Ashley Golen Johnston
Staff Product Designer
ashleygolen@gmail.com
724.816.0736
Summary
Award-winning Staff Product Designer with 15+ years of experience architecting vision and strategy for hyperscaler Enterprise AI and Cloud platforms. Proven track record of aligning cross-disciplinary teams at Google and IBM to deliver patented, human-centered solutions. Expert in transforming complex technical constraints into seamless experiences that drive operational excellence and business impact.
Experience
NOV. ‘24- PRESENT
Google | Staff UX Designer,
Google Cloud Observability & Gemini Cloud Assist
Defined and executed the platform vision for AI-powered troubleshooting, transforming disjointed tools into a unified experience in Gemini Cloud Assist.
Architected the "Universal Dashboard Framework" strategy, scaling observability tools across the platform and driving a 10-fold increase in Monthly Active Users (MAU).
Spearheaded the "In-Context" integration strategy, breaking down product silos between Observability and core infrastructure (GKE/Compute Engine) to reduce context-switching for users.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS: Senior UX Designer, Cloud Observability: May‘21 - Nov. ‘24
IBM Watson | Senior Product Designer,
IBM Watson Assistant
Invented the patented "Conversational Recommendations" pattern (US 11,243,991), which exceeded adoption goals by 200% and solved critical user retention loops in chatbot flows.
Directed the strategic vision and design execution for Watson Assistant's platform, driving design alignment with key business OKRs and influencing the product roadmap.
Managed a team of eight designers and established the "Pegasus" DesignOps model, creating internal frameworks that increased cross-functional efficiency and delivery velocity.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS:
Lead Product Designer, IBM Watson Discovery: Nov.‘17 - Apr.‘19
Interaction Designer, IBM Watson Discovery: Aug.‘16 - Nov.‘17
APR. ‘19- MAY ‘21
Branding Brand | Director of Project Design
Directed design strategy for a ~$50M portfolio of global retail clients, delivering native apps (iOS, Android) and mobile web experiences that directly drove revenue growth.
Led the full product lifecycle from concept to delivery, managing a team to launch world-class mobile interfaces for the world's top retailers.
Established a research-driven innovation culture, ensuring design quality and consistency across a high-volume client portfolio.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS:
Senior Designer: Feb.‘13 - May ‘14
Designer: Feb. ‘11- Feb. ‘13
MAY ‘14- AUG. ‘16
Education
Indiana University of Pennsylvania | BA Art Studio
Summa cum laude
Graphic Design concentration, Art History minor
Innovation & Recognition
PATENT:
Contextual Help Recommendations for Conversational Interfaces Based on Interaction Patterns
US 11,243,991 | ISSUED FEB, 8, 2022
AWARD:
IBM Agile Excellence Award
AUG. 2019