Hi, I'm Kristen. I'm a Senior UX Researcher with 7+ years helping teams at Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft understand the people they're building for — not just what those people do, but what they're actually trying to solve for, and why the designed experience and the lived experience keep diverging.
My background is in applied anthropology. That shapes everything: I'm more interested in the system someone's operating within than in whether they can complete a task.
12 consecutive weekly research rounds at concept stage studying how shoppers built trust with Amazon Rufus, navigated a conversational AI interface, and formed mental models of AI-powered recommendations.
Read Case Study eastSynthesized ~55 research reports to design a foundational archetype framework that mapped every user type, including AI agents, across Google's business tools ecosystem. Built to give teams a shared framework for understanding who they were building for.
Read Case Study eastTwo-phase study with 27 participants combining qualitative interviews and a heuristic evaluation of 10 AI productivity tools. Published as lead author in partnership with Google, 2026.
Read Case Study eastSolo generative research program of 28 in-depth interviews resulting in three user archetypes that broadened Google.org's understanding of their audience and led to two additional research engagements.
Read Case Study eastA systematic approach to navigating ambiguity and delivering research that moves teams forward.
The most important question isn't "what do users need?" It's "are we asking the right question at all?" Before I design a study, I talk to stakeholders, map the assumptions already baked into the brief, and figure out what we actually need to know — versus what would just be nice to confirm.
Data doesn't speak for itself. I build frameworks, archetypes, and maps that give cross-functional teams a shared language — tools they can hand off across a reorg and still use two years later. My highest-leverage work happens here.
Research that doesn't change what gets built isn't research. It's documentation. I stay close to product and design through delivery and past it, tracking whether findings actually moved decisions — and flagging when they didn't.
Two-phase qualitative study with 27 participants and heuristic evaluation of 10 AI productivity tools, uncovering how AI can bypass executive functioning challenges and enable new ways of working.