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Mike Zimmer, product design leader based in San Francisco

Who is Mike Zimmer?

Mike Zimmer is a San Francisco-based product design leader with experience across fintech, AI, and other data-rich products. He is drawn to thoughtful, enduring design and brings a measured, collaborative style to every team he joins. Colleagues describe him as calm, clear, and quietly ambitious.

He is happiest at the intersection of innovation and intuition, where design turns complex systems into experiences that feel simple and human.

Outside of work, Mike spends time with his family, explores the city, and works on small creative projects. To him, good design is calm, intentional, and built to last.

Download Mike's Resume

Michael Zimmer

2835 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 | (415) 271-4078 | zimzimmer@gmail.com

Summary

Multidisciplinary Product Design Leader with 20+ years of experience spanning product strategy, UX/UI, graphic design, branding, and front-end collaboration. Proven track record of scaling design orgs, shipping award-winning products, and building cross-functional alignment across product, engineering, marketing, and executive teams. Expertise includes design systems, human-centered design, mobile-first UX, agile methodologies, and AI-human interaction models. Passionate about ethical design, inclusive design, and mentoring high-performing teams.

 

Core Competencies

Product Design · UX Strategy · Design Leadership · Creative Direction · AI-Human Interaction · Mobile App Design · Responsive Web Design · Design Systems · Visual Design · Interaction Design · Brand Identity · Agile Development · Mentorship · Cross-functional Collaboration · Design Ops · Prototyping · Usability Testing · E-commerce UX · SaaS Design · Accessibility · Figma · Adobe CC · Jira

 

Experience

Principal Product Designer

Nearmap | Jan 2024 – Present | Remote
  • Led end-to-end product design post-acquisition by Thoma Bravo.
  • Built intuitive geospatial and underwriting tools focused on AI-human collaboration.

Lead Designer

Nearmap | Aug 2020 – Mar 2024 | San Francisco, CA
  • Drove platform evolution for real estate and property intelligence.
  • Oversaw product, design, and brand across legacy and emerging systems.

Lead Product Designer

Scalable Press | Apr 2019 – Aug 2020 | San Francisco, CA
  • Led multi-product UX strategy, improving conversion rates by 6%.
  • Mentored team and championed design excellence culture.

Creative Director

Credit Karma | Nov 2010 – Apr 2018 | San Francisco, CA
  • Spearheaded design org growth from 1 to 10+, scaling product across web, iOS, Android.
  • Launched award-winning mobile apps (#1 Finance App, WIRED Best of Year).
  • Led UX for 3 full-platform redesigns and major company rebrand.
  • Grew user base from 1M to 75M, boosting registration to 90% and retention to 30%+.

Senior Art Director

Thunder Factory | Jun 2005 – Mar 2010 | San Francisco, CA
  • Directed brand, campaign, and digital work for B2B and consumer clients in biotech, finance, and fitness.

Graphic Designer & Production Roles

Various Agencies | 2001 – 2005
  • Designed web, print, and political campaign media at Howry Design, Storefront Political Media, Cooke Publishing, and Malish & Pagonis.

 

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