I design the systems behind the experience and help redefine how UX shapes what gets built.

I'm a product design leader working at the intersection of AI, complex systems, and product strategy. I help teams turn emerging technology into experiences people can understand, trust, and use.

Work

01

Shaping AI Agent Behavior

Enabling UX to take ownership of eval frameworks

Shifting away from manual, engineer-owned processes to an automated eval process that gave the team rich behavioral data.

AI Systems Evaluation
fig 1.1 — eval dashboard
02

The Project That “Couldn't Fail”

Finding alignment across leadership teams

How siloed practices threatened the success of the company's biggest bet — and what I did to turn it around.

Strategy Systems Influence
fig 2.1 — alignment map
03 Coming soon

Thinking in Workflows

Moving from bespoke products to a catalog of actions

In a world where the company is always pivoting, how do we create consistency and prevent teams from duplicating work?

Systems Workflows Strategy
fig 3.1 — action catalog

How I think

01 · AI evaluation

Design for outcomes, not outputs.

UX should help define how AI quality is measured — not just how AI behaves on screen.

02 · Agentic UX

Design for systems that act.

When products act on a user's behalf, UX becomes about orchestration, oversight, and intervention.

03 · Workflows

Design the system beneath the interface.

Products change. Workflows persist. Mapping the underlying system creates reusable experiences instead of one-off features.

04 · Trust

Make complex systems understandable.

Trust comes from transparency, appropriate uncertainty, and giving people meaningful control when things go wrong.

Talks & writing

Writing
5 Medium Articles Posts ↗

Speaking inquiries

I speak on AI evaluation, agentic UX, and leading design in technical organizations. Get in touch →

About

Melissa Wittmayer
Based in — Santa Barbara, CA
Currently — Director of UX, Ontra
Leadership philosophy

People don't fail — systems do.

My role as a leader is to create the conditions for great work: clarity around the problem, trust within the team, and enough context and autonomy for people to make good decisions. I want teams to become more capable because I was there, not more dependent on me.

I lead with three principles
Human-centered
People do their most creative and thoughtful work when they feel psychologically safe.
Strengths-based
People do their best work when they're empowered to lean into what they do best.
Systems-oriented
When something isn't working, I look at the environment, incentives, processes, and structures around the team.
Experience
1
2026 — Now
Director of UX
Ontra · Agentic legal & contract product suite — director leadership and hands-on IC across three teams
2
2019 — 2026
UX Manager, AI Agents
AppFolio · Design strategy for the AI assistant & agent ecosystem — grew from UX Designer to Manager
3
2016 — 2019
UX & Product Design Consultant
Freelance · Research-led design for e-commerce and content strategy