Agile/Scrum, human-centered design, design operations, strategic planning

Technical: B2B SaaS applications, healthcare analytics platforms, mobile application design, government digital services, cloud provisioning optimization, OCR technology development

Languages: English (native), Spanish (professional proficiency - conducted bilingual user research)

CERTIFICATIONS

Design & Facilitation: Lego® SeriousPlay® Certified Facilitator (SERIOUSWORK, 7/2025) • High Impact Design (EX3 Labs, 2/2024) • Advanced Innovation through Human-Centered Design (LUMA Institute, 11/2019) • UX Certificate: Management and Research (Nielsen Norman Group, 5/2019), Fundamentals of Innovation through Human-Centered Design (LUMA Institute, 7/2019)

Product Management: Product Management Certificate (eCornell, 7/2025) • Foundations of Product Management (Pragmatic Institute, 8/2020)

Business Strategy: Certificate in Behavioral Economics (Irrational Labs, 5/2022) • Certificate in Strategy Execution (Harvard Business School Online, 1/2022) • Building Invincible Companies: Innovation Strategy Masterclass (Strategyzer, 10/2020)