LinkedIN — 2016

Redefining the job search experience

Evolving the job search from static lists to an engaging, personalized feed that empowers members to network, research, and discover.

Role

Product Designer

Tools

Sketch, InVision/ Pixate/ Principal (Prototype), JIRA

Image 1 — linkedin 2016.

TL;DR:

As the lead product designer for the LinkedIn Jobs app, I spearheaded the end-to-end design of a personalized "Discovery" feed to transform passive job searching into a holistic career exploration experience. Working alongside an agile cross-functional pod, I shipped the MVP in 6 months while concurrently executing a massive cross-platform modernization across iOS and Android in 16 languages. The project achieved massive global impact, scaling to 1.3M monthly active users, 10+ million downloads, a Google Play Store Feature & Editors' Choice, and a #1 ranking in category.

The Product: The LinkedIn Jobs app is a dedicated mobile experience designed to help professionals discover, track, and secure their next career opportunity.
The Environment: An agile, cross-functional pod requiring tight synchronization. I collaborated closely with 1 Product Manager, 5 Engineers, and 1 UX Researcher, operating in bi-weekly sprints to ship across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
The Background: Following the initial release of the LinkedIn Job Search app, foundational research revealed a crucial insight: active job seekers don’t just hit “apply”—they actively network, research companies, and consume industry news to gain a competitive edge.
My Role: As the sole Lead Product Designer, my primary focus was spearheading the end-to-end design of a new “Discovery” experience to translate these real-world networking behaviors into a personalized digital feed. Concurrently, I led a comprehensive app redesign utilizing LinkedIn’s newly established visual design language.

Context

The Product: The LinkedIn Jobs app is a dedicated mobile experience designed to help professionals discover, track, and secure their next career opportunity.
The Environment: An agile, cross-functional pod requiring tight synchronization. I collaborated closely with 1 Product Manager, 5 Engineers, and 1 UX Researcher, operating in bi-weekly sprints to ship across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
The Background: Following the initial release of the LinkedIn Job Search app, foundational research revealed a crucial insight: active job seekers don’t just hit "apply"—they actively network, research companies, and consume industry news to gain a competitive edge.
My Role: As the sole Lead Product Designer, my primary focus was spearheading the end-to-end design of a new "Discovery" experience to translate these real-world networking behaviors into a personalized digital feed. Concurrently, I led a comprehensive app redesign utilizing LinkedIn's newly established visual design language.

The Product: The LinkedIn Jobs app is a dedicated mobile experience designed to help professionals discover, track, and secure their next career opportunity.
The Environment: An agile, cross-functional pod requiring tight synchronization. I collaborated closely with 1 Product Manager, 5 Engineers, and 1 UX Researcher, operating in bi-weekly sprints to ship across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
The Background: Following the initial release of the LinkedIn Job Search app, foundational research revealed a crucial insight: active job seekers don’t just hit “apply”—they actively network, research companies, and consume industry news to gain a competitive edge.
My Role: As the sole Lead Product Designer, my primary focus was spearheading the end-to-end design of a new “Discovery” experience to translate these real-world networking behaviors into a personalized digital feed. Concurrently, I led a comprehensive app redesign utilizing LinkedIn’s newly established visual design language.

The problem

The existing Discovery experience was not engaging, and members had difficulty understanding its unique value. We needed to personalize the experience and give active job seekers more control over their career trajectory when they felt they had exhausted their standard search options.

Pain-points:

Lack of Discoverability: Job seekers felt stuck after exhausting their standard searches because they were completely unaware the Discover tab even existed on iOS and Android.
Confusion and Cognitive Load: When members did find the tab, they were confused by the interface and couldn't differentiate between Discovery recommendations and their standard search results.
Rigid & Restrictive Experience: Members felt they had no control over their recommendations, as the UI restricted them to two static, unengaging scrolling lists ("Based on your viewing history" and "Popular among people like you").

Pain-points:

Lack of Discoverability: Job seekers felt stuck after exhausting their standard searches because they were completely unaware the Discover tab even existed on iOS and Android.
Confusion and Cognitive Load: When members did find the tab, they were confused by the interface and couldn’t differentiate between Discovery recommendations and their standard search results.
Rigid & Restrictive Experience: Members felt they had no control over their recommendations, as the UI restricted them to two static, unengaging scrolling lists (“Based on your viewing history” and “Popular among people like you”).

Low discoverability left the buried Discover tab hidden on mobile. When found, poor visual hierarchy caused heavy cognitive load between search and recommendations. Ultimately, users were trapped in rigid, uncustomizable lists ("Based on history" / "Popular among peers") with zero control over their career recommendations.

Discovery & Research

To validate our assumptions, we tested nine active job seekers who were using the LinkedIn Jobs app.

Methodology: User interviews and concept testing for customized, highly realistic prototypes (to ensure members felt the recommendations were genuinely theirs).
Key Insights: * "New" is King: Fresh, new jobs were the most critical element to our members.
- High Tolerance for Friction: Members had a surprisingly high tolerance for answering onboarding questions, provided they knew it would explicitly improve their app experience.
- Fear of Missing Out: When we tested a highly curated, prescriptive "Daily Recommendation" concept, users hated it. They feared the algorithm was hiding jobs from them and wanted a broader view.

To validate our assumptions, we tested nine active job seekers who were using the LinkedIn Jobs app.

Methodology: User interviews and concept testing for customized, highly realistic prototypes (to ensure members felt the recommendations were genuinely theirs).
Key Insights: * “New” is King: Fresh, new jobs were the most critical element to our members.
- High Tolerance for Friction: Members had a surprisingly high tolerance for answering onboarding questions, provided they knew it would explicitly improve their app experience.
- Fear of Missing Out: When we tested a highly curated, prescriptive “Daily Recommendation” concept, users hated it. They feared the algorithm was hiding jobs from them and wanted a broader view.

“

Every day is different; sometimes I want to search, some days I want to browse.

— LinkedIn Member

User testing prototype for preference-sharing. Sessions confirmed that participants understood the direct link between completing the onboarding flow and receiving tailored job recommendations.

Curated action cards: Post-onboarding recommendations spanning jobs, companies, and networking—designed to refresh daily to maintain a sense of continuous discovery.

Tap to view full size

Strategy & Approach

To stay focused, we evaluated onboarding best practices and iterated on our core design concepts.

Onboarding Best Practices: I audited mobile preference-sharing patterns to understand interaction costs. My guiding principles became: provide a clear welcome, show a progress indicator, make content action-driven, keep it short, allow skipping, and show a clear end message.
Pivoting the Concept: My initial proposal was a "Daily Recommendation" layout using full-screen prescriptive cards (Jobs, Content, Companies, People). Based on our research learnings, I scrapped this prescriptive model to give users the freedom they requested.

To stay focused, we evaluated onboarding best practices and iterated on our core design concepts.

Onboarding Best Practices: I audited mobile preference-sharing patterns to understand interaction costs. My guiding principles became: provide a clear welcome, show a progress indicator, make content action-driven, keep it short, allow skipping, and show a clear end message.
Pivoting the Concept: My initial proposal was a “Daily Recommendation” layout using full-screen prescriptive cards (Jobs, Content, Companies, People). Based on our research learnings, I scrapped this prescriptive model to give users the freedom they requested.

The Solution & Develpment

With a new lens from our research, we shifted to a highly versatile, user-controlled Feed Design.

The Versatile Feed: The feed layout allowed us to fit more content on the screen, enabling members to scan and parse information rapidly. We also removed primary Call-to-Action buttons on the cards, as research showed users were wary of clicking buttons before thoroughly reviewing the content inside.
Contextual Onboarding (The Null State): We intentionally placed the preference-setting experience at the very beginning of the user journey. First-time members entering the Discovery tab are met with a null state asking for their preferences. Once completed, they are immediately rewarded with their populated feed. This creates a direct, undeniable link in the user's mind between their input and the algorithm's output.
Taking Control with Gestures: To further train the algorithm, we empowered members to take control of their feeds. By simply swiping away unwanted content, users can dismiss irrelevant cards, which actively improves their future recommendations.

With a new lens from our research, we shifted to a highly versatile, user-controlled Feed Design.

The Versatile Feed: The feed layout allowed us to fit more content on the screen, enabling members to scan and parse information rapidly. We also removed primary Call-to-Action buttons on the cards, as research showed users were wary of clicking buttons before thoroughly reviewing the content inside.
Contextual Onboarding (The Null State): We intentionally placed the preference-setting experience at the very beginning of the user journey. First-time members entering the Discovery tab are met with a null state asking for their preferences. Once completed, they are immediately rewarded with their populated feed. This creates a direct, undeniable link in the user’s mind between their input and the algorithm’s output.
Taking Control with Gestures: To further train the algorithm, we empowered members to take control of their feeds. By simply swiping away unwanted content, users can dismiss irrelevant cards, which actively improves their future recommendations.

Concurrent Initiative: System-Wide Redesign & Multi-Platform Modernization

While the primary focus of this project was engineering and shipping the new Discovery feed, this initiative was executed in tandem with a massive cross-platform system overhaul. Because the LinkedIn Jobs app needed to align with LinkedIn's new brand visual design language (Art-Deco), I led a simultaneous modernization across 16 languages for both platforms (iOS, Android).

Executing in Tandem: While the Discovery UX was being shaped, our team worked in bi-weekly sprints to coordinate development for redesign across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
Partnering with LinkedIn's Design Systems Team (Art Deco): To ensure we were accurately adopting the latest patterns while helping evolve the system itself, I established a close partnership with LinkedIn’s core Design Systems team. Through regular feedback reviews and collaborative design iterations, we ensured our app maintained full alignment with the new visual language. Moreover, this partnership allowed me to feed real-world product learnings back into the system.
Collaborating with External Partners (Google Play Store): To ensure our Android experience met Google's highest design and technical standards. I partnered directly with the Google Play Store team. Leading and facilitating multiple review and feedback sessions allowed us to optimize app performance, refine our implementation, and build a collaborative bridge that ultimately contributed to our feature success in the Store.

While the primary focus of this project was engineering and shipping the new Discovery feed, this initiative was executed in tandem with a massive cross-platform system overhaul. Because the LinkedIn Jobs app needed to align with LinkedIn’s new brand visual design language (Art-Deco), I led a simultaneous modernization across 16 languages for both platforms (iOS, Android).

Executing in Tandem: While the Discovery UX was being shaped, our team worked in bi-weekly sprints to coordinate development for redesign across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
Partnering with LinkedIn’s Design Systems Team (Art Deco): To ensure we were accurately adopting the latest patterns while helping evolve the system itself, I established a close partnership with LinkedIn’s core Design Systems team. Through regular feedback reviews and collaborative design iterations, we ensured our app maintained full alignment with the new visual language. Moreover, this partnership allowed me to feed real-world product learnings back into the system.
Collaborating with External Partners (Google Play Store): To ensure our Android experience met Google’s highest design and technical standards. I partnered directly with the Google Play Store team. Leading and facilitating multiple review and feedback sessions allowed us to optimize app performance, refine our implementation, and build a collaborative bridge that ultimately contributed to our feature success in the Store.

Redesigned the app experience to adopt LinkedIn’s latest design language, establishing a cohesive ecosystem between desktop and the mobile Job Search apps.

Unifying core entities (Profiles, Jobs, Companies) aligned mobile apps with the desktop ecosystem, reducing user friction and ensuring a consistent cross-platform experience.

Screen examples

The outcome

In 6 months, our team successfully shipped the Discovery MVP and modernized our entire app infrastructure across both iOS and Android simultaneously, scaling the experience globally to massive success

Executing in Tandem: While the Discovery UX was being shaped, our team worked in bi-weekly sprints to coordinate development for redesign across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
Partnering with LinkedIn's Design Systems Team (Art Deco): To ensure we were accurately adopting the latest patterns while helping evolve the system itself, I established a close partnership with LinkedIn’s core Design Systems team. Through regular feedback reviews and collaborative design iterations, we ensured our app maintained full alignment with the new visual language. Moreover, this partnership allowed me to feed real-world product learnings back into the system.
Collaborating with External Partners (Google Play Store): To ensure our Android experience met Google's highest design and technical standards. I partnered directly with the Google Play Store team. Leading and facilitating multiple review and feedback sessions allowed us to optimize app performance, refine our implementation, and build a collaborative bridge that ultimately contributed to our feature success in the Store.

While the primary focus of this project was engineering and shipping the new Discovery feed, this initiative was executed in tandem with a massive cross-platform system overhaul. Because the LinkedIn Jobs app needed to align with LinkedIn’s new brand visual design language (Art-Deco), I led a simultaneous modernization across 16 languages for both platforms (iOS, Android).

Executing in Tandem: While the Discovery UX was being shaped, our team worked in bi-weekly sprints to coordinate development for redesign across both iOS and Android simultaneously.
Partnering with LinkedIn’s Design Systems Team (Art Deco): To ensure we were accurately adopting the latest patterns while helping evolve the system itself, I established a close partnership with LinkedIn’s core Design Systems team. Through regular feedback reviews and collaborative design iterations, we ensured our app maintained full alignment with the new visual language. Moreover, this partnership allowed me to feed real-world product learnings back into the system.
Collaborating with External Partners (Google Play Store): To ensure our Android experience met Google’s highest design and technical standards. I partnered directly with the Google Play Store team. Leading and facilitating multiple review and feedback sessions allowed us to optimize app performance, refine our implementation, and build a collaborative bridge that ultimately contributed to our feature success in the Store.

Source: LinkedIn Job Search app listing

KEY IMPACT & SCALE

1.3M MAU & 10M+ Downloads

Reached massive user adoption and became the fastest-growing LinkedIn native app

16 Languages

Shipped simultaneously across iOS and Android with a new global design language

Editors’ Choice, #1 Category, 4.4 Rating

Earned Google Play Store feature recognition and top category placement

Next project

Redefining the job search experience

Redefining the job search experience

TL;DR:

TL;DR:

Context

Context

The problem

The problem

Discovery & Research

Discovery & Research

Strategy & Approach

Strategy & Approach

The Solution & Develpment

The Solution & Develpment

Concurrent Initiative: System-Wide Redesign & Multi-Platform Modernization

Concurrent Initiative: System-Wide Redesign & Multi-Platform Modernization

The outcome

The outcome

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Reinventing the healthcare experience