Max Edelmann

I am a UX Researcher with a Masters degree in Human-Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington with five years of experience in commercial, academic, and clinical applications of human factors research.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

UX Researcher with six years’ experience in applying human-centered research in emerging GenAI product domains; led research to re-evaluate AI integration in Expedia, increasing engagement by over 140%; recognized by high-level stakeholders for crucial insights leading to the features’ success and spoke as an AI panelist at two company-wide all-hands meetings; directed pre-launch internal research at Google and improved pre-launch satisfaction and usability metrics by 60%. Assisted in developing the first generative UX research exploring novel applications of generative AI in emerging media spaces.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Google via Magnit LLC - UX Researcher, Envisioning Studio - Seattle, WA.    

05/2024 – present

• Assisted in developing novel generative UX research exploring AI in new and emerging media spaces, including Flow (Veo 3), NotebookLM, and ImageFX, interviewing high-profile industry experts such as film directors, VFX artists, animators, novelists, and journalists partnered with Google.

• Led and structured large internal benchmarking, focus groups, and diary studies with 90+ Google employees to bug-test and plan a product roadmap before launch. Pre-launch design changes based on my research increased satisfaction and usability metrics by 60%.

• Utilized AI tools such as NotebookLM, Gemini, and ChatGPT to create and maintain databases for transcripts from large qualitative studies for quick quote retrieval and accelerated insights, reducing time sifting through notes and transcripts and hastening research syntheses by weeks.

• Developed and promoted novel bench research in filmmaking workflows to assist design teams in scoping and exploring new media domains by creating detailed hierarchical workflows, presentations, and infographics.

• Planned internal sizzle and highlight reels by gathering footage, quotes, and backing audio, and managing freelance video editing consultants; supported research scientists and creative strategists in structuring short films promoting our research for C-suite engagement.

• Constructed and maintained a research repository accessible to high-level media production executives and artists documenting UX research studies, high-level insights, and other artifacts curated to maximize buy-in and continued collaboration with Google.

Expedia via Bluehawk Consulting LLC - Senior UX Researcher, Adaptive Research Team - Seattle, WA.

05/2022 - 12/2023

• Spearheaded 25+ major strategic and tactical UX research projects and presented actionable insights to VP-level stakeholders; developed end-to-end research plans and collaborated with diverse stakeholders such as designers, product managers, and engineers.

• Pioneered innovative, foundational research investigating AI-powered travel planning using contextual inquiry, laying the groundwork for future product development and increasing user engagement with Expedia’s AI integration by over 140%.

• Discovered crucial knowledge gaps in user trust when planning travel with AI, shifting strategic focus, and creating a dedicated AI research team.

• Handpicked for an agile horizontal research team due to the quality of research and stakeholder engagement, achieved double the expected research efficiency and contributed to saving Expedia $400,000 in external research costs.

• Created five presentations to train colleagues in leveraging multimedia to augment research deliverables by helping researchers enhance video storytelling, create compelling user stories, and increase overall deliverable content quality, eliciting positive stakeholder feedback.

Microsoft via Collabera LLC - UX Research Generalist, Windows OS Team - Redmond, WA. 

03/2021 - 05/2022

• Conducted 15+ large-scale research projects during the COVID-19 pandemic and operated an in-person usability lab once restrictions eased, handling participant recruitment and coordination, lab setup, AV recording, transcription, and data archival.

• Coordinated research to evaluate and finalize pre-launch features for Windows 11 and ensure alignment with user expectations in critical release domains such as Cortana, multi-monitor display behavior, tablet OS, Skype, and OneDrive cloud storage.

• Published five literature reviews on ethical considerations for artificial intelligence in UX, created new AI-focused research repositories, and aligned with marketing to build user-centered advertisements for the Windows 11 Newsfeed.

University of Washington, “Atlas,” - Student UX Researcher, HCDE - Seattle, WA    

09/2020 - 12/2021

• I partnered with a team to collaborate with the non-profit organization Building H to address Mobility-as-a-Service, improve transportation in Seattle, and make public transit more attractive to reduce carbon emissions and reliance on personal vehicles. 

• Used diverse research methods during COVID-19: contextual inquiries, moderated and unmoderated usability studies, participatory co-design, user acceptance testing, and surveying, often adapting these research methods for quarantine.

• Our team won the 2021 Graduate Award for Excellence in Technology in the UW HCDE Graduate Program for our work on “Atlas.”

Freelance, “Parse” Project - UX Researcher - Seattle, WA    

09/2019 - 03/2021

• Led research design to ideate and develop an innovative voice assistant for users with speech disorders utilizing iterative participatory co-design, creating five surveys, three contextual inquiries, and moderating five co-design sessions.

• I collaborated with five participants, each with a speech disorder, to co-design five iterations of a voice assistant using Figma and Protopie. These participants led and directed the co-design process.

• Presented three lectures at the University of Washington, focusing on empowering users with collaborative research methods.

University of Washington, Usability Studies Team - UX Research Lead - Seattle, WA

01/2020 - 03/2020

• Partnered with Samsung to perform usability testing and competitive market analysis for their visual voicemail app redesign, which is expected to be released in Q1/2020

• Served as research lead of a four-person team whose duties included recruiting participants, designing the usability study, moderating interviews, data analysis, and data interpretation, and also served as the liaison with client

• Delivered a comprehensive usability study using both quantitative and qualitative measures, including task efficiency, task completion rates, think-aloud protocol, a visual sorting task, and competitive market analysis

University of Washington, User-Centered Design Team - UX Research Lead & Prototyping - Seattle, WA

09/2019 - 12/2019

• Served as research lead in a four-person team dedicated to creating a physical time management system and companion app. Also in charge of app prototyping using Adobe XD, Protopie, and Adobe Illustrator

• Recruited participants, designed screening surveys, moderated user interviews, and analyzed data through SPSS. For prototyping, I created a high-fidelity interactive app interface that was demonstrated in the project presentation.

Purchase College, Psychology Department - Senior Researcher - Purchase, NY

12/2015 - 06/2017

• Collected and synthesized data in IRB-approved research, used analysis software such as SPSS and Matlab, and developed a foundation in quantitative research, statistics, anthropology, and cognitive sciences, running and analyzing 100+ participant sessions.

• Focus on reducing phobic physiological reactions using novel psychodynamic methods involving subliminal imagery, decreasing phobic responses in galvanic skin response measures by over 40% over the baseline response in six months.

SKILLS

Experienced in UX Research Methodologies: Qualitative research specialist, mixed methods research, survey design, questionnaire design, data visualization, card sorting, moderated usability testing, AB testing, affinity mapping, user flow creation, accessibility design, data analysis, participatory co-design, screener creation, thematic analysis, benchmarking, statistics, and video storytelling.

Strong research, creative, and prototyping skills with professional deliverables in: Usertesting.com, Userzoom, Adobe XD, SPSS, Premiere Pro, Tableau, Sketch, InDesign, Invision, Illustrator, Google Forms, Figma, Cubase 11, Qualtrics, Dscout, Miro, SurveyMonkey.

EDUCATION

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Master of Science, Human-Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE)

Awards: 2021 Graduate Award for Excellence in Technology

Purchase College, Purchase, NY
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology

Awards:  summa cum laude, Gloria Roth Award for Excellence in Science, Nancy Jo Abeles Merit Scholarship, lecturer at SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference 2017, and Purchase College Natural Sciences Symposium 2017.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

University of Washington, Information Visualization Team - Lead Data Analyst - Seattle, WA

01/2020 – 03/2020

• Served as a lead data analyst in a four-person team creating an interactive tool for comparing health care plans

• Cleaned and analyzed a large dataset from the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services and assisted in creating an interactive map using Tableau comparing healthcare plans between states.

Purchase College - Research Assistant - Purchase, NY

12/2011 - 08/2012

• Served in a five-person research team under a research mentor investigating experimental treatment for anxiety disorders, which was later published and further investigated using fMRI

• Ran trials involving both physiological and behavioral measures and assisted in data cleaning and analysis

Purchase College, Research Methods I - Teaching Assistant - Purchase, NY

01/2016 - 06/2016

• Assisted in teaching Research Methods I, a required class for psychology students teaching experimental design, statistical analysis, and research ethics

• Conducted study sessions in-person and remotely through Skype twice a week in addition to normal classes