Hey, I'm Ari Zilnik.
I'm a hands-on design leader with 13 years of experience.
I fix up vintage audio equipment and other gadgets for fun.
I am currently Head of Design at Join.
Testimonials
I've had the pleasure of working with Ari for over 12 years across a variety of projects, including when he served as the Lead Designer at my consultancy, Theory.
Ari is one of the most talented people I know. He brings a keen design expertise to every project, paired with deep empathy for the user. He's equally at home working with product, design, or engineers, most often balancing all three simultaneously, and he's demonstrated his talent across a broad range of industries, including retail, finance, and healthcare.
I wholeheartedly recommend Ari as a product design leader who excels at delivering value through user-centered design and inspiring those he works with to achieve their best.
Kevin Scott
Senior System Software Engineer, NVIDIA
I had the pleasure of working with Ari in my role as a Lead Product Designer, where he managed me directly. Ari is an exceptional product design leader who brings clarity and vision to complex projects, like designing an intuitive API platform.
He fostered a supportive and collaborative environment, encouraging the team to push creative boundaries and deliver impactful designs. His approach ensured that every project was well-executed and aligned with both user and business goals.
Ari’s mentorship and process-driven approach has helped shaped my growth as a designer and leader. I highly recommend Ari to any team seeking a hands-on, results-driven design leader.
Andrew Athinodorou
Lead Product Designer, Blockdaemon
Ari significantly improved our understanding of UX issues within the main product. Ari also spearheaded our design system initiative, demonstrating an exceptional ability to articulate complex design concepts and inspire his peers. His strategic understanding of design and excellent communication skills make him a visionary leader. I highly recommend Ari for design leadership roles.
Rob Lucha
Engineering Lead, Gradle
Ari has been a tremendous mentor to me throughout my journey as a designer, starting as a master’s student in Human-Computer Interaction & Design at UC Irvine. His guidance in refining my portfolio and resume—and, more importantly, shaping my career perspective—has been invaluable.
What I admire most about Ari is his thoughtful approach to mentorship. He offers clear, constructive feedback grounded in real-world experience. He has a unique ability to really listen, understand and provide relevant advice. His expertise and encouragement have been instrumental in helping me navigate my early career, particularly in my role at Keller Williams. Ari’s advice has shaped how I approach design problems and communicate with stakeholders.
Ari is an outstanding product design leader and a compassionate mentor who invests deeply in the growth and success of those he works with. I feel incredibly fortunate to have Ari as a mentor and advocate in my career.
Huyen Bui
Senior UX Designer, Keller Williams
Ari is a wonderfully positive and innovative designer. He pushes himself to go beyond expectations and uses his wealth of knowledge with design and human psychology to create amazing experiences.
He is a great asset on any team.
Nikki Wolfe
Principal Product Designer, VeraScore
Ari is an excellent designer; what stands out about my experience working with him is his desire and ability to focus on the true challenge or problem and try to solve the problem in every possible way.
Time and again, I have watched him be highly influential on teams and with clients in delivering excellent work in difficult situations.
David Drake
Project Manager, Soostone
I've had the pleasure of working with Ari for over 12 years across a variety of projects, including when he served as the Lead Designer at my consultancy, Theory.
Ari is one of the most talented people I know. He brings a keen design expertise to every project, paired with deep empathy for the user. He's equally at home working with product, design, or engineers, most often balancing all three simultaneously, and he's demonstrated his talent across a broad range of industries, including retail, finance, and healthcare.
I wholeheartedly recommend Ari as a product design leader who excels at delivering value through user-centered design and inspiring those he works with to achieve their best.
Kevin Scott
Senior System Software Engineer, NVIDIA
I had the pleasure of working with Ari in my role as a Lead Product Designer, where he managed me directly. Ari is an exceptional product design leader who brings clarity and vision to complex projects, like designing an intuitive API platform.
He fostered a supportive and collaborative environment, encouraging the team to push creative boundaries and deliver impactful designs. His approach ensured that every project was well-executed and aligned with both user and business goals.
Ari’s mentorship and process-driven approach has helped shaped my growth as a designer and leader. I highly recommend Ari to any team seeking a hands-on, results-driven design leader.
Andrew Athinodorou
Lead Product Designer, Blockdaemon
Ari significantly improved our understanding of UX issues within the main product. Ari also spearheaded our design system initiative, demonstrating an exceptional ability to articulate complex design concepts and inspire his peers. His strategic understanding of design and excellent communication skills make him a visionary leader. I highly recommend Ari for design leadership roles.
Rob Lucha
Engineering Lead, Gradle
Ari has been a tremendous mentor to me throughout my journey as a designer, starting as a master’s student in Human-Computer Interaction & Design at UC Irvine. His guidance in refining my portfolio and resume—and, more importantly, shaping my career perspective—has been invaluable.
What I admire most about Ari is his thoughtful approach to mentorship. He offers clear, constructive feedback grounded in real-world experience. He has a unique ability to really listen, understand and provide relevant advice. His expertise and encouragement have been instrumental in helping me navigate my early career, particularly in my role at Keller Williams. Ari’s advice has shaped how I approach design problems and communicate with stakeholders.
Ari is an outstanding product design leader and a compassionate mentor who invests deeply in the growth and success of those he works with. I feel incredibly fortunate to have Ari as a mentor and advocate in my career.
Huyen Bui
Senior UX Designer, Keller Williams
Ari is a wonderfully positive and innovative designer. He pushes himself to go beyond expectations and uses his wealth of knowledge with design and human psychology to create amazing experiences.
He is a great asset on any team.
Nikki Wolfe
Principal Product Designer, VeraScore
Ari is an excellent designer; what stands out about my experience working with him is his desire and ability to focus on the true challenge or problem and try to solve the problem in every possible way.
Time and again, I have watched him be highly influential on teams and with clients in delivering excellent work in difficult situations.
David Drake
Project Manager, Soostone
My work
Head of Design, Join
2023–Present
Empowering construction teams to make smarter decisions.
Join is a project management platform that helps construction companies, owners, and architects collaborate around building plans and bring ideas to life. I lead the team building the construction industry's first user-centered project management and decision-making platform, directly impacting construction business cases, timelines, and budgets.
Growth
66% reduction in support tickets.
Product
50% reduction in customer decision-making time.
People and Process
Develop, manage, and mentor a talented team of product and marketing designers.
Head of Design, Join
2023–Present
Empowering construction teams to make smarter decisions.
Join is a project management platform that helps construction companies, owners, and architects collaborate around building plans and bring ideas to life. I lead the team building the construction industry's first user-centered project management and decision-making platform, directly impacting construction business cases, timelines, and budgets.
Growth
66% reduction in support tickets.
Product
50% reduction in customer decision-making time.
People and Process
Develop, manage, and mentor a talented team of product and marketing designers.
Head of Design, Join
2023–Present
Empowering construction teams to make smarter decisions.
Join is a project management platform that helps construction companies, owners, and architects collaborate around building plans and bring ideas to life. I lead the team building the construction industry's first user-centered project management and decision-making platform, directly impacting construction business cases, timelines, and budgets.
Head of Product Design, Blockdaemon
2021–2023
Humanizing blockchain technology with an easy-to-use wallet and developer tools.
Blockdaemon is a blockchain infrastructure platform that empowers businesses like Goldman Sachs and Microsoft to build their applications. I joined Blockdaemon as the first designer by acquiring my design consulting company, Gravy, and built a brand-new design function.
Growth
64% increase in click-through rates through overhaul of website.
Product
23x increase in usage of Blockdaemon’s flagship API product.
People and process
Scaled team to 10 product designers, marketing designers, and researchers.
Head of Product Design, Blockdaemon
2021–2023
Humanizing blockchain technology with an easy-to-use wallet and developer tools.
Blockdaemon is a blockchain infrastructure platform that empowers businesses like Goldman Sachs and Microsoft to build their applications. I joined Blockdaemon as the first designer by acquiring my design consulting company, Gravy, and built a brand-new design function.
Growth
64% increase in click-through rates through overhaul of website.
Product
23x increase in usage of Blockdaemon’s flagship API product.
People and process
Scaled team to 10 product designers, marketing designers, and researchers.
Head of Product Design, Blockdaemon
2021–2023
Humanizing blockchain technology with an easy-to-use wallet and developer tools.
Blockdaemon is a blockchain infrastructure platform that empowers businesses like Goldman Sachs and Microsoft to build their applications. I joined Blockdaemon as the first designer by acquiring my design consulting company, Gravy, and built a brand-new design function.
Director of Design, Gradle
2019–2021
Enabling developers to build better software—faster.
Gradle reduces software developers' time finding and fixing development and engineering issues by streamlining tests and making troubleshooting easy. Gradle supports businesses such as Netflix, Salesforce, and Microsoft.
Growth
Supported leadership with Series C funding of $27MM.
Product
95% reduction in test times, and 86% reduction in build times.
People and Process
Led product design efforts, and built out user research practice.
Director of Design, Gradle
2019–2021
Enabling developers to build better software—faster.
Gradle reduces software developers' time finding and fixing development and engineering issues by streamlining tests and making troubleshooting easy. Gradle supports businesses such as Netflix, Salesforce, and Microsoft.
Growth
Supported leadership with Series C funding of $27MM.
Product
95% reduction in test times, and 86% reduction in build times.
People and Process
Led product design efforts, and built out user research practice.
Director of Design, Gradle
2019–2021
Enabling developers to build better software—faster.
Gradle reduces software developers' time finding and fixing development and engineering issues by streamlining tests and making troubleshooting easy. Gradle supports businesses such as Netflix, Salesforce, and Microsoft.
