About
Senior Product Designer.
Systems thinker.
Utility player.
I'm a senior product designer with deep experience in enterprise UX, native mobile, and hospitality technology. I've led design on internal tools used across 1,400+ Hyatt properties, guest-facing mobile experiences for millions of travelers, and complex multi-platform systems that required as much systems thinking as visual craft.
I bring something most designers can't: a firsthand understanding of how hotels actually operate — from the front desk to the back office — which means I design for the full picture, not just the screen. I'm currently open to senior product design roles and select consulting or freelance engagements.
About the role I'm looking for
What I'm here for.
I do my best work in environments where complexity is the norm, not the exception. I'm looking for a team that cares about discovery, values cross-functional collaboration, and wants a designer who can hold the big picture while sweating the details.
The problems I'm most drawn to: enterprise tools that need to feel less like work, guest or customer experiences that need to feel more human, and systems that need a designer who can think in components, flows, and edge cases at the same time.
Industries and environments where I thrive: travel and hospitality, enterprise SaaS, internal platforms, native mobile, and any product where the stakes are high and the users are real.
What I bring to the table
Responsibilities I excel at.
- Leading end-to-end product design across discovery, definition, and delivery — from ambiguous brief to polished handoff
- Running usability testing, synthesizing research findings, and turning messy insights into decisions the team can act on
- Designing multi-platform experiences across web, iOS, Android, and enterprise tools — with an eye for what changes across each
- Building and contributing to design systems and component libraries that scale without falling apart
- Facilitating stakeholder workshops, design critiques, and cross-functional alignment sessions
- Writing UX copy that's clear, accessible, and actually sounds like a human wrote it
- Mentoring designers at earlier stages of their careers — and learning from them in return
- Translating complex technical or operational constraints into design decisions that still prioritize the user
What I bring with me
Qualifications & experience.
Product design experience across hospitality, enterprise tools, and native mobile. Before that, years of front office experience at Marriott International and Hilton Worldwide — which gave me domain knowledge most designers have to simulate.
Design tools
Figma · FigJam · Storybook · Adobe Creative Suite · UserTesting · Maze
Process & methods
Usability testing · Journey mapping · Personas · Heuristic evaluation · Design systems · Accessibility audits
Collaboration tools
Jira · Confluence · Notion · Slack · Miro
Domain expertise
Hospitality & travel · Enterprise SaaS · Internal platforms · Native mobile (iOS + Android) · Design systems · AI-assisted design
The story behind the resume
How I got here.
I didn't start in design. I spent years working in hospitality — at Marriott and Hilton properties in South Florida — learning how hotels actually work, how guests think, and how much invisible labor goes into making an experience feel effortless. That context never left me.
In 2020, COVID shut down hospitality almost overnight. I was laid off along with most of the industry. Instead of waiting for hotels to reopen, I made a decision: I enrolled in General Assembly's UX Design Immersive and started designing. Within months I had my first freelance client. Within a year, I was at Hyatt — this time on the digital side, building the tools and experiences I once used as a hospitality professional.
Four years at Hyatt. Two major products shipped. Dozens of research sessions, stakeholder workshops, and cross-functional reviews. A mentee who transitioned from IT to product design. And a layoff in 2025 — restructuring, not performance — that I'm treating the same way I treated 2020: as a reason to move forward, not back.
I'm based in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. I'm bilingual in English and Spanish. And I think of myself as a utility player — the designer who steps into whatever the team needs, wherever the gap is. Research, facilitation, systems, content, handoff. I've done all of it, and I like it that way.
What colleagues say
In their own words.
Directors & Managers
"I've had the privilege of working with Nelson over the past two and a half years, and it has been incredible to watch him grow into the designer he is today. He approached every challenge with curiosity, dedication, and a willingness to learn. In the past year alone, Nelson successfully launched 2 products with impactful research, and transitioned seamlessly from Sketch to Figma. He has become a designer who not only delivers at scale but also supports teams across the organization and sets a high standard for UCD and user research."
"Nelson is easily one of the most rounded, inquisitive, and talented designers I've had the pleasure of working with. His ability to take research and craft it into something inspiring while also ensuring that the needs of the business are met is remarkable. I genuinely hope that our paths cross again in the future and we have the chance to work together."
"I've had the pleasure of working with Nelson for the past few years at Hyatt, and I can honestly say he's one of those rare people who makes work feel less like work. Nelson is a thoughtful and skilled product designer who genuinely cares about the end-user. He puts in the time to understand their needs and always aims to create experiences that feel intuitive and meaningful. He brings both talent and heart to the table, and any team would be lucky to have him."
"It has been an absolute privilege to work with Nelson Medina. Nelson has an uncanny ability to distill multifaceted challenges into intuitive, user-centric solutions. His ability to balance user needs with business goals was instrumental in the project's success. He is an outstanding collaborator and communicator — his infectious positivity and proactive approach consistently brought out the best in cross-functional teams."
Peers & Cross-functional
"The first thing that comes to mind is his customer-centric mindset. He takes the initiative to schedule workshops with customers, uncovering invaluable insights that guide his design decisions. I've worked with various designers in my career and when it comes to designer discovery, Nelson is one of the best. His prototyping sessions are well-planned, keeping the team aligned and moving forward efficiently."
"Nelson is an exceptional digital product designer. He consistently brings curiosity and enthusiasm to every task, always asking critical questions that deepen all participants' understanding. Nelson also brings a unique perspective to his work, drawing from his diverse experience in the hospitality industry to design solutions that are both innovative and user-centered. His dedication, insight, and personality will truly elevate any team he is a part of."
Mentee
"Nelson immediately stood out for his generosity and willingness to mentor me, even though I had no prior experience in the field. He took me under his wing and guided me through his design process for Passpoint 2.0, walking me step-by-step through everything from research and ideation to iteration and presentation. What sets him apart is his genuine commitment to growth — both his own and that of those around him. I would highly recommend him to any team or organization seeking a thoughtful, growth-minded, and people-centered designer."