March 2019 - January 2022

Lead UX Research, Strategy, and Design for Simulation Software Modernization

1 UX Manager, 1 UX Designer, 1 UX Developer, 1 Scrum Master
Our team worked in support of several engineering teams and the product management team. I would frequently collaborate with the leads from those teams.

User Centered, Cloud-Enabled Design for Engineering Platforms

I led the UX transformation of Simcenter STAR-CCM+, delivering a 50% faster time-to-market for cloud features, a 33% boost in user retention, and a 90% stakeholder satisfaction rate. By modernizing workflows, launching GPU-accelerated solvers, and introducing tools like simulation templates and a browser-based Web Viewer, we made the platform faster, more intuitive, and far more collaborative. Our work helped customers innovate with greater speed, confidence, and efficiency.

STAR-CCM+ is a complex simulation platform with a mature engineering user base and a sprawling legacy codebase. By the time I joined, the product had become feature-bloated—driven by years of layered requests, internal assumptions, and a hyper-focus on edge cases. While the team recognized the need to modernize and reduce complexity, UX was siloed under engineering and often seen as a bottleneck rather than a strategic asset. Research efforts were limited to select power users and internal support engineers, creating a closed feedback loop that reinforced existing biases.

Over the course of three years, I supported both legacy platform improvements and the development of a new cloud-based solution. Despite UX’s limited visibility, I began conducting independent research, expanded interviews beyond the usual handpicked users, and introduced heuristic evaluations based on Nielsen Norman standards. I also mapped pain points and journey variations across personas, building a more inclusive understanding of the platform’s use cases.

Many of these findings contradicted leadership’s long-held assumptions, exposing usability gaps and revealing that “workarounds” had become normalized, despite causing inefficiencies or confusion.

Culture Shift:
At first, engineers pushed back—questioning UX’s value and expressing concerns that our proposals wouldn’t handle obscure use cases. But as I consistently shared data-driven insights and aligned our recommendations with platform constraints, sentiment began to shift. Over time, engineers began proactively pulling me into ad hoc meetings—not just for design input but to help facilitate discussions and mediate disagreements on technical approaches.

This evolution—from skepticism to collaboration—was one of the clearest markers of cultural change. UX was no longer viewed as an outsider; it became a trusted partner in problem-solving and alignment.

Strategic Influence:
My efforts reached beyond day-to-day design. I earned the trust of our director, senior platform development manager, director of product development, and the VP of product management. Our UX research began informing backlog decisions, roadmap prioritization, and strategic platform discussions—especially around which tools should be elevated, consolidated, or deprecated.

One major insight led us to reclassify several poorly labeled or misaligned tools, shifting them into a “core support tools” category that allowed us to streamline the user experience without overhauling core functionality.

Outcome & Legacy:
Upon my departure at the end of the three-year engagement, my director personally shared that the research and design systems I put in place would continue to guide the product’s evolution. That work still informs design decisions and supports platform updates today. While this was a deeply technical environment, the most meaningful win wasn’t a UI—it was the trust, process, and cultural foundation we established.

• Led UX for a three-year engagement across legacy and cloud solutions

• Conducted independent research and expanded user representation

• Facilitated cross-functional alignment and technical mediation

• Introduced UX maturity models and heuristic evaluations

• Influenced platform-level restructuring and feature consolidation

• Mentored teammates and promoted inclusive research practices

Linkedin.com/in/John-Mariano/