Ermi Mendoza-Isais
Designer / Leader / Mentor
Ermi Mendoza-Isais
Designer / Leader / Mentor
Open to work
Hello, I'm
Ermi
an
AI-first
senior
product designer
2000 – Present
I help teams move faster by pairing AI-driven workflows with human judgement to solve the right customer problems — fast, validated, and built for impact.
Freelance: also open to contract & project-based design work (UX/UI, design systems, AI prototyping).
Tools: Figma & Figma Make · Claude · Design systems · AI prototyping
Ermi Mendoza-Isais
Designer / Leader / Mentor
Open to work
Hello, I'm
Ermi
an
AI-first
senior
product designer
2000 – Present
I help teams move faster by pairing AI-driven workflows with human judgement to solve the right customer problems — fast, validated, and built for impact.
Freelance: also open to contract & project-based design work (UX/UI, design systems, AI prototyping).
Tools: Figma & Figma Make · Claude · Design systems · AI prototyping
8+ /
yrs product design
3 /
yrs design manager
15+ /
products shipped
16 /
talks
100s /
mentored
8+ /
yrs product design
3 /
yrs design manager
15+ /
products shipped
16 /
talks
100s /
mentored
{01} — Selected work
Product design that ships — see the outcomes
{02} — Prototypes
AI-built proof of concepts
AI-built proof of concepts
A growing collection of AI prototypes using various LLMs (large language models), built to test flows, interaction ideas, and product concepts.
A growing collection of AI prototypes using various LLMs (large language models), built to test flows, interaction ideas, and product concepts.
Rideshare Mobile App 'RideX'
A rideshare mobile app for travellers (B2C) and dashboard for taxi operators (B2B), with white-label theming for third party operators. Designed in Figma Make (Sonnet 5).
{03} — Toolkit
Tools & AI workflow
{03} — Toolkit
Tools & AI workflow
{03} — Toolkit
Tools & AI workflow
Figma / Figma Make
AI prototype POCs to accelerate & validate decisions
90
%
Figma / Figma Make
AI prototype POCs to accelerate & validate decisions
90
%
Claude
Ideate research & content with human judgement
80
%
Claude
Ideate research & content with human judgement
80
%
Rovo / Confluence
Convert technical requirements > user perspective
80
%
Rovo / Confluence
Convert technical requirements > user perspective
80
%
JIRA
Define, plan, track projects & automate tasks
60
%
JIRA
Define, plan, track projects & automate tasks
60
%
Loom
Increase productivity > meeting insights & actions
60
%
Loom
Increase productivity > meeting insights & actions
60
%
Lucid / AI
Summarise workshops, convert to Confuence
50
%
Lucid / AI
Summarise workshops, convert to Confuence
50
%
AI design
Design systems
Dashboards
Mobile apps
Branding
AI design
Design systems
Dashboards
Mobile apps
Branding
Mar 2025-Present
Senior Product Designer • Nuix
De-risked AI prototypes, 50% faster validation
Drove AI-first prototyping workflows with key stakeholders
Led UI Uplift initiative
Improved usability and global UI consistency
Mar 2025-Present
Senior Product Designer • Nuix
De-risked AI prototypes, 50% faster validation
Drove AI-first prototyping workflows with key stakeholders
Led UI Uplift initiative
Improved usability and global UI consistency
Mar 2025-Present
Senior Product Designer • Nuix
De-risked AI prototypes, 50% faster validation
Drove AI-first prototyping workflows with key stakeholders
Led UI Uplift initiative
Improved usability and global UI consistency
Nov 2022-Jan 2025
Design Lead • FLEET
Lifted passenger UX by 18%
End-to-end UX/UI for a B2B in-vehicle SaaS platform
Built a scalable design system
Added accessibility improvements across the platform
Nov 2022-Jan 2025
Design Lead • FLEET
Lifted passenger UX by 18%
End-to-end UX/UI for a B2B in-vehicle SaaS platform
Built a scalable design system
Added accessibility improvements across the platform
Nov 2022-Jan 2025
Design Lead • FLEET
Lifted passenger UX by 18%
End-to-end UX/UI for a B2B in-vehicle SaaS platform
Built a scalable design system
Added accessibility improvements across the platform
Jul-Oct 2022
Senior Product Designer • Shift
Cut onboarding friction 30% → 20%
Streamlined flow to reduce drop-off points
Reduced payment errors, cut calls 12%
Microcopy improvements across the payment flow
Jul-Oct 2022
Senior Product Designer • Shift
Cut onboarding friction 30% → 20%
Streamlined flow to reduce drop-off points
Reduced payment errors, cut calls 12%
Microcopy improvements across the payment flow
Jul-Oct 2022
Senior Product Designer • Shift
Cut onboarding friction 30% → 20%
Streamlined flow to reduce drop-off points
Reduced payment errors, cut calls 12%
Microcopy improvements across the payment flow
Jan-Jun 2022
Product Design Lead
Lifted usability by 10%
Improved onboarding micro-interactions
Championed Apple Pay rollout
Partnered with marketing on co-branded app integration
Jan-Jun 2022
Product Design Lead
Lifted usability by 10%
Improved onboarding micro-interactions
Championed Apple Pay rollout
Partnered with marketing on co-branded app integration
Jan-Jun 2022
Product Design Lead
Lifted usability by 10%
Improved onboarding micro-interactions
Championed Apple Pay rollout
Partnered with marketing on co-branded app integration
Jan-Dec 2021
UX Design Lead • CMC Markets
Cut onboarding drop-off by 25%
Redesigned customer onboarding end-to-end
Balanced compliance & user needs
Met business and customer risk goals
Jan-Dec 2021
UX Design Lead • CMC Markets
Cut onboarding drop-off by 25%
Redesigned customer onboarding end-to-end
Balanced compliance & user needs
Met business and customer risk goals
Jan-Dec 2021
UX Design Lead • CMC Markets
Cut onboarding drop-off by 25%
Redesigned customer onboarding end-to-end
Balanced compliance & user needs
Met business and customer risk goals
Mar 2019-Sep 2020
Senior UX/UI Designer • DIVVY
Shipped new platform in 3 months
Launched a new transport brand with B2C/B2B parking booking
Built 'Q-Tracker' in 8 weeks
COVID-19 booking platform for Woolworths
Mar 2019-Sep 2020
Senior UX/UI Designer • DIVVY
Shipped new platform in 3 months
Launched a new transport brand with B2C/B2B parking booking
Built 'Q-Tracker' in 8 weeks
COVID-19 booking platform for Woolworths
Mar 2019-Sep 2020
Senior UX/UI Designer • DIVVY
Shipped new platform in 3 months
Launched a new transport brand with B2C/B2B parking booking
Built 'Q-Tracker' in 8 weeks
COVID-19 booking platform for Woolworths
Mar 2017-Feb 2019
UX Designer • Humm (previously Flexigroup)
Co-led Skye Mastercard launch
UX/UI design for the card launch
Ran usability testing for Skye App
Delivered product-improving recommendations
Mar 2017-Feb 2019
UX Designer • Humm (previously Flexigroup)
Co-led Skye Mastercard launch
UX/UI design for the card launch
Ran usability testing for Skye App
Delivered product-improving recommendations
Mar 2017-Feb 2019
UX Designer • Humm (previously Flexigroup)
Co-led Skye Mastercard launch
UX/UI design for the card launch
Ran usability testing for Skye App
Delivered product-improving recommendations
50%
faster validation with AI prototyping
50%
faster validation with AI prototyping
25%
drop-off reduction in onboarding flows
25%
drop-off reduction in onboarding flows
18%
UX lift from design system uplift
18%
UX lift from design system uplift
{05} — Testimonials
What colleagues & leaders say
Whether Ermi was developing AI-powered concepts or creating aspirational experiences for external customers, she consistently found ways to push ideas forward while keeping the user at the centre.
Quyen Thoi
Head of Product – Data Sourcing
I had the absolute pleasure of building several products with Ermi at DIVVY and it is rare that you come across standout talent like her. She has a natural gift for user experience design and the needs of the end-user.
Anton Mills
Chief Technology Officer
Ermi is an exceptional designer, leader and teammate. She goes above and beyond in everything she does – her work is always of impeccable quality. Ermi has an incredible work ethic and can always be counted on to deliver.
Caitlin Englot
Head of Growth
It's a rare skill to be so creative AND structured but Ermi treads those paths well. Which makes her an amazing asset to any business whether she is part of a team or helping build one.
Simon Lester
Head of Product Design
This was one of the best mentor sessions I’ve ever had! Ermi boosted my motivation and provided invaluable insights about the industry. If you're trying to break into UX design, I highly recommend Ermi. She'll guide you in the right direction.
Carolina Jaramillo
Art Director
Whether Ermi was developing AI-powered concepts or creating aspirational experiences for external customers, she consistently found ways to push ideas forward while keeping the user at the centre.
Quyen Thoi
Head of Product – Data Sourcing
I had the absolute pleasure of building several products with Ermi at DIVVY and it is rare that you come across standout talent like her. She has a natural gift for user experience design and the needs of the end-user.
Anton Mills
Chief Technology Officer
Ermi is an exceptional designer, leader and teammate. She goes above and beyond in everything she does – her work is always of impeccable quality. Ermi has an incredible work ethic and can always be counted on to deliver.
Caitlin Englot
Head of Growth
It's a rare skill to be so creative AND structured but Ermi treads those paths well. Which makes her an amazing asset to any business whether she is part of a team or helping build one.
Simon Lester
Head of Product Design
This was one of the best mentor sessions I’ve ever had! Ermi boosted my motivation and provided invaluable insights about the industry. If you're trying to break into UX design, I highly recommend Ermi. She'll guide you in the right direction.
Carolina Jaramillo
Art Director
{06} — FAQ
Common questions answered
Common questions answered
01/
What's your experience in AI design?
Here are a few examples: I use Copilot to triage priority emails, flag blockers for product and engineering, and turn Loom summaries into tagged Confluence pages via Rovo, sharing this workflow at standups to lift team-wide productivity. I build POCs in Figma Make to test and validate ideas with senior stakeholders before engineering starts, cutting cost and effort while co-defining the right problems early. And for under-resourced squads, I use Copilot to summarise tech showcases and surface engineer questions, then generate QA checklists with Rovo and Claude to catch usability, UI, and flow issues during testing.
02/
Describe how you work end-to-end
I partner with PMs to co-define scope and vision, running discovery research and synthesising analytics and customer data into UX recommendations aligned with business and user goals. I'm hands-on in UI design and design systems, building AI-powered POCs in Figma Make to test concepts and gather stakeholder feedback early. I work closely with engineers through handover and run QA to ensure builds match design specs, then track post-launch insights and customer feedback to regroup with product and engineering on prioritising the next iteration.
03/
Are you still hands-on in product design?
Yes. If I'm working at a startup, I'll wear multiple hats, including being hands-on in product design, research and testing. If I'm leading a small design team, then I'm usually 50% hands-on with the rest of my time spent liaising with product and tech leads, defining roadmaps, prioritising features, sprint planning, backlog grooming, leading design showcases and stakeholder walkthroughs.
04/
Do you have experience with design systems?
Yes. I often work with Material 3 Design Kits, apply their principles, then reuse and repurpose them to create multi-theme design systems. I have experience in creating UI kits and component libraries from scratch and work closely with front end developers defining variables, tokens and leading handovers for final UI implementation and front end build.
05/
Do you have experience mentoring designers and leading design teams?
Yes. In previous roles, I led small design teams of 1-5 designers which was a blend of in-house UX/UI designers, digital designers, contractors and remote visual designers in Manila. My role included hiring, conducting performance and annual reviews, liaising with department heads, helping to upskill designers and sourcing contractors to cover design overflow. In other roles when I mentored junior designers who didn't officially report to me, my role was to mentor, provide design direction, review their work, identify areas for improvement and help them upskill on the job.
06 /
When are you available for a chat?
I'm available weekdays from 9am to 4pm AEST for a phone chat. You can also message me on LinkedIn or email to arrange a time: contact@ermiisais.com
01/
What's your experience in AI design?
Here are a few examples: I use Copilot to triage priority emails, flag blockers for product and engineering, and turn Loom summaries into tagged Confluence pages via Rovo, sharing this workflow at standups to lift team-wide productivity. I build POCs in Figma Make to test and validate ideas with senior stakeholders before engineering starts, cutting cost and effort while co-defining the right problems early. And for under-resourced squads, I use Copilot to summarise tech showcases and surface engineer questions, then generate QA checklists with Rovo and Claude to catch usability, UI, and flow issues during testing.
02/
Describe how you work end-to-end
I partner with PMs to co-define scope and vision, running discovery research and synthesising analytics and customer data into UX recommendations aligned with business and user goals. I'm hands-on in UI design and design systems, building AI-powered POCs in Figma Make to test concepts and gather stakeholder feedback early. I work closely with engineers through handover and run QA to ensure builds match design specs, then track post-launch insights and customer feedback to regroup with product and engineering on prioritising the next iteration.
03/
Are you still hands-on in product design?
Yes. If I'm working at a startup, I'll wear multiple hats, including being hands-on in product design, research and testing. If I'm leading a small design team, then I'm usually 50% hands-on with the rest of my time spent liaising with product and tech leads, defining roadmaps, prioritising features, sprint planning, backlog grooming, leading design showcases and stakeholder walkthroughs.
04/
Do you have experience with design systems?
Yes. I often work with Material 3 Design Kits, apply their principles, then reuse and repurpose them to create multi-theme design systems. I have experience in creating UI kits and component libraries from scratch and work closely with front end developers defining variables, tokens and leading handovers for final UI implementation and front end build.
05/
Do you have experience mentoring designers and leading design teams?
Yes. In previous roles, I led small design teams of 1-5 designers which was a blend of in-house UX/UI designers, digital designers, contractors and remote visual designers in Manila. My role included hiring, conducting performance and annual reviews, liaising with department heads, helping to upskill designers and sourcing contractors to cover design overflow. In other roles when I mentored junior designers who didn't officially report to me, my role was to mentor, provide design direction, review their work, identify areas for improvement and help them upskill on the job.
06 /
When are you available for a chat?
I'm available weekdays from 9am to 4pm AEST for a phone chat. You can also message me on LinkedIn or email to arrange a time: contact@ermiisais.com
