Sam Summer

I lead the product and design for an AI platform built to help people find (and actually succeed in) jobs they love. The existing hiring process is broken: companies screen on criteria that don’t predict fit, recruiters are stretched too thin to screen thoughtfully, and candidates struggle to articulate relevant experience. My work focuses on reshaping that experience end to end. I design interviewing agents that guide candidates through thoughtful, human conversations; build analytics that help employers predict retention rather than résumé polish; and translate messy hiring workflows into simple, scalable tools. I joined Upwage full-time in May 2025 after consulting with the team for over a year, and have since helped drive growth from $400K to over $2M ARR—all while serving as the company’s lone designer and the connective tissue between product, engineering, and the people we’re building for.

From 2021 to 2025, I led Foundation, a small design studio that took on an eclectic mix of product, brand, and web projects. As Principal Designer, I managed a tight-knit team of designers and engineers and oversaw everything from early product strategy to final production builds. Our work ranged widely—shaping visual identities, designing complex digital experiences, and building the websites that brought those stories to life. Over those four years, the studio earned recognition as a Top 5 Seattle Web Development Company in both 2022 and 2023, but the real mark of success was the long-term partnerships we built with clients who trusted us to solve their hardest and most interesting problems.

At the University of Washington, I worked as a UX Designer focused on modernizing the tools that support the university’s extensive research operations. I built the core design system used across five internal products and led the redesign of the budget tool that manages $1.77B in annual research funding. As teams became increasingly remote, I expanded browser and device support to make these tools more accessible and reliable. I also led dozens of presentations for audiences ranging from principal investigators to department directors, aligning stakeholders around clearer workflows and a more cohesive product vision.

At Wisr, I worked as a Technical UX/UI Designer, helping scale the platform during a period of rapid growth. I led the design of features that supported Wisr’s expansion from 5 to 40 partner institutions, grounding product decisions in user research ranging from interviews to card sorting to A/B testing. I communicated design concepts clearly through prototypes and mockups, and partnered closely with engineering—often contributing front-end code myself. I also redesigned the company’s marketing site, increasing inbound information requests by 39% and helping establish a clearer, more compelling story for prospective partners.

I earned my Master of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering from the University of Washington, graduating with a 3.99 GPA. During the program, I led sponsored research projects with Airtable and the National Park Service, blending qualitative research, systems thinking, and interaction design to tackle real-world challenges. The program deepened my expertise in user-centered methodologies and strengthened the technical and strategic foundations that shape my work today.

I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating magna cum laude. My studies focused on the intersection of design, technology, and the built environment, and I was awarded the John & Beatrice Wesley Memorial Prize for excellence in design. The program shaped the way I approach form, structure, and systems—foundations that continue to influence my work across digital product design and beyond.