10+ years making research impossible to ignore

I lead research teams in complex B2B environments, build the systems that carry insight into product decisions, and stay hands-on with the studies and the code. Most research leaders specialize in one of those. I work across all three.

Xiao-Wen Mak

Research that shapes what gets built

I have spent the last decade turning research from a service teams wait on into a function that shapes what gets built. I do that by growing researchers, standing up the systems and tooling that scale research across product and design, and staying close enough to the craft to run studies and build tools myself.

As your research leader, I will:

  • Build and grow a research team that operates as a strategic partner to product and design
  • Stand up the playbooks, repositories, and tooling that let product and design run rigorous research on their own
  • Partner with product and design leadership to ground roadmap decisions in evidence
  • Run the studies, the synthesis, and the code myself when that is the fastest path to an answer
01

A research team is infrastructure too.

I build the competency frameworks, feedback, and visibility that let people see exactly where they stand and where they're headed. Growth becomes a system, not a guess.

02

Insights don't move organizations. Infrastructure does.

Good findings go nowhere without systems to make them discoverable and durable. I design the infrastructure (taxonomies, synthesis pipelines, automated repositories) so that research reaches the decisions that matter, long after the study closes.

03

Use AI where it's genuinely strong. Know where it isn't.

Pattern recognition at scale, first-pass tagging, clustering across studies. AI handles these well and faster than any researcher. Knowing where to trust it and where to take over is the actual skill. We still bring the imagination, intuition, innovation, and integration.

04

The evolution of the UX Unicorn

In the mid-2010s the most valuable person in a product org could do research, design, and write front-end code. Specialization squeezed that out. AI brought it back, so someone willing to own outcomes across layers can operate credibly across the full stack again.

05

If you can't measure it, you can't defend it.

I establish baselines before redesigns and track continuously to business outcomes, so I can show the ROI of UX in any executive review. Research without measurement is just storytelling with good slides.

"His leadership was transformative. Almost overnight, he organized the research team into a cohesive, high-performing unit, and introduced research structures that made insights findable and shareable across the organization."

JJ
Jonathon J.
Principal Product Designer, formerly CHG Healthcare

"He elevated the team with his research skills, even mentoring designers on the proper research methods to use during the product design process. A valuable asset to any team."

RB
Russell B.
VP Product Design, American Express · former manager

"As an inexperienced UX designer, I had the honor of learning from him. I wouldn't be where I am today without his skilled mentorship and thoughtful approach to design."

KD
Kyle D.
Product Designer & UX Engineer
Research Strategy & Leadership Team Development & Coaching Distributed Research (PWDR) AI-Augmented Research Ops Mixed-Methods Research UX ROI & Measurement Service Blueprinting & Journey Mapping Full-Stack Prototyping & Build Research Infrastructure & Ops Vendor & Budget Management
CHG Healthcare · 2022–present Democratization

Scaling research without scaling headcount

What I did
  • Built tiered research model enabling designers and PMs to run studies independently
  • Created playbook, intake pipeline, Maze setup, and participant database
  • Built a research skills library so the wider org could run studies at a high bar
What it produced
  • 40+ non-researchers running rigorous evaluative research
  • Researchers freed for foundational and strategic work
  • Quality maintained through progressive certification model
40+
non-researchers enabled
$66K
vendor contract reduction
Read the case study
CHG Healthcare · 2022–present Infrastructure

Turning a research archive into a decision engine

React Node.js Okta Claude Code
What I did
  • Architected and built a full-stack platform unifying UXR, CX, and Journey Management data
  • Engineered enterprise Okta SSO authentication independently using Claude Code
  • Launched at internal conference to 200+ stakeholders
What it produced
  • Single access point replacing three separate system logins
  • Live NPS/CSAT metrics surfaced alongside research signals
  • Employee Intelligence module already scoped as next phase
<1wk
zero to production on enterprise auth
6
data sources in one
Read the case study
CHG Healthcare · 2022–present Strategy · Measurement

Making research impossible to ignore at the executive level

What I did
  • Installed formal intake and intentional commitment framework across all initiatives
  • Built Claude Code pipeline mapping Jira updates to OKRs for monthly executive reporting
  • Automated participant recruiting and synthesis pipeline reducing cycles by 70%
What it produced
  • Monthly business review with VP and exec-level visibility into research ROI
  • 360 feedback and OKR mapping built into quarterly team reviews
  • Research tied directly to retention, churn, and cost savings metrics
70%
reduction in synthesis and discovery cycles
OKRs
all research tied to business outcomes
Read the case study
CHG Healthcare · 2022–present People Development · AI

Development conversations without the guesswork

What I did
  • Designed a UXR competency framework grounded in Korn Ferry models
  • Built individual OKR health dashboards giving each direct report live goal-status visibility
  • Co-designed an automated bi-weekly progress tracker using Claude, Jira, and Confluence that runs on a schedule, creates Jira tickets, and maintains a Confluence changelog per OKR
What it produced
  • Every direct report walks into performance reviews with a full documented record
  • Development conversations shifted from establishing what happened to deciding what it means
  • Better Jira hygiene across the team as a natural side effect of using the system
100%
of direct reports progressed to senior roles
3
layers: competency framework, OKR health, automated tracking
Read the case study
Earlier work
Kabbage · 2018–2020 Research ops

Building the research function from nothing

What I did
  • Built the org's first ResearchOps program from scratch
  • Led 20+ studies in a single year as a hands-on researcher and developer
What it produced
  • 475% increase in research-informed design volume
  • 40% reduction in application completion time
475%
increase in research volume
40%
YoY funding originations growth
NCR Corporation · 2020–2022 Leadership

Embedding accessibility before it became a mandate

What I did
  • Established mixed-methods practice across retail, hospitality, and banking product lines
What it produced
  • Secured +2 headcount through a research-backed business case
  • Embedded accessibility research before compliance pressure arrived
+2
headcount secured
Retail · Hospitality · Banking
platform lines affected
AI-augmented practice

Systems I've designed, built, and shipped

Customer Intelligence Platform
Designed and shipped solo: React and Node.js on Kubernetes, with enterprise Okta SSO stood up in under a week. Unified UXR, CX, and journey data behind one login for 200+ stakeholders at launch.
Research Skills Library (AI)
An AI research mentor built in Claude: 49 skills across the research lifecycle, with privacy guardrails, triage prompts, and quality audits baked in. Lets a designer or PM run a rigorous study without a researcher in the room.
Continuous-feedback repository
A Dovetail repository wired to a Qualtrics and Zapier pipeline with automatic PII redaction, 80 custom vocabulary terms, and journey-based folders. Stakeholder updates run end to end without anyone touching them.
Measurement & reporting pipeline
User Experiences mapped and measured. Claude Code pipeline that maps the team's Jira work to OKRs for the monthly executive review.

Let's work on something hard together

Open to Director, Staff, and Principal research roles, plus product-designer-builder work. Particularly interested in teams serious about proving the business value of research.

Connect on LinkedIn