Senior UX Strategist / Product Designer
Heather Neises
I design high-density browser tools, interactive mapping engines, and multi-window workspaces.
Proven track record of operating as a high-autonomy solo designer, aligning directly with engineering and stakeholders, driving
$1M+ in closed sales contracts within 2 months of product launch.
$1M+
Revenue in 2 months
from launch
48hrs
Prototype used for enterprise demo
0 -> 1
0 to Beta to 1.0 Launch in 4 months across 3 products
Site Planner - Map-based Spatial Planning Tool
STATUS
Shipped | 1.0 Launched
ROLE
Senior UX Designer & Product Owner
PROBLEM
Competitors lacked customization and flexibility. Users needed both automated generation and manual control, and existing tools couldn't deliver both without forcing a tradeoff.
OWNERSHIP
Designed the complete interaction model, co-authored the MVP to 1.0 PRD and roadmap, led user interviews and competitive analysis, high-fidelity Figma prototype used for enterprise sales demos, and live code prototype for complex interactions.
IMPACT
Beta product drove $1M+ in closed deals within 2 months. Figma prototype built in under 2 days secured a $300K enterprise contract. Product moved from beta to 1.0 launch in 4 months.
Acres Intelligence - Chat Based in-house LLM
STATUS
Shipped - Beta Enterprise Only
ROLE
Senior UX Designer
PROBLEM
Chat-based AI fails in professional tools. Outputs scroll away, structured data flattens to text, AI mistakes go unflagged, and users freeze at a blank prompt.
OWNERSHIP
Designed the full AI surface: chat panel, module system, results tables, guided workflows, follow-up question flow, error recovery, file uploads, conversation sharing, homepage, and trust patterns. Owned window management behavior across multiple simultaneous modules.
IMPACT
Two production releases shipped. Module system scales to every new AI capability without designing new containers. Guided workflow input solved the cold-start problem and reduced token waste by collecting context before execution.
AI Search: Natural Language in Land Discovery
STATUS
Built - Deferred
ROLE
UX Strategist & Product Designer
PROBLEM
Users knew what land they wanted but didn't know how to find it. Manual filter workflows created friction, and the platform's depth was invisible to most users.
OWNERSHIP
Led end-to-end UX for a conversational AI search experience. Designed the chat interface, conversation history, suggested prompts, results table, error states, and loading/thinking states. Collaborated cross-functionally to align design with backend constraints and AI capabilities.
IMPACT
Unified the search experience across parcels, listings, sold land, and mortgages behind a single natural language interface. Reduced steps-to-results and surfaced platform depth previously hidden behind manual filters.
Designing a Real-Time AI Camera Vision Ecosystem
STATUS
Shipped, Active Globally
ROLE
Sole UX Strategist and Product Designer
PROBLEM
Design system was outdated, navigation was complex, and notifications and alerts created confusion across the platform.
OWNERSHIP
Led end to end UX strategy and execution, designed all wireframes and screens, rebuilt IA, updated the design system, and redesigned the mobile app workflows for field teams.
IMPACT
Unified UX across web, mobile, and marketing platforms. Mobile redesign drove 25% more daily users; restructured IA eliminated 60% of navigation complaints. Design system reduced dev cycles by 20%.
"Most designers are either the ideas person or the execution person. Heather is both, which makes her an invaluable part of any agile team.
I worked with her at Acres, where she led design on our site planner feature, portfolio management feature, and our AI search interface. She's direct and forward with her opinions, never afraid to flag a mistake, but open enough to change course when the context warrants it. You can spar with her and let the best idea win, no ego attached. She's exceptional at AI prototyping and at building process around it, learns new domains fast, and led feature work that contributed to well over $1M in new deals and expansions. She's also refreshingly clear-eyed about where AI creates real value versus hype.
She's the model for what UX design looks like in the age of AI. Any team would be lucky to have her."
-- Ethan Thompson, Acres Product Owner