Resumé
Resumé
CRM AI Assistant

My Story

My Story

My Story

I'm a UX/UX manager, product designer and design engineer with 10+ years of experience building at the intersection of design, code and user investment. My experience has shown versatility in many facets including leadership, UX research, operations, graphic design, component implementation, front-end development, and of course, product design :D

I'm a UX/UX manager, product designer and design engineer with 10+ years of experience building at the intersection of design, code and user investment. My experience has shown versatility in many facets including leadership, UX research, operations, graphic design, component implementation, front-end development, and of course, product design :D

I am a proven

I am a proven

I am a proven

UX Researcher.
UX Researcher.

My journey started in 2014 when I launched my first Wordpress site and took on freelance mainly in the graphic design medium. When I graduated in 2016, I was immediately picked up by Ackerman McQueen Advertising as an Art Director. For 6 years, I lead project initiatives in graphic design, commercial spots, and UI/UX for powerful brands like Integris Health, Winstar Casino, Artesian Hotel, ThinkUp! Education, Chickasaw Nation, OG&E, Knox Studios and many more. This led me to my true passion, UX experiences and digital product strategy.


After success with these brands, Paycom made me an offer to be a Product Designer in 2022. I joined and quickly rose up through the ranks of the 60 person department, promoted to Senior Designer in just 2 years. I was promoted to Team Lead of the 2nd largest team at Paycom in 2023. For almost 3 years, my team outperformed consistantly, receiving many in-house awards and promotions.


As the manager of the AI, Global, Internal and Reporting teams at Paycom, I owned parts of the design system and shipped features end-to-end for our payroll and HR SaaS platform used by thousands of big name brands. Previously rebuilt Paycom's entire Report Center product from the ground up at enterprise scale. I also created the first ever LLM interface for Paycom and led design teams across 80+ environments.


I have lived in Oklahoma all my life where I've enjoyed countless experiences with family and friends. I love to use my strengths in and out of the workplace, including a strong positive attitude, passion to detail, adaptability and improving together. I have two amazing kids, two doggos and a loving wife, who is also a designer. Creativity runs in our blood.

I'm a UX/UX manager, product designer and design engineer with 10+ years of experience building at the intersection of design, code and user investment. As the previous manager of the AI, Global, Internal and Reporting teams at Paycom, I owned parts of the design system and shipped features end-to-end for our payroll and HR SaaS platform used by thousands of big name brands. Previously rebuilt Paycom's entire Report Center product from the ground up at enterprise scale. I also created the first ever LLM interface for Paycom and led design teams across 80+ environments.


My journey started in 2014 when I launched my first Wordpress site and took on freelance mainly in the graphic design medium. When I graduated in 2016, I was immediately picked up by Ackerman McQueen Advertising as an Art Director. For 6 years, I lead project initiatives in graphic design, commercial spots, and UI/UX for powerful brands like Integris Health, Winstar Casino, Artesian Hotel, ThinkUp! Education, Chickasaw Nation, OG&E, Knox Studios and many more. This led me to my true passion, UX experiences and digital product strategy.


After success with these brands, Paycom made me an offer to be a Product Designer in 2022. I joined and quickly rose up through the ranks of the 60 person department, promoted to Senior Designer in just 2 years. This is when I developed new products like the mobile performance management platform and CRM AI Assistant, Paycom's first ever generative AI. I was promoted to Team Lead of the 2nd largest team at Paycom in 2023. For almost 3 years, my team outperformed every other team consistantly, receiving many in-house awards and promotions.


I have lived in Oklahoma all my life where I've enjoyed countless experiences with family and friends. I love to use my strengths in and out of the workplace, including a strong positive attitude, passion to detail, adaptability and improving together. I have two amazing kids, two doggos and a loving wife, who is also a designer. Creativity runs in our blood.

I'm a UX/UX manager, product designer and design engineer with 10+ years of experience building at the intersection of design, code and user investment. As the previous manager of the AI, Global, Internal and Reporting teams at Paycom, I owned parts of the design system and shipped features end-to-end for our payroll and HR SaaS platform used by thousands of big name brands. Previously rebuilt Paycom's entire Report Center product from the ground up at enterprise scale. I also created the first ever LLM interface for Paycom and led design teams across 80+ environments.


My journey started in 2014 when I launched my first Wordpress site and took on freelance mainly in the graphic design medium. When I graduated in 2016, I was immediately picked up by Ackerman McQueen Advertising as an Art Director. For 6 years, I lead project initiatives in graphic design, commercial spots, and UI/UX for powerful brands like Integris Health, Winstar Casino, Artesian Hotel, ThinkUp! Education, Chickasaw Nation, OG&E, Knox Studios and many more. This led me to my true passion, UX experiences and digital product strategy.


After success with these brands, Paycom made me an offer to be a Product Designer in 2022. I joined and quickly rose up through the ranks of the 60 person department, promoted to Senior Designer in just 2 years. This is when I developed new products like the mobile performance management platform and CRM AI Assistant, Paycom's first ever generative AI. I was promoted to Team Lead of the 2nd largest team at Paycom in 2023. For almost 3 years, my team outperformed every other team consistantly, receiving many in-house awards and promotions.


I have lived in Oklahoma all my life where I've enjoyed countless experiences with family and friends. I love to use my strengths in and out of the workplace, including a strong positive attitude, passion to detail, adaptability and improving together. I have two amazing kids, two doggos and a loving wife, who is also a designer. Creativity runs in our blood.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Paycom Payroll LLC

Team Leader of Product Design

TL of Product Design

Sep 2023 – Feb 2026

Senior UI/UX Product Designer

Senior Designer

Jan 2023 – Sep 2023

UI/UX Product Designer

Product Designer

Jul 2022 – Jan 2023

Ackerman McQueen Advertising

Ackerman McQueen

Art Director

Aug 2018 – Jul 2022

Junior Art Director

Aug 2015 – Aug 2018

Traffic Coordinator

Mar 2014 – Aug 2015

EDUCATION

University of Central Oklahoma

Bachelor's in Graphic Design

TL of Product Design

Aug 2012 – May 2016

Northern Oklahoma College

Ackerman McQueen

Associate's in Computer Science

Aug 2010 – May 2012

CERTIFICATES

Memorisely

AI Coding: Claude & Cursor

Apr 2026

Google

AI Essentials: Prompt and Workflow

Mar 2026

LinkedIn Learning

UX Research: Discovering the Real Feedback

Aug 2023

Brand Identity: More Than Color and Type

Oct 2023

Future-Proof Design Practices

Oct 2023

Testimonials

Lana Nguyen
Bogdan "Dan" Banica
Logan Blackburn
Mike Galloway
Brent Whitsett
Kunal Jain
Matthew Dowell

Lana Nguyen

Designer Reporting to Me | Paycom

"Kale is one of those rare leaders and designers who takes the time to build meaningful relationships with the people around him while creating thoughtful user experiences that account for every edge case or scenario. His ability to balance strong design thinking with genuine care for others makes him an exceptional leader. During my time at Paycom, Kale consistently went above and beyond in his roles as a team lead, mentor, product designer, and product/development partner. He was truly the heart of our design team – his positive attitude and williingness to work closely with others helped drive the successful delivery of numerous cross-module initiatives across Paycom's CRM, Client Action Center, Reporting, Analytics, Platform, and more. Whether you needed design brainstorming, mentorship, thoughtful feedback, or even just a laugh to brighten your day, he was always the first to show up and support no matter how many high priority projects, tight deadlines, or technical challenges he had to juggle. I can confidently say Kale is most reliable, knowledgable, and supportive designers I've had the privilege of working with! His leadership, dedication to user-centered design, and commitment to the team's success leaves a lasting impact on everyone around him." 
Lana Nguyen
Bogdan "Dan" Banica
Logan Blackburn
Mike Galloway
Brent Whitsett
Kunal Jain
Matthew Dowell

Lana Nguyen

Designer Reporting to Me | Paycom

"Kale is one of those rare leaders and designers who takes the time to build meaningful relationships with the people around him while creating thoughtful user experiences that account for every edge case or scenario. His ability to balance strong design thinking with genuine care for others makes him an exceptional leader. During my time at Paycom, Kale consistently went above and beyond in his roles as a team lead, mentor, product designer, and product/development partner. He was truly the heart of our design team – his positive attitude and williingness to work closely with others helped drive the successful delivery of numerous cross-module initiatives across Paycom's CRM, Client Action Center, Reporting, Analytics, Platform, and more. Whether you needed design brainstorming, mentorship, thoughtful feedback, or even just a laugh to brighten your day, he was always the first to show up and support no matter how many high priority projects, tight deadlines, or technical challenges he had to juggle. I can confidently say Kale is most reliable, knowledgable, and supportive designers I've had the privilege of working with! His leadership, dedication to user-centered design, and commitment to the team's success leaves a lasting impact on everyone around him." 

Awards and Accolades

ADDY Awards

I've won a total of 6 ADDY awards, including: 2016 Local Silver, 2015 Bronze Regional, 2016 Gold Regional, 2016 Gold Local, 2015 Silver Local, and 2015 Bronze Regional. All For different projects in College.

ADDY Awards

I've won a total of 6 ADDY awards, including: 2016 Local Silver, 2015 Bronze Regional, 2016 Gold Regional, 2016 Gold Local, 2015 Silver Local, and 2015 Bronze Regional. All For different projects in College.

Paycom BADGE Awards

I've been nominated for over 16 Paycom BADGEs during my time there, winning 8 of them across all departments. These include: 2025 Firefighter, 2024 & 2025 Above and Beyond, 1 in 2023 & 2 in 2024 Great Ideas, 2025 Innovation, and 2026 Technology awards.

Paycom Awards

I've been nominated for over 16 Paycom BADGEs during my time there, winning 8 of them across all departments. These include: 2025 Firefighter, 2024 & 2025 Above and Beyond, 1 in 2023 & 2 in 2024 Great Ideas, 2025 Innovation, and 2026 Technology awards.

Paycom Awards

I've been nominated for over 16 Paycom BADGEs during my time there, winning 8 of them across all departments. These include: 2025 Firefighter, 2024 & 2025 Above and Beyond, 1 in 2023 & 2 in 2024 Great Ideas, 2025 Innovation, and 2026 Technology awards.

Performance Reviews

My reviews during my time at Paycom paint a solid picture of consistency in growth.

Paycom utilized a 1.00 to 4.00 scale: 1.00 being under-performing and 4.00 being Excelling

With this scale in mind, I averaged a 3.75 throughout my time at Paycom, scoring an "Excelling" in every review except for my first review in 2022.

With this scale in mind, I averaged a 3.50 throughout my time at Paycom, scoring an "Excelling" in every review but one in my 3 and a half years at Paycom.

View Performance Reviews