A design leader who built and scaled Amazon’s global design capabilities, shaping the systems, teams, and experiences behind products used by millions.
Experience
Executive Roles
Amazon
Director of Design
Amazon Design Excellence, Prime Video, Alexa, Amazon Studios, Fire TV
Porch
Vice President of Design
Jobster
Director of User Experience
440 Creative
Creative Director
Flywheel Industries
Co Founder and Creative Director
Jim Dantzler
Partner
About Me
I started my career in a very nontraditional way. I am self taught, and I got into design almost by accident by helping a friend with a logo, which turned into freelance work and eventually running my own creative studio focused on music, branding, and early web experiences. That path led me into Amazon at a time when it was still figuring out what it wanted to become, and over the next twenty plus years I had the opportunity to help shape how design works inside a large technology company. What has stayed consistent for me is a focus on building things that people actually use and care about, while also building the teams and systems behind the scenes that make great design possible at scale.
Career Highlights
Much of my career has been spent at Amazon, where I worked across some of the company’s most important and formative initiatives. I started as an individual contributor working on early interface design and innovation projects, including work directly with Jeff Bezos to help expand Amazon beyond books into new categories. I later returned to help build and scale the Prime Video design organization, growing the team from just a couple of designers to nearly sixty across multiple geographies and contributing to the early evolution of streaming video at Amazon. I went on to lead design efforts across Alexa and voice experiences, and later led global creative for Amazon Originals, including major campaigns and brand work. In my final chapter at Amazon, I focused on leading design for Fire TV and Amazon Design Excellence, where I built programs, systems, and mechanisms that supported a global design community of thousands. Along the way, I also spent time outside Amazon in startup environments, which helped sharpen my perspective on what truly matters when building teams, making decisions, and creating products that work.
Techquity Solutions
What I bring to Techquity clients is a deep understanding of how design actually works inside product organizations, especially those that are engineering led. Many companies know design is important but struggle with where it fits, how to structure it, and how to get consistent value from it. I help organizations establish or elevate design practices, define how design partners with product and engineering, and introduce the mechanisms that enable high quality outcomes at scale. That can include standing up a design organization from scratch, improving an existing team, hiring and assessing talent, or leading design work directly in a co-pilot capacity. I also bring a strong background in Amazon leadership principles, hiring, and working backwards from the customer, which allows me to help teams move from tactical execution to more strategic, customer driven thinking.
Innovation & Impact
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Helped shape early Amazon interface innovation and customer experience strategy during the company’s expansion beyond books
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Built and scaled the Prime Video design organization from a small team to a global group of nearly sixty designers
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Contributed to the development of streaming video experiences used by millions of customers worldwide
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Led design efforts in emerging voice experiences as part of the early Alexa organization
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Directed global creative and marketing design for Amazon Originals, including major campaigns, TV spots, and brand initiatives
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Led the design team that delivered the 2026 Fire TV redesign that introduced a new navigation system and updated look and feel
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Established and led Design Excellence programs supporting a global design community of thousands at Amazon
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Conducted over one thousand interviews as an Amazon Bar Raiser, shaping hiring standards across disciplines
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Awarded 13 Patents
Why Techquity?
I joined Techquity because it aligns closely with my personal mission to elevate the practice of design inside organizations. I have spent much of my career operating beyond traditional design boundaries, working across product, engineering, and leadership to drive better outcomes, and Techquity provides an opportunity to bring that experience to a broader set of companies. I value the ability to work directly with leadership teams, help them think more clearly about how design contributes to their business, and apply the lessons learned from building at scale in a way that is practical and grounded.
