Hello! I’m Monica, a UX-focused front-end engineer with 8+ years of experience at Microsoft.

I craft experiences that users love — and that engineers can build. ❤︎₊ ⊹

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Woman standing outdoors in front of colorful vertical rectangular panels in orange, green, and blue, holding a coffee cup, on a gray tiled pavement during daytime with a modern building and trees in the background.

Nice to meet you! ◡̈

Bridging Design and Engineering

I bring 8+ years of front-end engineering experience to my UX work, allowing me to design solutions that are intuitive for users and thoughtful about implementation, scalability, and maintainability.

Working across design and engineering has shaped how I approach problems:

  • I collaborate with engineers early to understand constraints and explore possibilities.

  • I create reusable patterns and systems that support consistency and scale.

  • I consider accessibility, performance, and technical feasibility as essential parts of the user experience.

🚀 At Microsoft, I’ve applied this approach by:

  • Bridging design and engineering to ship AI-powered productivity experiences using React and Fluent UI, including AI-generated insights, task suggestions, and communication enhancements in Outlook/Teams.

  • Partnering with designers and PMs to translate user needs into intuitive, scalable experiences.

  • Developing reusable UX components and patterns using React and Storybook, helping teams build more consistent experiences and accelerate product development.

💻 Tools & technologies : React, TypeScript, Fluent UI, Storybook, Figma, Git, Design Systems, Accessibility

🪄 AI-assisted workflows: Claude, GitHub Copilot, Figma Make, AI prototyping and development tools

View UX Engineering work

UX Case Studies

Three smartphone screens showing a floral and celebration planning app on pink background.
Three smartphone screens showing a floral and celebration planning app on pink background.

Transforming saved ideas into actionable plans on Pinterest

In this independent UX audit and redesign, I evaluated the adoption and service flows of a local animal shelter to uncover barriers affecting clarity and trust. Using heuristic review, accessibility analysis, and user flow restructuring, I reimagined the adoption journey to better support prospective pet owners.

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12+ new screens designed across mobile and desktop

Laptop displaying a website homepage for The Whole Cat & Kaboodle with a large image of a white cat on a dark background.

Improving clarity and trust in the digital adoption experience

In this independent project, I explored how Pinterest supports users beyond inspiration to uncover gaps in planning and execution. Through user interviews, journey mapping, and feature design, I reimagined the experience with a to-do list system that helps users turn saved ideas into actionable plans without leaving the platform.

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10+ heuristic issues defined

8 redesigned screens

Three smartphones displaying the MealPilot app with meal search results, weekly meal plan, and filters, all with a green and white interface and food images.

Reducing decision fatigue around healthy eating for busy professionals

As part of the University of Washington’s UX & Visual Design Certificate program, I led the end-to-end design of MealPilot — a concept mobile app that helps working professionals eat healthier without the stress of meal prep and grocery planning.

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16 research participants

3 usability sessions