I am a Staff UX Designer and leader, with 12+ years of experience in the design industry, focusing on solving complex business problems. I am a strong product thinker, with the ability to help teams deliver user-centered designs and product vision to drive measurable business impact.
I'm originally from Mexico, but I moved to the USA to pursue my B.A. in Fine Arts at The University of Pennsylvania. I spent eight years in Philadelphia, where I worked at several design agencies, until I moved to London in 2016 to join Google. In 2018, I relocated to Zurich, where I live today and continue to work at Google. During my free time, I enjoy creating jewelry for my side business, Ninka Pop (named after my daughter), and eating spicy food.
Languages: Fluent English and Spanish
Conversational French | Beginner German
I believe that mantaining honest, positive relationships creates an environment that supports creativity, learning, and growth.
I care personally about my team members, and value their input and unique experiences.
I invest time and effort into learning and continuous growth, always seeking opportunities to improve my skills.
I recognize that everyone has unique strengths and areas for development, so I tailor growth opportunities (whether it's through training, mentorship, or challenging projects) to each team member's specific needs and goals.
I believe in feedback as the key for growth and professional development. I value and cherish honest and direct feedback. As a manager I foster a culture of open and regular feedback sharing within my team.
I believe that trust is essential for building effective and happy teams.
I lead by example by being honest, transparent, and accountable for my actions. I openly share information, and encourage others to do the same. I provide autonomy to my team, and trust them to deliver great results.
* "I had the pleasure to work with Sayra as my UX stakeholder peer on evolving the contextual advertising business of YouTube. Her background in Computer Science gained her a lot of credibility with engineering teams and allowed her to deliver effective designs that balanced engineering complexity and product return."
Roland Kehl, PhD Software Engineer, Google Ads
YouTube Reservation Ads
Leading and managing the Premium Advertiser Experiences design team.
Defining UX strategy and driving execution across a complex suite of premium video advertising tools that generate $XB in revenue, YY% YoY growth, and support products such as: Masthead, Custom Lineups, Sponsorships, and Moment Blasts.
Packaging, YouTube Reservation Ads
Designed and drove the unification of multiple video packaging tools into a single platform that powers several premium ads products, including YouTube Select ($XB).
Google Workspace, Assistive tools
Designed a machine learning powered experience that highlighted unfamiliar concepts for users across Google Workspace tools.
Site Reliability Engineering
Designed & drove the unification of 4+ rollout services into one cohesive platform, standardizing the way releases are tracked and managed at Google.
I am an expert in iterative design processes that prioritize users' needs.
1. Identify the problem; understand business goals and technical capabilities
2. Research and analyze; define primary users and CUJs; identify user pain points
3. Define requirements and success metrics; break down project into prioritized milestones
4. Wireframe, design, prototype; test and iterate based on feedback
5. QA and launch; measure metrics; use insights to inform strategy
I am skilled in strategic planning and problem-solving, always seeking to define clear goals, metrics, and milestones.
I leverage research and insights to inform the strategy, and always align work with business objectives to make sure UX can have the most impact.
I am a critical partner to PMs and Engineers, fostering a collaborative and transparent communication style that drives alignment toward our shared goals.
My knowledge of business and design, helps PMs identify risks and opportunities, and define solutions that are aligned with users' needs. My understanding of technical constraints and strong collaboration with Engineers, allows me to balance design vision with technical feasibility.
I am able to shift my thinking quickly and successfully adapt to the demands of a particular project. This allows me to solve problems efficiently and adjust to last minute changes.
Moreover, I can recognize when an approach is not working, make the necessary changes, and propose novel solutions.
My Google career has been mostly focused on solving complex problems, which require deep industry knowledge. Whether that be ad targeting and optimization, ad inventory forecasting and performance, machine learning powered assistive tools, rollout automation, and more.
Due to the confidential nature of my work, please reach out to me at lopez.sayra@gmail.com if you'd like to see some case studies and learn more about my process.
In the meantime, you can check out this Ninka Pop case study explaining my end-to-end process for designing an earring collection. It was created for a fashion panel at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Switzerland.
* "Sayra challenges and influences PMs constantly to come up with user-centered product ideas. She collaborates closely with PM and Eng teams on setting priorities, shifting them when necessary, and defining a highly pragmatic and effective approach to problems."
Masoud Loghmani Group PM Manager, YouTube
Feel free to reach out about potential work opportunities (I am always on the lookout for interesting freelance projects), or if you want to just say hello. I am always open to making new industry connections.
Zurich, 8048
Switzerland
* "Sayra is exceptional at aligning cross-functional partners on complex topics where there previously was little to no agreement. Sayra steps up and assumes ownership when leadership or responsibility may be unclear, and drives efforts that would otherwise stagnate."
Sharon Steinemann, PhD UX Researcher, YouTube