About
I've spent my career making sure product decisions are made with evidence, not assumptions.
I'm a UX research leader with a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and 15+ years across Cloud, B2B, B2C, and consumer hardware — most recently leading research for AI features at Google Docs and conversational AI at Meta. I gravitate toward the research no one has done yet: the foundational, ambiguous problems where the first job is figuring out what question to even ask.
I care as much about how research gets built into an organization as I do about any single study — designing programs, frameworks, and enablement systems (like the PM research program at Salesforce, or the CUJ framework I adapted for Cloud/B2B) that make good research repeatable rather than heroic. Lately that includes building AI-native workflows into the research process itself, without giving up rigor.
Outside of product research, I've taught HCI and software engineering at three universities, co-founded a community arts non-profit, and lead a local maker space.
Experience
Mar 2026 — Present
Principal UX Researcher, Data Cloud
Salesforce · Bellevue, WA
Designed and led Salesforce's first PM Research Enablement program, and pioneered AI-based tooling across the research lifecycle for a 5-person team supporting 95+ PMs and 1,000+ engineers.
May 2025 — Dec 2025
Principal UX Researcher, AI Division
Meta · Bellevue, WA
Developed a new conversation-level AI evaluation methodology and a strategic point of view on top AI chatbot use cases informing the 1–3 year roadmap. Role ended in a layoff following an internal restructuring.
Jan 2026 — Feb 2026
Principal UX Researcher (Contractor), Windows AI Division
Microsoft · Redmond, WA
Conducted user studies on AI agentic workflows and authored a white paper establishing AI feature development best practices for UX Researchers.
Nov 2021 — May 2025
Lead UX Researcher, Google Docs
Google · Seattle, WA
Team lead for all of Docs (5 researchers). Built the document type taxonomy that grounds Docs strategy; led research for Docs AI features from 2022 onward, tabs, pageless documents, building blocks, and the first Workspace visual refresh in 8 years.
Nov 2015 — Nov 2021
Senior UX Researcher, Google Cloud Platform
Google · Seattle, WA
Supported product strategy for Istio, Anthos, and GCP Marketplace. Evolved the Critical User Journeys (CUJ) framework for Cloud/B2B contexts and evangelized it to 100+ researchers.
Jan 2015 — Nov 2015
Senior UX Researcher
Zillow · Seattle, WA
Built the user research practice from scratch for the home shopping experience: planning/execution/communication processes, UX benchmarks, and cross-functional partnerships up to C-level.
Jan 2013 — Dec 2014
UX Researcher, Surface (Tablet & Accessories)
Microsoft · Redmond, WA
Lead researcher for the Surface Pro 3/4 and Surface Book pen and digital ink experience. Co-invented two patented technologies; published at CHI 2017.
Aug 2010 — Dec 2012
UX Researcher, Developer Division
Microsoft · Redmond, WA
Led developer UX research across MSDN documentation, Windows 8 APIs, Roslyn, and C++11 — plus early interaction design work on Monaco, which became VS Code.
Oct 2008 — Jul 2010
Independent HCI Researcher / Post-Doctoral Fellow
Riche Design · Oregon State University · Corvallis, OR
Independent research spanning CMC, casual infovis, eco-feedback, and end-user programming; advised graduate students on end-user programming and ML feedback systems at OSU.
Sep 2004 — Dec 2008
PhD Research & Teaching Assistant
Université Paris-Sud (INRIA) · France
PhD research on computer-mediated communication to support aging in place (PeerCare, MarkerClock). Taught HCI and computer science courses as associate lecturer.
Methods & skills
What people say
"Yann is a world-class UXR leader who was part of the core team that drove how we evaluated and understood Google Docs users... he was integral to the foundation of our product vision and strategy."
Dennis Hu, Former Head of Product for Google Docs
"He effectively stepped up as the interim UXR Lead, ensuring user insights were embedded in our 2025 product vision, and he built our AI research practice from the ground up."
Frank Tisellano, Product Lead, Google Docs
"For the past four years, Yann has been that [mentor]... pivotal in honing my ability to pitch new strategic research initiatives; he continually challenged me to think bigger."
James Mackenzie, UXR, Google Workspace Devices