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Mike Zimmer, product design leader based in San Francisco

Who is Mike Zimmer?

I’m a San Francisco-based product design leader with experience across consumer fintech, B2B SaaS, geospatial intelligence, e-commerce, brand systems, and AI-supported product workflows.

I’m drawn to products where the stakes are real: financial decisions, professional workflows, dense information, complicated systems, and moments where people need clarity more than noise. My best work helps those experiences feel simpler, more trustworthy, and more human.

Across Credit Karma, Nearmap / Betterview, and Scalable Press, I’ve worked as both a hands-on designer and a design leader, bringing calm, craft, and clear product thinking to teams navigating complexity and change.

Download My Resume

Michael Zimmer

Summary

Product design leader with 20+ years of experience across consumer fintech, B2B SaaS, geospatial intelligence, e-commerce, brand systems, and AI-supported product workflows. I have designed products used by millions at Credit Karma, led design for complex professional workflows at Nearmap / Betterview, and shaped customer-facing and internal tools at Scalable Press.

I am strongest where products need to become clearer, more trustworthy, and easier to use: dense information, high-stakes decisions, mobile experiences, dashboards, internal tools, visual systems, and cross-functional product work. I bring hands-on design craft, mature product judgment, clear communication, and a calm collaborative style that helps teams move from ambiguity to polished, shippable experiences.

 

Core Competencies

Product Design · UX Strategy · Design Leadership · Creative Direction · Complex Workflows · AI-Supported Product Experiences · Mobile App Design · Responsive Web Design · Design Systems · Visual Design · Interaction Design · Brand Identity · Cross-functional Collaboration · Mentorship · Product Strategy · Prototyping · Usability Testing · E-commerce UX · B2B SaaS · Accessibility · Figma · Adobe Creative Suite · Jira

 

Experience

Principal Product Designer / Lead Designer

Nearmap / Betterview | Aug 2020 – Jun 2025 | San Francisco, CA / Remote
  • Led product design across insurance, geospatial intelligence, and AI-supported property-risk workflows following Betterview’s acquisition by Nearmap.
  • Designed complex B2B workflows for insurance professionals reviewing properties, imagery, risk indicators, and machine-generated insights.
  • Helped turn dense geospatial data and AI findings into clearer, more actionable product experiences for underwriters, claims teams, and risk analysts.
  • Defined patterns for map-based investigation, property review, imagery layers, persistent side panels, notifications, and insight overlays.
  • Framed design problems around user decision-making, helping teams clarify what users needed to understand, evaluate, and act on.
  • Partnered with Product, Engineering, insurance stakeholders, and post-acquisition teams to shape scope, refine requirements, and support implementation.
  • Mentored and supported designers through critique, product framing, visual craft, and cross-functional communication.

Lead Product Designer

Scalable Press | Apr 2019 – Aug 2020 | San Francisco, CA
  • Led product design for an e-commerce and fulfillment platform serving customers, internal operators, and business partners.
  • Designed customer-facing and internal tools across ordering, customization, fulfillment, production, and operational workflows.
  • Partnered with Product, Engineering, and business stakeholders to turn loosely defined opportunities into clear product experiences.
  • Improved workflows with many operational dependencies, balancing customer polish with internal efficiency.
  • Designed mobile web experiences, conversion-focused flows, and lightweight game-inspired interactions for promotions and engagement.
  • Mentored multiple designers and helped strengthen critique practices, product thinking, and design standards.

Creative Director

Credit Karma | Nov 2010 – Apr 2018 | San Francisco, CA

  • Joined Credit Karma during its early growth stage and helped shape product, brand, mobile, web, marketing, and creative systems as the company scaled to tens of millions of members.
  • Led design for Credit Karma’s iOS app, which reached #1 in Finance on the App Store and was recognized by WIRED as a leading banking and finance app.
  • Designed consumer financial experiences that helped members understand credit scores, recommendations, financial progress, identity, and account information.
  • Translated complex and emotionally charged financial information into approachable product experiences that supported user confidence and trust.
  • Partnered with Product, Engineering, Research, Marketing, Brand, and executive stakeholders to align product direction with user needs and business goals.
  • Directed the client-side implementation of Credit Karma’s 2017 rebrand in partnership with Siegel+Gale, helping connect brand strategy to product experience.
  • Helped scale a growing design function by mentoring designers, shaping standards, and improving product and visual quality.

Senior Art Director

Thunder Factory | Jun 2005 – Mar 2010 | San Francisco, CA

  • Directed brand, campaign, and digital work for B2B and consumer clients in technology, biotech, finance, and fitness.
  • Created visual systems, marketing campaigns, websites, print collateral, and presentation materials across multiple industries.
  • Built a strong foundation in typography, hierarchy, layout, brand storytelling, and production-ready design.

Graphic Designer & Production Roles

Various Agencies | 2001 – 2005
  • Designed web, print, publishing, and political campaign media at Howry Design, Storefront Political Media, Cooke Publishing, and Malish & Pagonis.
  • Developed early experience across visual identity, production design, publication layouts, campaign materials, and client-facing creative work.

 

EducatioN

Carnegie Mellon University | BFA, Communication Design | University Honors | 2001

 

Volunteer

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco – Achenbach Graphic Arts Council 

Board Director | 2014 – present
  • Support and approve new acquisitions for works on paper; produce member newsletters.
Download Resume PDF