About Jared
I’m Jared Pryor — a software development and UX engineering leader who’s spent more than 15 years helping teams build products that are intuitive, consistent, and built to scale. My career has always lived at the intersection of engineering, design, and product strategy, and I’m happiest when I’m solving complex problems by bringing clarity and structure to messy ecosystems.
My interest in technology started early. I grew up fascinated by how people interact with software — not just how it works, but how it feels. That curiosity eventually led me into software development, then deeper into UX, and ultimately into roles where I could bridge both worlds. I’ve always believed that great products come from teams who understand both the human experience and the technical systems behind it.
Career Timeline
2007-2011 — Early Career & First Spark
I started my career as a software developer at Goldman Sachs, building both the frontend and backend of internal tools that helped sales and trading teams understand client activity and generate new business. I loved the pace, the problem‑solving, and the feeling of building something people relied on every day.
But the more I talked with users and teammates, the more I realized I was drawn to the experience behind the software — how people interacted with it, how it fit into their workflow, and how design could make complex tasks feel intuitive. That curiosity ultimately led me to pursue a Master’s in Human‑Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University.
2011-2014 — Building My Design Foundation
After graduating from CMU, I joined Ansys, a leader in engineering simulation software. My role blended software development with UX design, giving me the chance to build new product features while also helping establish a foundation for UX practices inside the company.
I spent these years doing a bit of everything — user research, interaction design, visual design, prototyping, and usability testing. It was the perfect environment to deepen my design skills while staying close to the engineering work I loved.
2014-2018 — Growing as a Designer & Raising UX Maturity
As the design team at Ansys grew, I transitioned into a full‑time design role with increasing responsibility for project delivery and stakeholder alignment. I still jumped into development when it helped the team move faster, but my focus shifted toward shaping product experiences and advocating for stronger UX practices across the organization.
During this time, I worked on a brand‑new product that would eventually launch in 2020 — a project that became a catalyst for raising UX maturity at Ansys and improving consistency across the product portfolio. It was a formative period where I learned how to influence teams, build trust, and champion user‑centered thinking.
2018-2023 — Management Transition & Leading Cross Functional Teams
In 2018, I stepped into management, leading a cross‑functional group of UX designers and software developers focused on the initial release of Ansys Discovery. The product’s success — both internally and externally — opened the door for our team to take on broader responsibilities.
We became the stewards of the first version of the Ansys design system and the UI framework behind Discovery, evolving it into a platform that other teams across the company could adopt. This work became the foundation for driving product consistency across the entire Ansys portfolio.
2023-Present — Design & UI Platform Leadership
With Ansys’s acquisition of a company specializing in browser‑native simulation technology, the organization accelerated its shift toward web‑based products. My role evolved again, focusing on leading the UI frameworks and layers that support both desktop and web applications — and ensuring they stay tightly connected to our evolving design system.
Alongside the technical work, I continued advocating for UX across the company by helping establish designer hiring and training guidelines, mentoring new designers, and organizing internal UX‑focused conferences. This period has been about scaling systems, scaling teams, and scaling the impact of UX across the organization.
Over the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to lead engineering and UX teams through some of the most complex and rewarding challenges of my career. My work has focused on building systems, frameworks, and processes that help large organizations deliver consistent, intuitive, and scalable product experiences.
A major part of my role has been driving the adoption of unified UI frameworks and design systems across a broad and diverse product ecosystem. I partnered closely with engineering, UX, product, and architecture leaders to modernize our UI platform, improve developer experience, and create alignment across more than 20 teams and 80 products. This work wasn’t just about components or patterns — it was about enabling teams to move faster, reduce friction, and make better decisions with confidence.
I’ve also spent a lot of time coaching and mentoring engineers and designers, helping them grow their craft and navigate the complexities of cross-functional collaboration. I believe that strong leadership is about creating clarity, building trust, and giving teams the support and structure they need to do their best work.
Whether I’m shaping platform strategy, guiding design-system adoption, or helping teams align around shared goals, I’m always thinking about how systems, people, and processes come together to create meaningful product experiences at scale.
Guiding Principles
