Mike Shai
Product designer for AI products
mike@shaidesign.com | shai.design | linkedin.com/in/mshai | Denver, CO
Product designer with over a decade in enterprise SaaS, now designing and building AI products end to end. I lead design from research to launch, design AI experiences people can trust, and ship production code with AI tools. Background in insurance, real estate, hospitality, and government contracting.
Experience
Current
Co-founder, product design and engineering
LuchaFit
- Co-founded a wrestling performance company. Lead product design, web and app development, and operations.
- Designed and shipped the Unstuck assessment and live per-team coach dashboards with Claude Code, for a program with 400+ members.
- Designed Unstuck, a privacy-first AI accountability app for athletes, coaches, and parents, now in development.
- Designed and built LF Ledger, an accounting tool with a confirm-before-save AI assistant that replaced QuickBooks.
Mar 2024 – Oct 2024
Head of Design
Hivey
- Spearheaded the design and development of Hivey, a vendor-venue management platform, from initial concept to market launch.
- Conducted user research to gather insights and align the product with user needs and market demands.
- Designed intuitive user interfaces, leveraging feedback and analytics to refine user experience across the platform.
- Collaborated closely with engineering, product, and marketing teams to ensure seamless integration of design into the product roadmap.
- Developed and implemented a cohesive design system to standardize components, ensuring consistency and scalability in product features.
- Managed the full design lifecycle, from wireframes and prototypes to final high-fidelity mockups, incorporating user feedback.
Mar 2022 – Dec 2023
Senior Product Designer
Printfection (by Custom Ink)
- Led product design for Printfection, an enterprise swag management software. Transitioned to Custom Ink as part of their acquisition.
- Conducted customer and employee interviews, studied competitors, formed user personas, and monitored behavior through FullStory.
- Consolidated four unused dashboards into one powerful dashboard that was developed in partnership with customers.
- Modernized the legacy Bootstrap 3 UI to Google’s Material Design, a major effort shared with the engineering team, starting from a comprehensive component audit, recommending 1:1 changes, and adjusting along the way.
- Led discovery and design efforts for “Custom Ink Pro,” bringing enterprise capabilities into Custom Ink as part of the consolidation of Printfection.
- Collaborated with the Principal Architect and Product Manager to differentiate Printfection’s customer needs from Custom Ink’s. Collaborated with UX team members and participated in team critiques.
Jun 2019 – Mar 2022
Product Designer II
Vertafore
- Led design efforts on insurance agency software, “Commercial Submissions” and “QQ Catalyst.”
- Collaborated with Product Owners, Product Managers, and Engineers.
- Managed assets in the design system, adding new components and deprecating old ones.
- Conducted research sessions with design partners.
May 2016 – Aug 2018
Visual Designer
Altisource Solutions
- Led UI/UX initiatives for flagship real estate rental data product, RentRange.
- Collaborated with UX and product members to develop user personas, customer journeys, wireframes, and mockups.
- Partnered with marketing to design graphics for print and digital campaigns, tradeshow booths, and more.
Jun 2012 – May 2016
Graphic Design Specialist
Polaris Alpha
- Worked as a junior designer creating marketing collateral, social media graphics, and corporate templates.
- Promoted to Design Specialist, creating large-scale trade show displays, project logos, and product icon sets.
- Maintained three corporate WordPress sites and social media channels.
Feb 2012 – Jan 2020
Freelance Designer
Independent
- Brand identities for athletes, restaurants, non-profits, MMA gyms, and alcohol/spirits.
- Packaging projects for CBD, food, supplements, and alcohol.
- Marketing collateral for non-profits, oil & gas, and assorted small businesses.
- Web design for athletes, realtors, retail, restaurants, investment firms, and an education platform.
Education and training
Intro to AI Product Design, ELVTR. Live course in AI product design. Capstone: LucidFlow.