Kristin Romero, MDes
Lead Design Researcher & Strategist
6+ years of experience combining a unique blend of agile research, design creativity, and strategic pragmatism to drive human-centered impact.
Specializing in
• human-centered product innovation
• UX / market research for enterprises, consultancies, startups
• advancing research maturity in small organizations
• cross-functional collaboration to translate insights into action
TESTIMONIALS FROM RECENT COLLEAGUES
Kat Brown
Lead Design Strategist, NAX
"For anyone looking to bring a whip-smart, tenacious, and curious person on to their product team, I cannot reccomend Kristin enough."
Stephanie Reaves
Product Manager, NAX
“Beyond her core research responsibilities, Kristin was always willing to support the product work stream comprehensively, even stepping into traditional product manager roles when needed. Her versatility and dedication were instrumental to our success.
I highly recommend Kristin for any role where strategic insight and meticulous execution are valued.”
Michael Theuringer
Head of Product, NAX
"Kristin's expertise extends beyond traditional research domains. She has a keen understanding of systems design and human incentive structures. This holistic perspective allows her to develop strategies that go way beyond addressing surface-level issues but create real and lasting impacts by reshaping underlying dynamics.
Believe me, you'd want her to think about your toughest problems. I know I do."
Katie Crawford
Head of Design, NAX
"Having had the pleasure of managing Kristin directly for about a year, I can confidently say she's truly remarkable. Even with limited resources, she finds solutions and lays out their impacts with precision. Her insights are invaluable, guiding our teams toward success.
Kristin's collaborative nature and commitment to excellence make her an invaluable member of any team lucky enough to have her."Sam Christian
Lead Product Designer, NAX
"Kristin’s refreshingly meticulous style, along with the way in which she pays close attention to detail in how research is gathered, how interviews are conducted, and how requirements are translated, is considerably remarkable.
This has been one of the most semantically organized, efficient and consistent experiences I’ve had in my entire design career."
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK WITH ME
🚀 Leadership Qualities
🚀 Leadership Qualities
🚀 Leadership Qualities
🚀 Leadership Qualities
⚒️ Tools
⚒️ Tools
⚒️ Tools
⚒️ Tools
✍️ Skills
✍️ Skills
✍️ Skills
✍️ Skills
MY EXPERIENCE
CASE STUDIES
DISCOVERY RESEARCH & STRATEGY
Exploring user-centered strategies to help coffee traders adapt supply chains to new deforestation regulations
👩💻 Lead Researcher and Design Strategist
Problem: Coffee traders faced challenges in complying with new legislation that threatened fines amounting to 8% of their total global revenue.
They needed a solution to incentivize farmers in their supply chains to stop engaging in deforestation.
Enterprise Software
Insurance / Commerce / Geospatial
Remote Research
1: 1 Interviews, Co-Design Workshops, Concept Testing
View Case Study
USABILITY RESEARCH
Improving the in-appointment experience for clinician users of an epilepsy treatment and monitoring product
👩💻 UX Researcher
Problem: Clinicians were increasingly dissatisfied with the time required to find, analyze, and adjust data on the Clinician App during appointments.
B2B
Healthcare/MedTech
Remote/In-Person Research and Testing
Usability Testing, Contextual Observations, A/B Testing
View Case Study
FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Developing foundational user archetypes to steer strategic decision making for a new art-backed financial lending product.
👩💻 Lead / Sole UX Researcher
Problem: A art-backed financial lending MVP lacked definition around their target customer, presenting immediate difficulties for the Go to Market Team.
B2C
Fintech
Remote / In-Person Research
Discovery Interviews, Concept Testing, Survey
View Case Study
GRADUATE WORK
Samples of work produced during my graduate studies
👩💻 UX Researcher and Design Strategist
Trauma-Informed Design
Social Impact
Design Ethics
DISCOVERY RESEARCH & STRATEGY
Exploring user-centered strategies to help coffee traders adapt supply chains to new deforestation regulations
👩💻 Lead Researcher and Design Strategist
Problem: Coffee traders faced challenges in complying with new legislation that threatened fines amounting to 8% of their total global revenue.
They needed a solution to incentivize farmers in their supply chains to stop engaging in deforestation.
Enterprise Software
Insurance / Commerce / Geospatial
Remote Research
1:1 Interviews, Co-Design Workshops, Concept Testing
USABILITY RESEARCH
Improving the in-office experience for clinician users of an epilepsy treatment and monitoring product
👩💻 UX Researcher
Problem: Clinician dissatisfaction with the time required to find, analyze, and adjust data on the Clinician App during appointments.
Usability Testing, Contextual Observations, A/B Testing
B2B
Healthcare/MedTech
Remote/In-Person Research and Testing
FOUNDATIONAL RESEARCH
Developing foundational user archetypes to steer strategic decision making for a new art-backed financial lending product.
👩💻 Lead / Sole UX Researcher
Problem: A art-backed financial lending MVP lacked definition around their target customer, presenting immediate difficulties for the Go to Market Team.
Discovery Interviews, Concept Testing, Survey
B2C
Fintech
Remote / In-Person Research
GRADUATE WORK
Samples of work produced during my graduate studies
👩💻 UX Researcher and Design Strategist
Trauma-Informed Design
Social Impact
Design Ethics