Hello, I'm

Kayla Koch

Product Design Manager · Edtech · Remote

Hands-on design leader at Newsela (Formative) — I lead 2–3 designers across the full product experience, with depth in assessment, onboarding, design systems, and AI-assisted work.

View experience Recent work

About Me

I look for friction, patterns, and the future state underneath the current one — then turn ambiguity into systems and concepts into products. As a manager, I set intent, make tradeoffs visible, and help teams improve steadily instead of waiting for a perfect plan.

AI has changed how I explore and prototype: I use Claude and Cursor to pressure-test ideas and land reviewable code, without letting faster output substitute for judgment. I care deeply about the people using a system — and stay suspicious of the system itself when it gets in their way.

A little woo-woo? I've been told I'm Yang Metal, shaped through pressure and useful when given something worth refining. My aura photo is apparently all orange, which is supposed to mean creative energy. Professionally, both track.

Kayla's aura photograph, predominantly orange

Recent Work

I ship code with AI when work needs to land in review — and unblock the team on patterns when it doesn't.

More context on the product and how I work

The product and the team

Multi-role edtech for teachers, students, administrators, and districts — assessment, content creation, grading, onboarding, accessibility, AI-assisted experiences, and the design system that holds it together. Our design team is small relative to that scope; a lot reaches production because we work across boundaries and stay close to the work.

How I think about AI

Faster output is not better judgment. I step in when something is off and keep work inside the patterns the product needs — whether prototyping in Cursor, exploring in Claude Design, or coaching a designer on how to prompt and correct.

Recent shipped work at Newsela — design + code with AI, last 3 months

Experience

Product design leader in edtech — senior designer to hands-on design manager. I lead teams while shipping code with AI across complex workflows, design systems, and AI-enabled experiences.

Product Design Manager

Mar 2025 – Present

Newsela (Formative) · Remote

  • Lead 2–3 designers while shipping cross-team workflows and interaction work myself.
  • Run teacher and administrator research that drives roadmap priorities and design quality.
  • Shape design direction across the full product — depth in assessment, AI-assisted experiences, onboarding, and admin tools.
  • Built design-system infrastructure — tokens, WCAG, docs — plus automated compliance checks on PRs.

Lead Product Designer

Jul 2023 – Mar 2025

Newsela (Formative) · Remote

  • Led design for assessment, secure testing, content discovery, and district admin experiences.
  • Created and implemented the design system with documentation and WCAG compliance baked in.
  • Turned teacher feedback into prioritized work across onboarding, retention, and engagement.
  • Mentored designers through critique, workshops, and design system practices.

Lead Product Designer

Jul 2022 – Jul 2023

Formative · Chicago, Illinois

  • Redesigned the learning platform for administrators, teachers, and students across growth and integrations.
  • Guided marketing rebrand — unified website and product visual system.
  • Improved onboarding to lift engagement and retention.

Senior Product Designer

Oct 2021 – Jun 2022

Formative · Chicago, Illinois

  • Contributed to platform transformation for administrators, teachers, and students.
  • Unified components and frameworks across design and documentation tools.
Earlier experience (2014–2021)

Senior Interactive Product Designer

Sep 2018 – Oct 2021

Magic + Might · Chicago, Illinois

  • Developed and maintained design systems, including assessment and optimization of UI components for user-centric products.
  • Contributed to research, conceptualization, and design of interactive products through wireframes, prototypes, and screen mockups.
  • Planned, moderated, and synthesized qualitative and quantitative user research to inform design decisions.

Designer

May 2014 – Aug 2018

Multiple, Inc. · Chicago, Illinois

  • Served as Creative Lead on design and development initiatives from inception through completion, including management of interns and freelancers.
  • Collaborated on Multiple's rebrand through website, quarterly publication, and social media redesign work.

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design

Columbia College Chicago

CCC Achievement Award

Skills

Product strategy · Design systems · WCAG · Design management · Shipping code with AI (Claude, Cursor)

Full skills

Product & UX

  • Product strategy
  • Interaction design
  • User research
  • Information architecture
  • Accessibility (WCAG)

Leadership

  • Design management
  • Mentorship
  • Design critique
  • Cross-functional partnership

AI & Workflow

  • Claude
  • Claude Design
  • Cursor
  • Codex
  • AI-assisted prototyping
  • Design-to-code workflows

Systems & Tools

  • Design systems
  • Figma
  • Component documentation
  • Visual QA tooling
  • Product analytics

Contact

Email: kaylakochdesign@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kayla-koch

Resume: On this page ↓

Looking for: Design manager or staff IC · Remote · Full-time