AARON PIAZZA | DESIGN LEADERSHIP       

Design leader specializing in robotics and complex hardware systems, operating at the intersection of UX, industrial design, and engineering architecture. With19 years of experience shaping product strategy, establishing design systems, and leading multidisciplinary teams across healthcare, industrial, and autonomous environments.

Proven track record of influencing system-level decisions, building scalable design standards, and shipping high-performance products within technically and operationally complex domains. Named inventor on 38+ patents with 24+ international design awards.

Work Experience

PRINCIPAL DESIGNER / MANAGER - AMAZON ROBOTICS 2024-PRESENT

Lead industrial design, and experience strategy across multiple robotics platforms (manipulation, mobile robotics, logistics systems) operating at scale within Amazon’s fulfillment network.

Partner with robotics engineering, research, and product leadership to define product requirements and influence hardware architecture decisions upstream.

Established shared design standards and system frameworks to drive consistency across complex, multi-team robotics programs.

Lead a team of designers and +$4M budget for ID, UX, UI, UXR design consultancy, and contractor support. 

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LEAD - AMAZON 2021-2024

Defined interaction models and physical system design for next-generation autonomous retail technologies and checkout experiences.  (Just Walk Out & Dash Cart).

Collaborated with hardware, software, and research teams to translate emerging sensing technologies into scalable physical experiences.

Contributed to system-level decisions impacting usability, throughput efficiency, and deployment at enterprise scale.

Drove alignment between design intent, engineering constraints, and operational realities across pilot and production environments.

DESIGN MANAGER - TACTILE 2016-2021

Led multidisciplinary teams delivering medical, industrial, and consumer electronics programs from vision through commercialization.

Established design strategy frameworks and north-star concepts for complex hardware platforms.

Built and mentored cross-functional team of UX/UI, ID, CMF, and brand strategy designers.

Partnered with executive stakeholders to translate business objectives into product and experience roadmaps.

SENIOR DESIGNER - TACTILE 2015-2016

Led complex, multidisciplinary design programs across healthcare, consumer electronics, and industrial sectors within a fast-paced consultancy environment.

Developed system-level product concepts and physical prototypes to validate usability, ergonomics, and feasibility.

Articulated compelling product narratives and north-star visions to executive stakeholders, securing alignment and program advancement.

SOLIDWORKS PROFESSOR - Skagit Valley College 2012-2013

As a visiting professor for SVC I developed and built a three course series introducing students to SolidWorks CAD/CAM software. I taught a class of 30 students in the evenings two nights a week while working at Philips as an Industrial designer.

PRODUCT DESIGN CONSULTANT - PHILIPS DESIGN 2012-2015

Partnered with distributed business and engineering teams to deliver complex healthcare hardware programs from concept through commercialization.

Led multiple products to market, contributing to 12+ internationally recognized design awards.

Applied structured human-centered methodologies — research synthesis, rapid prototyping, and iterative validation — to inform system-level product decisions.

Balanced usability, regulatory, and technical constraints to improve performance, safety, and adoption within clinical environments.

Translated user insights into clear design requirements and cross-functional alignment across global stakeholders.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER - PHILIPS MEDICAL SYSTEMS 2007-2012

Designed and developed products for the public and EMS AED markets.

Worked with marketing and engineering to develop UX, customer, and product requirement specifications.

Responsible for user research, prototyping, and usability testing for FDA submissions.

Education

BFA in Industrial Design 2002-2008

University of Washington Seattle, WA

Expertise

Research + Development

Creative Direction

Team Building

Leading with Vision

Human Centered Design

MGMT Skills

Communication & Presentation

Relationship building

Strong design process

Product definition

Stakeholder alignment

Technical Skills

Adobe suite

MS Office

Solidworks

Keyshot

Figma

Physical prototyping

HCD Methodologies