Hamed Abdulsalam

User Experience Researcher & Designer

hamedabdulsalam.com · hamedleyesalam@gmail.com · +44 7459 656569 · USA 🇺🇸
Open to remote work & relocation

Professional summary

7+ years' experience conducting user research across public services, SaaS, B2B & B2C, non-profits and startups. Specialist in qualitative and quantitative research, accessibility evaluation, and embedding evidence-based practice across end-to-end projects. Delivered $5M+ in business value, including a donation flow redesign that raised form completion from 18% → 72% at Oxfam GB, an onboarding platform launched for 1,000+ designers, and mentorship for 200+ junior designers into industry roles. Also a hands-on product thinker who builds with AI, using tools like ChatGPT and Claude to prototype and ship solutions directly.

Experience

User Experience Research & Designer, SGX3 (SGCI)

Jan 2026 – Present

Leading UX design and research across NSF-funded science gateway projects, translating complex scientific workflows into accessible digital experiences for researchers worldwide.

  • Led a usability overhaul of the Interactive Outbreak Simulator (epiENGAGE), growing its scientist user base from 100+ to 800+ and simulation completion from 2 in 10 to 9 in 10.
  • Established user research frameworks and discovery processes, embedding evidence-based design into teams unfamiliar with UX practice.
  • Conducted interviews, usability testing and co-design sessions with scientists across disciplines to surface unmet needs.
  • Designed user journey maps, workflows and interface prototypes to simplify access to complex computational research tools.
  • Advocated for accessibility and inclusive design across gateway platforms, aligning with WCAG standards.

Lead User Experience Research & Designer, Oxfam GB

May 2024 – May 2025

Led user research and design for Oxfam GB's donation flow, part of a digital fundraising experience relied on by 10 million+ donors.

  • Raised donation form completion from 18% to 72% by redesigning the "reason for donating" step, grounded in personas, competitor analysis and moderated usability testing.
  • Diagnosed and fixed a post-launch regression that had silently stopped in-memory and legacy donations, restoring over £1M in that donation category.
  • Lifted user satisfaction score from 20% to 70%, with 9 in 10 donors preferring the redesign in evaluation.
  • Recruited and ran moderated usability testing sessions with real donors via ASKABLE, Zoom and Teams.

Senior Researcher & Designer, Mentorled Limited

Apr 2022 – May 2024

Spearheaded user research to design an end-to-end onboarding platform for aspiring designers.

  • Designed and launched a digital onboarding platform improving the experience for 1,000+ new designers.
  • Built and governed a design system unifying visual language and interaction patterns across products.
  • Facilitated research-informed mentoring for 200+ junior and self-taught designers.
  • Increased platform sales by 60% through continuous, evidence-based optimization.

User Researcher & Designer, Ventures Platform

Jan 2021 – Apr 2022

Led user research for a SaaS portfolio management tool for retail investors in stocks, crypto and forex.

  • Conducted usability testing with 20 participants, analyzing 100+ data points, improving satisfaction by 25%.
  • Reduced developer build time 40% by streamlining research documentation and communication.
  • Designed an intuitive interface for non-technical users, driving a 65% increase in adoption.
  • Developed a research-informed design system achieving 100% UI consistency.

Brand & UI Designer, Clevify

Jun 2019 – Dec 2020

Shaped brand identity and interface design for Clevify, a mobile learning app.

Leadership

Community Lead, Charity UX Network

Jan 2024 – Present

Leading 300+ professionals across the charity, public and health sectors, advocating for UX, accessibility and inclusivity.

Education

PhD Candidate, Technology

In progress · expected 2030

Purdue University

MSc, User Experience Design

2023

Birmingham City University

Certifications & ongoing development

  • Accessibility Fundamentals, Microsoft, 2023
  • Digital Accessibility, Microsoft, 2023
  • Disability and Accessibility, Microsoft, 2023
  • Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide, Interaction Design Foundation, 2025
  • User Research: Methods and Best Practices, Interaction Design Foundation, 2025
  • AI for Designers, Interaction Design Foundation, 2025
  • Product Management, Pendo x Mind the Product, 2025