Experience

Lead Product Designer

Brisbane, Australia

My background spans multi-sided platforms, enterprise B2B SaaS, and technical user workflows, with a consistent focus on making dense, high-stakes systems feel coherent and usable.

I work best in player-coach roles: close enough to the craft to shape quality directly, and experienced enough to build the conditions for a team to do its best work.

I contribute to codebases, work closely with engineering, and have been applying AI thoughtfully in design practice for the past two years.

Roles

Principal Product Designer
CarExpert.com.au
- Designed the CarExpert Exchange, a multi-sided broker and dealer platform built on top of Pipedrive, serving three distinct user types (brokers, franchised dealers and customers), each with different permissions, workflows and mental models. Designed and shipped in under two months.
- Partner with the Director of Product & Technology, CEO and founders to shape the roadmap and deliver high-impact features across CarExpert.com.au, dealer portals and internal tooling.
- Lead end-to-end UX across discovery, definition and delivery, including user research, journey mapping and prototyping with real data.
- Prototype with real production data to stress-test designs against genuine complexity.
- Use AI tooling (including Claude Code) to generate functional prototypes and components, closing the gap between design concept and testable product.
- Maintain and contribute directly to the design system and codebase (React and Next.js).
- Mentor a mid-weight designer, providing structured feedback and creating the conditions for independent, high-quality work.
- Model and structure complex automotive data sets so they are accurate and digestible across consumer and dealer-facing surfaces.
Mar 2025 – Present
Head of Design
Bright Young Things Venture Studio
- Led design direction and quality across multiple concurrent early-stage ventures, operating as the sole design function across product, brand and front-end.
- Ran qualitative research with consumers and industry professionals to identify market opportunities and validate product direction.
- Rapidly prototyped MVPs across AI-first and mobile-first platforms, applying generative AI tools in research synthesis and design workflows.
- Led design for GoList, a lead distribution SaaS platform, including brand, UI/UX and apparel.
May 2024 – Mar 2025
UX Lead
CoreLogic (now Cotality)
- Led, managed and mentored a team of four designers across CoreLogic's real estate platforms, including RP Data, one of Australia's largest professional property data platforms.
- Shaped UX strategy across complex, multi-product environments used by tens of thousands of property professionals, balancing power-user depth with accessibility for newer market entrants.
- Drove research initiatives that informed strategic decisions at product and platform level, collaborating closely with product managers and senior stakeholders.
- Contributed to maturing discovery and research practices across squads within the broader R&D organisation.
Jul 2023 – May 2024
Senior UX Designer
CoreLogic
- Designed and validated the integration of generative AI into the RiTA platform, delivering a step change in the assistant's capability for real estate agents.
- Led the research and design of a native mobile app for RiTA, improving accessibility and usability for agents in the field.
- Hired and mentored junior designers following the acquisition of RiTA by AiRE, building a collaborative team culture through a period of integration.
Nov 2021 – Jul 2023
UX Designer
RiTA by AiRE
- Sole designer for the greenfield rebuild of RiTA (v4), leading UX for a fast-paced engineering team in weekly sprints.
- Designed industry-first features including a fully automated SMS conversation engine, contributing to multiple REIQ Innovation Awards (2020–2022) and Hall of Fame status (2023).
Oct 2019 – Nov 2021
Product Design Lead
EntegyPreviously Brand & Design Manager, and Senior Digital Designer
- Progressed through three roles across four years, from digital design to brand leadership to product design lead on Entegy's CMS and event app ecosystem.
- Designed new features including event ticketing and social interaction tools, and led brand rollout for the Entegy Partner Program.
Feb 2015 – Oct 2019

Earlier

Graphic Designer · Six Fingers / Independent Property Group
Jul 2013 – Jan 2015
Graphic Designer / Print Operator · MBE Robina
Dec 2007 – Jul 2013

Tools

Figma (design tokens, component architecture)
React
Next.js
TypeScript
Tailwind
shadcn/ui
VS Code
Claude Code
Linear
Asana
Dovetail
Microsoft Clarity
Google Analytics
Miro
Adobe Creative Suite

Education

UX Design · RMIT University
2020
Diploma of Marketing · TAFE QLD
2016
Diploma of Graphic Design · CATC
2014

Jon Coates

Lead Product DesignerBrisbane, Australia

joncoates.com.auhi@joncoates.com.aulinkedin.com/in/joncoates

Profile

My background spans multi-sided platforms, enterprise B2B SaaS, and technical user workflows, with a consistent focus on making dense, high-stakes systems feel coherent and usable.

I work best in player-coach roles: close enough to the craft to shape quality directly, and experienced enough to build the conditions for a team to do its best work.

I contribute to codebases, work closely with engineering, and have been applying AI thoughtfully in design practice for the past two years.

Roles

Mar 2025 – Present

Principal Product Designer

CarExpert.com.au

Designed the CarExpert Exchange, a multi-sided broker and dealer platform built on top of Pipedrive, serving three distinct user types (brokers, franchised dealers and customers), each with different permissions, workflows and mental models. Designed and shipped in under two months.
Partner with the Director of Product & Technology, CEO and founders to shape the roadmap and deliver high-impact features across CarExpert.com.au, dealer portals and internal tooling.
Lead end-to-end UX across discovery, definition and delivery, including user research, journey mapping and prototyping with real data.
Prototype with real production data to stress-test designs against genuine complexity.
Use AI tooling (including Claude Code) to generate functional prototypes and components, closing the gap between design concept and testable product.
Maintain and contribute directly to the design system and codebase (React and Next.js).
Mentor a mid-weight designer, providing structured feedback and creating the conditions for independent, high-quality work.
Model and structure complex automotive data sets so they are accurate and digestible across consumer and dealer-facing surfaces.

May 2024 – Mar 2025

Head of Design

Bright Young Things Venture Studio

Led design direction and quality across multiple concurrent early-stage ventures, operating as the sole design function across product, brand and front-end.
Ran qualitative research with consumers and industry professionals to identify market opportunities and validate product direction.
Rapidly prototyped MVPs across AI-first and mobile-first platforms, applying generative AI tools in research synthesis and design workflows.
Led design for GoList, a lead distribution SaaS platform, including brand, UI/UX and apparel.

Jul 2023 – May 2024

UX Lead

CoreLogic (now Cotality)

Led, managed and mentored a team of four designers across CoreLogic's real estate platforms, including RP Data, one of Australia's largest professional property data platforms.
Shaped UX strategy across complex, multi-product environments used by tens of thousands of property professionals, balancing power-user depth with accessibility for newer market entrants.
Drove research initiatives that informed strategic decisions at product and platform level, collaborating closely with product managers and senior stakeholders.
Contributed to maturing discovery and research practices across squads within the broader R&D organisation.

Nov 2021 – Jul 2023

Senior UX Designer

CoreLogic

Designed and validated the integration of generative AI into the RiTA platform, delivering a step change in the assistant's capability for real estate agents.
Led the research and design of a native mobile app for RiTA, improving accessibility and usability for agents in the field.
Hired and mentored junior designers following the acquisition of RiTA by AiRE, building a collaborative team culture through a period of integration.

Oct 2019 – Nov 2021

UX Designer

RiTA by AiRE

Sole designer for the greenfield rebuild of RiTA (v4), leading UX for a fast-paced engineering team in weekly sprints.
Designed industry-first features including a fully automated SMS conversation engine, contributing to multiple REIQ Innovation Awards (2020–2022) and Hall of Fame status (2023).

Feb 2015 – Oct 2019

Product Design Lead

Entegy

Previously Brand & Design Manager, and Senior Digital Designer

Progressed through three roles across four years, from digital design to brand leadership to product design lead on Entegy's CMS and event app ecosystem.
Designed new features including event ticketing and social interaction tools, and led brand rollout for the Entegy Partner Program.

Earlier

Jul 2013 – Jan 2015

Graphic Designer · Six Fingers / Independent Property Group

Dec 2007 – Jul 2013

Graphic Designer / Print Operator · MBE Robina

Education

2020

UX Design · RMIT University

2016

Diploma of Marketing · TAFE QLD

2014

Diploma of Graphic Design · CATC

Tools

Figma (design tokens, component architecture)ReactNext.jsTypeScriptTailwindshadcn/uiVS CodeClaude CodeLinearAsanaDovetailMicrosoft ClarityGoogle AnalyticsMiroAdobe Creative Suite