Michaela N. Ulibarri
Global Senior Director of User Experience and Design
Professional Summary
Experienced product and design leader with 15+ years guiding products from early vision through launch and iteration. I build and support creative, high-performing teams that deliver meaningful, user-centered software used around the world.
I bring deep expertise in user experience, product strategy, UI architecture, and prototyping, and I'm passionate about shaping products that solve real customer needs. I excel at creating clear processes, aligning cross-functional teams, and driving work that improves quality, productivity, and market impact.
I'm skilled at leading teams, fostering collaboration, and translating complex ideas into well-executed product experiences that support both user value and business goals.
Proven Expertise
Strategy & Design
- • Strategic Planning & User Experience Improvements
- • User-Driven Design
- • User Research
- • Information Architecture
Execution & Development
- • Design System execution
- • Agile/Iterative/Lean Development Methodologies
- • Technical & Feature Documentation
Leadership
- • Team Cultivation/Direction/Mentorship
Professional Experience
Conga
Sr. Director of Global UX and Design in Engineering
Broomfield, CO
2016 – 2025
Promote and nurture collaboration with strong functional excellence by embracing relevant best-in-class user experience practices and methodologies for Conga products while starting, building, mentoring, and directing a highly qualified technical team spanning user experience designers, visual designers, user interaction developers, software engineers, accessibility engineers, quality assurance engineers, various managers, and sales engineers.
- Performed a fundamental role in identifying all strategic user experience, design, accessibility, testing, help, and research improvements for the global delivery and engineering SAAS organization
- Initiated user experience strategy for all user interface content, style, and guidelines for the entire Conga product portfolio
- Improved customer journey by planning and implementing the online in-product content strategy and delivering an end-to-end localization plan across all product lines
- Conducted "Day in the Life" customer feedback sessions with UXD and UXR engaging customers to better understand their needs
- Served as a focal point for all user interaction and experience tasks and issues, including customer complaints, escalations, and resolutions
Key Contributions:
- Curated, planned, and executed a design system for universal use across the product portfolio, applying universal components, elements, and accessibility functions
- Designed and tested new platforms and universal experiences for Salesforce, Dynamics, and Conga's own universal platform
- Reduced and maintained a technical UX budget of $15 million by consolidating tools, creating a universal component library, and utilizing Lean UX practices with a micro team
- Executed large-scale projects from conception through implementation, carrying out government and business processes, translation, media, and functional verification testing
- Successfully created and provided more than 100 different user experiences, 100 user research projects, 100 user mapping exercises, and 100 product help systems
IBM
Sr. Manager Information Developer / Sr. Information Developer / Staff Information Developer
San Jose, CA & Boulder, CO
2005 – 2016
Supported and encouraged intelligent UX innovation to create and deliver user experiences that improve customer interaction and experience in the Content Management and Watson SAAS software space.
- Commanded and motivated team members to generate more than 400 different user experiences and publications, including Information Centers, online help, technical guides, and white papers on-time
- Developed more than 25,000 error messages and determined 200 key messages for quality improvements through cooperation with customer support and development
- Ensured customer satisfaction and boosted business conversion by migrating a 5,000-file DITA library into a next-generation delivery system
Additional Experience
- Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Liaison Program Analyst at Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington D.C.
- Technical Communication Strategist at Information & Communication Technologies, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM
- Technical Reporter at The Associated Press, Albuquerque, NM
- Software Developer at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Education
Master of Arts in Political Science
New Mexico State University
Bachelor of Arts in Technical Communication
New Mexico State University
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication
New Mexico State University
Professional Awards, Associations, and Certifications
- • Top contributor rating for 15+ years
- • Scrum Master certified (ID#560885)
- • Society for UX and Technical Communication contributor