About

Jeff Schwerdtfeger

Jeff Schwerdtfeger

Jeff Schwerdtfeger is a design leader based in the Santa Cruz mountains. He currently runs UX at HP within Industrial Design, where his team owns the software roadmap for Poly Studio, contributes to hardware concepts, and includes the human factors and ergonomics group.

He works at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI. He writes product specs, builds working prototypes in Claude Code, and pitches them directly to exec leadership to secure funding. Three for three so far.

Before HP he built and led UX at Poly through its acquisition by HP, designed experiences at Apple (Music, News, WWDC, iMessage), and created global retail experiences at Specialized Bicycle Components. He holds patents in videoconferencing systems and Siri integration.

Off the clock: mountain bikes in Demo Forest, climbs rock, builds things in the garage.

Designer. Maker. Explorer.

01

Experience

  1. Director of User Experience

    Nov 2022 – Present

    HP

    I run UX within Industrial Design, working across hardware and software. My team drives the software product roadmap for Poly Studio across desktop and mobile, and contributes to five to ten hardware product launches a year. I also own human factors and ergonomics. I brought AI prototyping into our design process and use it to pitch funded product concepts to HP’s exec leadership.

  2. UX Leadership

    Apr 2017 – Nov 2022

    Poly (acquired by HP)

    Built UX, research, and prototyping from the ground up. Scaled the team during COVID, fully remote. Designed and launched the Poly Lens platform from scratch: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, plus the cloud management layer. Carried the team through HP’s acquisition and integrated into the Industrial Design org.

  3. Sr. Product Designer / Design Manager

    Dec 2013 – Mar 2017

    Apple

    Designed and prototyped experiences for Apple Music, Apple News, WWDC, and iAd. Helped build out the Apple Human Interface Guidelines site and supporting assets with the Evangelism team. Products I worked on now reach over 100M monthly active users. Patent for Siri integration in iMessage.

  4. Sr. Interaction Designer

    Aug 2012 – Dec 2013

    Plantronics

    Designed software for mobile, gaming, and experimental products. Ran user research that shaped product direction. Plantronics later became Poly, and this team became the foundation for what I built there.

  5. Sr. Visual + Interaction Designer

    May 2011 – Aug 2012

    Specialized Bicycle Components

    Created digital and interactive retail experiences as part of Specialized’s worldwide marketing team. Managed creative agency partnerships across global markets.

02

Education

  • California State University, Channel Islands BA
  • Cabrillo College AA

03

Patents

  • Virtual Assistant Aided Communication With 3rd Party Service in a Communication Session (US 20160360039)
  • Virtual Assistant in a Communication Session (US 20160335532)
  • Preventing the Number of Meeting Attendees at a Videoconferencing Endpoint From Becoming Unsafe (US 20220051541A1)

04

Skills

Practice

  • AI Product Design
  • Product Strategy
  • UX Leadership
  • Prototyping
  • Design Systems

Technical

  • Claude Code
  • SvelteKit
  • React
  • Electron
  • Figma
  • HTML / CSS / JS

05

Get in touch

Working on something at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI? Say hello.

jschwerdtfeger@mac.com