Resume
Marco van Hylckama Vlieg
Senior Product Designer | Generative AI Strategist | UX Leader
Two decades of innovation at the intersection of design, technology, and AI
Professional Resume
A comprehensive overview of my experience, skills, and achievements in product design and AI innovation.
Contact Information
Greater Portland Area, Oregon
Languages
English (Fluent)
Dutch (Native)
German (Intermediate)
Spanish (Reading Proficient)
Professional Summary
Creative technologist, visionary product designer, and hands-on AI pioneer with over two decades of experience leading breakthrough UX innovation at companies like Google, Walmart, Yahoo, and Kohl's.
I combine design leadership, frontend engineering, and generative AI to unlock bold new possibilities in product experiences — from mobile commerce to voice UI, from ML-powered systems to AI-generated content.
At Kohl's, I've led a transformation in how designers work with AI, scaling education, building tools like prompt libraries and chatbots, and prototyping with LLMs. I'm passionate about the intersection of human-centered design and machine intelligence — and I love empowering teams to break creative boundaries using cutting-edge AI.
I am authorized to work in the United States and available for immediate employment.
If you're ready to rethink what's possible in product design — let's build it.
Core Strengths
Product & UX Design
AI & Technical Prototyping
Leadership & Strategy
Professional Experience
Senior Product Designer & Generative AI Specialist
2021 — PresentKohl's
- • Led UX for Cart & Checkout, Wallet, Account, and in-store self-checkout experiences
- • Spearheaded generative AI integration across the design organization, transforming how designers work with AI
- • Built comprehensive prompt libraries and trained teams on AI workflows and best practices
- • Led AI video production initiatives and generative T-shirt design projects
- • Developed high-fidelity AI prototypes using LLM tools including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini
- • Created synthetic chatbots and user simulators for enhanced UX research and testing
- • Mentored team members and helped scale UX strategy across multiple product lines
- • Established AI education programs at Kohl's that became a model for other design teams
- • Pioneered the use of AI tools for rapid prototyping and design iteration
Principal Product Designer / Design Technologist
Walmart Labs
- • Designed innovative mobile and voice shopping experiences for Walmart's digital transformation
- • Collaborated extensively on ML-powered recommendation UX systems and personalization features
- • Led cross-functional teams in developing next-generation e-commerce interfaces
- • Pioneered voice UI design patterns for shopping applications and smart assistants
- • Created design systems and prototypes for emerging retail technologies
- • Worked closely with data science teams to translate complex algorithms into intuitive user experiences
Senior UX Engineer / Prototyper
- • Built high-fidelity prototypes for Google Cloud AI, Google Assistant, and Android platforms
- • Led UX design sprints and developed innovative research tools for product teams
- • Created interactive prototypes that bridged the gap between design and engineering
- • Collaborated with AI/ML teams to design user interfaces for complex cloud services
- • Developed design systems and component libraries used across multiple Google products
- • Mentored junior designers and engineers on prototyping best practices
- • Pioneered new approaches to rapid prototyping and user testing methodologies
- • Worked on cutting-edge voice interface design for Google Assistant
Director of UX Prototyping & Sr. UX Manager
Yahoo!
- • Led global UX prototyping team across multiple international offices and time zones
- • Oversaw comprehensive UX strategy for Yahoo's major rebrand and personalization initiatives
- • Achieved multiple Hackathon wins and became a YEureka innovation program finalist
- • Managed cross-functional teams of designers, researchers, and front-end developers
- • Developed scalable design processes and methodologies adopted company-wide
- • Led UX efforts for Yahoo's homepage redesign and personalization features
- • Created innovative prototyping workflows that reduced design-to-development time
- • Mentored senior designers and established UX career development programs
- • Collaborated with product management and engineering on strategic product decisions
Engineering Leadership & Development
Early Career
- • Led engineering teams for complex multilingual portals and content management systems
- • Authored comprehensive PHP development book and technical documentation
- • Taught Linux system administration and web development courses to professionals
- • Developed scalable web applications using LAMP stack architecture
- • Built and managed international web platforms serving multiple languages and regions
- • Established development best practices and coding standards for growing teams
- • Created training programs that helped transition designers into full-stack developers
- • Pioneered early adoption of web standards and accessibility practices
Tools & Platforms
UX & Design
Figma, Miro, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Figma Make, Lovable
AI & Generative Tools
ChatGPT (Enterprise + Custom GPTs), Claude, Gemini, Midjourney, Leonardo AI, Stable Diffusion, RunwayML, Eleven Labs, Suno, Udio, Luma Labs, Kling AI, Hailuo AI
AI Development & Prototyping
OpenAI Codex, Augment Code, Google Gemini, Vercel AI SDK, Whisper, LangChain, AutoGen, Next.js AI integrations
Dev & Web Stack
Next.js, Tailwind CSS, OpenAI API, Google Cloud APIs, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Git, Node.js, Vercel
Recognition & Highlights
Education
University of Twente, Netherlands
Educational Science & Technology
(incomplete, launched career early)
Let's Work Together
I'm passionate about design, AI, and building standout digital experiences.