Design engineers are always held in high regard for their important role in the tech world. Armed with a distinct skill set and unique responsibilities, design engineers have emerged as a driving force that empowers companies to create more user-centric products and encourage growth.
However, combining creativity with fast-evolving technology is a huge challenge in the User Experience (UX) design and engineering industry. This is where Ricky Zhang, a hybrid design engineer who combines UX design and engineering to create user-friendly products, thrives. Currently working as a design engineer at Mintlify, a San Francisco-based startup that is building a developer documentation platform that produces out-of-the-box, easy-to-maintain, and optimized user engagement docs, Zhang has managed to successfully blend user experience (UX) design with engineering to earn plaudits in the tech industry.
UX design is crucial for optimizing digital product usability, preventing user frustration, and reducing the likelihood of errors. Effective UX design increases user engagement with a product or service, scaling the website’s visit durations, click-through rates, and conversion metrics. Zhang has a deep and intimate understanding of this process, which can be seen in the groundbreaking user-facing aspects of the products he works on.
Zhang started his career as a UI/UX designer at Mosaic, a 3D printing startup. He was responsible for designing the entire User Interface (UI) and directing the user experience of the company’s software. This fueled his desire to learn more about interdisciplinary work in the same field, eventually leading him to become a UX engineer at the RBC Investor Services AI Operations team.
Zheng is currently a design engineer at Mintlify, where he leads both the design and engineering teams. His shift from UI/UX design to UX engineering, and then to design engineering, has shaped his holistic approach to product development. This interdisciplinary background enables him to create user-centric solutions that are both aesthetically pleasing and technically sound.
Zhang has always focused on enhancing user experience through visual aesthetics and technical implementation. A real turning point in his career came at Mosaic, where he was responsible for designing a UI that could scale across various Internet of Things (IoT) devices with different screen sizes and pixel densities. Zhang successfully delivered the project and gained an invaluable understanding of both design principles and technical constraints in the process.
An article by a UX engineer at Google influenced Zhang’s perspective on UX design and engineering. It detailed the creation of the smooth zooming feature in Google Maps with a blend of art and technology that fascinated him. Realizing his passion for this interdisciplinary approach, Zhang decided to pursue a career where he could enhance both skill sets.
Zhang has worked on numerous projects over the course of his career, and the one that stands out most was when he created the design system that is showcased on his website. In this project, he undertook the roles of both designer and developer to create a comprehensive and user-friendly design system that standardized design elements and streamlined the development process by creating reusable components and establishing clear guidelines. The project was successful and significantly reduced design inconsistencies and development time.
The design system Zhang created became a valuable resource for designers and developers, improving team collaboration and communication. It also acts as a learning tool for new team members, helping them quickly understand the company’s design principles and coding standards.
Throughout his career, Zhang has focused on developing unique methodologies to combine the best aspects of design and engineering. At RBC, he worked on AI-driven operations tools, using his hybrid approach to remold traditional workflows. At Mosaic, he developed scalable UI solutions for IoT devices that surpassed robust frameworks in integrating UX design into product development.
Over time, Zhang has evolved into a passionate hybrid design engineer. He is a strong advocate for self-learning, as this helped him build his own career. Now, Zhang encourages others to take control of the direction of their own careers.
Zhang’s leadership abilities extend beyond his workspace. As a dedicated mentor in various industry programs, he has guided professionals and students alike in adopting interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving. By sharing his experiences and methodologies, Zhang encourages tech professionals to rethink traditional role boundaries and actively contributes to the advancement of UX design engineering.
As a judge at the Product Design Sprint, a hackathon-style design competition at Western University, and RBC’s Amplify internship program, he has played his part in evaluating emerging talents in the tech industry. Zhang has also offered his valuable feedback to Figma, integrating two new features into their platform that enhanced the user experience for designers worldwide. Zhang has published several websites, Figma plugins, and design resources that have been well-received by the tech community. Over 15,000 people have used his Figma plugins, and his design resources have been accessed by 8,600 users.
Building a career as a UX design engineer was not easy, and Zhang struggled to find established frameworks and precedents for this hybrid role in many organizations. To overcome these challenges, he has become an advocate for the value of hybrid design engineers. He defined his responsibilities and showcased how his unique blend of skills can enhance product development processes.
To broaden his knowledge beyond the workspace, Zhang pursued freelance projects. These projects allowed him to experiment with different approaches, further refining his skills as a design engineer.
Zhang has a peerless ability to communicate across disciplines, which has strengthened his problem-solving skills. His love for exploring uncharted territories in UX and engineering has also fueled a sense of entrepreneurship within his role. Wherever he’s worked, Zhang has created opportunities that previously didn’t exist.
Zhang aspires to become a product owner and experience-oriented team lead. He wants to utilize his unique product design and engineering perspective to help companies create more user-centric products. He plans to continue sharing his insights through mentorship, workshops and thought leadership, guiding aspiring designers and engineers in structuring their product teams. With a keen focus on increased collaboration between designers and engineers, Zhang wants to build a more collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to product development.
Ricky Zhang envisions designers and engineers working together seamlessly as an empowering catalyst for change. He believes in breaking traditional methodologies to create products that can truly make a difference and impact the entire tech industry
