Axel Valdez
Design Engineer
Resume
UI Engineering Manager
Since 2021
I joined the company as its first technically oriented UI specialist. From the start, my role focused on bridging design and engineering to improve how interfaces are built and maintained.
I founded the UI Engineering Chapter, a cross-functional group of UI engineers, designers, and developers dedicated to creating and maintaining design systems and development-ready UI components that serve as the foundation for our software applications.
Today, I lead all UI-related initiatives across the company, helping ensure consistency, scalability, and quality in our user interfaces.
Design Engineer
2011—2021
I joined the company as a user interface designer, working with client teams across the United States. My work focused on designing and building interfaces for web applications, as well as iOS and Android products.
Around my third year, I transitioned to the digital marketing team. There, I maintained the website infrastructure, evolved the company website into an inbound lead-generation tool, and built landing pages while tracking and optimizing performance metrics such as SEO, click-through rates, and conversion data.
As a side project during my time on the marketing team, I also led the design of branded swag for internal use and in-person events, including posters, t-shirts, stickers, and other promotional materials.
UI Designer / Front-end Developer
2011
My role at Internet Brands focused primarily on rapid, high-fidelity in-browser prototyping for vBulletin, one of the company’s core products. This work helped explore, validate, and communicate interface ideas quickly within a real, working environment.
In addition, I contributed to tuning and maintaining the company website, built on Movable Type, and supported design needs across other teams as required.
Web Designer & Developer
2009—2011
Operating under the brand name Paskola, I worked both independently and in collaboration with development teams on websites and web applications. My projects ranged from full lifecycle builds to targeted improvements on existing products.
I designed and built WordPress websites from early concept through production, worked on web applications from interface design through technical implementation, and led redesign efforts to improve usability, consistency, and long-term maintainability.
I also consulted with development teams, advising on design implementation and teaching design strategies to achieve more consistent, scalable, and maintainable results.
UI Designer
2005—2009
I joined Novutek as a visual designer working on clients’ web applications. Beyond individual projects, my role helped introduce UI design as a first-class discipline early in the software development process, rather than a late-stage cosmetic step.
Working closely with multiple teams, I advocated for standards-based code and a clear separation between functional and presentational layers. This approach improved collaboration and resulted in more maintainable, scalable web applications.