Ellis G. Donovan

Design Engineer · Product Designer · AI Engineer
London, GB.

About

Highly accomplished Design Engineer and Product Leader with over a decade of experience driving innovation across digital services, enterprise design systems, and complex user experiences. Expert in guiding cross-disciplinary teams, integrating human-centered design principles, and leveraging emerging technologies, including AI-driven tools, to deliver impactful solutions. Proven ability to transition from hands-on execution to strategic oversight, consistently focusing on practical outcomes and fostering knowledge sharing.

Work

Jigowatt
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Head of Product Design

Summary

Led and expanded the product design team, implementing Agile methodologies and developing design systems.

Highlights

Scaled the design department from 3 to over 20 professionals, building robust capabilities in product design, user research, and brand strategy.

Implemented and facilitated Agile/Scrum methodologies, including Sprints, Daily Standups, Reviews, and Retrospectives, to optimize team productivity and project delivery.

Designed and deployed a comprehensive enterprise-level design system for Shimadzu, a leading Japanese medical equipment manufacturer, resulting in a significant reduction in bounce rates and a 25% increase in average session duration.

Developed and executed digital product roadmaps, ensuring alignment between strategic business objectives and measurable key performance indicators.

superwhisper
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Design Engineer (iOS)

Summary

Contract role focused on advancing iOS speech-to-text technology with AI integration.

Highlights

Led the design and engineering of an advanced SwiftUI iOS speech-to-text keyboard extension, integrating a native-like, LLM-powered autocompletions and predictive text bar.

Developed a system-integrated locale picker to dynamically optimize layout, prediction, and dictation results, enhancing user experience and functionality.

Canvas Reply
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Lead Design Engineer

Summary

Shaped product vision and led interdisciplinary teams for a B2B digital services agency.

Highlights

Shaped the strategic product vision for a prominent B2B digital services agency as one of three key capability leads, reporting directly to the CEO and influencing company-wide initiatives.

Directed and mentored award-winning interdisciplinary teams, delivering high-impact digital solutions for major clients such as Domino's Pizza UK & Ireland, easyJet, and Vanarama.

Orchestrated an award-winning redesign of Domino's digital interface, directly contributing to an 8% increase in online sales and a significant 57% rise in mobile conversion rates.

Engineered and deployed critical microservices for the easyJet Holidays website launch, earning industry recognition for technical excellence and contributing to a seamless user experience.

Independently architected and implemented an enterprise-scale design system for Vanarama.com, a key initiative that supported a £500M share capital acquisition by Autotrader.com and secured the 'Best eCommerce Implementation' award at the UK Business Tech Awards 2022.

Contributed to high-impact projects for diverse clients, including JD Sports and Virgin Media O2, enhancing their digital presence and operational efficiency.

Expanded the agency's service offerings by leading internal workshops on cutting-edge technologies (SvelteKit, Next.js, Tailwind) and providing strategic guidance on the responsible integration of AI language models.

WM Reply
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Lead Design Engineer

Summary

Led design and engineering efforts, contributing to the successful spin-off of Canvas Reply.

Highlights

Served in the same leadership capacity as at Canvas Reply, contributing to the business unit's success that led to its emergence as an independent entity.

WM Reply
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Design Engineer

Summary

Bridged strategic and technical aspects across design, engineering, and product teams.

Highlights

Leveraged a strong technical background to effectively navigate between high-level strategic discussions and hands-on implementation concerns across design, engineering, and product teams.

Jigowatt
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Design Engineer

Summary

Performed hands-on design and engineering work, building foundational skills for future leadership roles.

Highlights

Executed hands-on design and engineering tasks, establishing a strong technical and practical foundation that supported subsequent leadership responsibilities.

Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (GCCEI)
|

Associate Researcher

Summary

Researched and applied innovation methodologies, delivering workshops and co-authoring a research article.

Highlights

Conducted research and applied advanced innovation methodologies to support startup enterprises, collaborating with industry leaders Mike Waller and Dong Yeong Lee.

Designed and delivered impactful workshops, empowering participants to integrate novel design approaches into their prototype development processes.

Co-authored a peer-reviewed research article assessing the viability and impact of design practices within emerging startup communities.

Education

Goldsmiths, University of London

BA

Design

Grade: First-Class Honours

Courses

UK's top-ranked design course (Guardian University Guide 2013–2017)

Studied under Rosario Hurtado, Roberto Feo, and Stuart Bannocks (El Último Grito)

Developed a conceptual and practical skill set that bridged traditional design disciplines and anticipated postdisciplinary approaches essential in integrating AI into product strategy

Publications

Developing Innovation Methodologies for Start-ups

Published by

Centre for Creative Economy and Innovation, Republic of Korea

Summary

A research article presented at the London Design Festival, exploring innovation methodologies for startup enterprises, based on workshops conducted in South Korea.

Multiplexer Issue Zero

Published by

Vehicles for Experimental Practice

Summary

Issue Zero of the book-zine MULTIPLEXER, a collaborative publication featuring contributions from various artists and designers from the Goldsmiths Design department.

Skills

Technical Skills

Design Engineering, Swift (Programming Language), SwiftUI, JavaScript/TypeScript, HTML/CSS, Git/Version Control.

Web Frameworks & Libraries

Next.js, Tailwind CSS, React.

Design Skills

Product Design, Interaction Design, User Experience (UX) Design, Design Systems, Prototyping, Information Architecture, User Research.

AI & Innovation

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning Integration, LLM Implementation, AI-Driven Design, Innovation Methodologies.

Leadership & Management

Team Leadership, Agile/Scrum, Product Strategy, Stakeholder Management, Cross-functional Collaboration, Client Relations, Mentoring.

Conceptual Skills

Post-Disciplinary Design, Systems Thinking, Strategic Planning, Creative Problem Solving.