Scott Lederer

Hi. I'm Scott.

I lead and perform user experience / product design for web apps.

I have experience with AI, collaboration, productivity, data, documents, maps, local search, and photos. Some time ago, I designed & stewarded the local search experience on Google Maps for about 4 years. Threaded throughout my career are adventures in design & strategy for startups known & unknown.

I'm most at home in early-stage product startups, nimbly finding our way toward product-market fit by focusing on user needs and practices. This size and phase of an org lets me keep my feet on the ground and my hands dirty, while allying with Product and Eng to cultivate efficient operations and coordination, and influence overall strategy and culture, always from the perspective of design as a practice and value.

When I’m a UX team of one, I do research and design and, when appropriate, production-grade front-of-the-frontend code.

When in a team of N, I’m most activated as team lead, providing direction and representing design at the leadership table, while also staying close to the ground. I provide a transparent insulation and translation layer for the design team, keeping them focused and productive, and guiding their work into a modern, coherent, user-centered experience aligned with product and company goals.

I also fit well into advisory relationships with startups. This can take the shape of, say, reviewing design work, helping shape a design practice, or providing ad hoc advice about design, product, operations, and culture.

Based in Philadelphia, PA, I tend to work remotely and will gladly travel to NYC as needed.

If all this sounds like it could be of value to your (interesting!) product company, please reach out.