David Rossman

Design Research | Customer Experience Innovation | Mentor & Coach

rossman.david@gmail.com — 773-405-1372

  • Generated millions in realized revenue for Walmart and The Home Depot with 10+ years of mixed-methods research experience that transforms strategy and product roadmaps.

  • Proven People Leadership Experience: Scaled Research to a 6-person distributed organization, launched internal mentorship programs, and delivered hands-on coaching to develop researchers across collaboration, facilitation, and research methods.

  • Broad industry experience across Retail, Data Analytics, Supply Chain, Telecomm, and Healthcare, delivering insights that drive measurable outcomes and value.

Experience

Staff UX Researcher

Walmart Data Ventures 2022 — 2025

  • Led the research strategy for Data Ventures, a B2B SaaS platform designed to empower Walmart's top 300 suppliers to optimize their retail strategies.

  • Launched and led the research organization as the first researcher, defining the strategic vision, building the operational framework, and partnering with leadership to integrate research into product lifecycle processes.

  • Hired, led, and coached a distributed UX Research capability, scaling to a 6-person team delivering hands-on coaching through rapid company growth.

  • Led 40+ mixed-methods research studies with merchants, analytics, and sales teams, utilizing methods including problem identification, interviews, and survey research.

  • Drove $5MM by leading 6 rounds of early-stage research with merchants and store teams to optimize store inventory through AI technology. Research directly shaped product strategy and design, strengthening product-market fit.

  • Led the transformation of Walmart's Flagship Data Analytics platform, synthesizing 800+ customer insights that shaped the platform redesign, and established a V.O.C. program.

  • Grew API adoption 100% by leading research that influenced improvements to developer onboarding and simplifying API implementation. Drove $3MM in new revenue, allowing low-maturity suppliers to adopt APIs via pre-built dashboards.

  • Developed a research panel, securing 100+ participants with hard-to-find roles, enabling faster insights and saving $45,000 by eliminating the need for an external agency.

  • Saved $200K annually by leading a card sorting study with merchants, collaborating with design that improved the taxonomy of a merchandising tool, reducing support tickets.

Staff UX Researcher

The Home Depot 2019 — 2022

  • Led 40+ research studies across sales teams, field technicians, and supply chain, utilizing methods including problem identification, journey mapping and user interviews.

  • Drove an 8% MoM lift in sales conversion, unlocking $70MM in revenue by leading foundational research with sales managers to identify and address conversion bottlenecks for the company’s $10B installation business on an internal CRM sales tool.

  • Unlocked millions in revenue through generative research across 6 selling channels, dozens of stakeholders, collaborating with product teams to shape the strategy that influenced improvements that shortened sales timelines.

  • Facilitated a series of workshops aligning 15 executives to define a multi-year vision, strengthening the competitive edge for Home Depot’s $10B installation business.

  • Built and launched an internal UX Mentor program with 30 initial participants,  implementing structured coaching and peer learning to elevate skill development.

  • Coached early-career researchers in facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and research strategy, equipping them for long-term success.

Design Experience

  • Design Lead | AT&T | 2017 – 2018

  • Interaction Designer | Humana | 2015 – 2017

  • Senior Product Designer & Manager | Higi | 2014 – 2015

  • Interaction Designer | Opternative | 2013

  • Senior Art Director & Manager | Manifest Digital | 2011 – 2009

Research Toolkit

  • Qualitative Methods (8 Yrs): User Interviews/Contextual Inquiry, Usability Testing, Card Sorting, Diary Studies, Alpha/Beta Testing, Heuristic Evaluation.

  • Quantitative Methods (6 Yrs): Web/App Analytics, Survey Research (Including Weighting/Sampling), Metrics Development, SQL Data Analysis.

  • Tools: User Testing, Optimal Workshop, Dovetail, Qualtrics, FigJam, Airtable, Quicktime.

Leadership Experience

  • 10+ years of experience conducting UX Research in an enterprise organization

  • 8+ years of experience working with executive leadership (e.g., Director level and above).

  • 6 years of experience mentoring researchers on research methods and impact.

  • 5 years of experience hiring UX research and design talent.

  • 3 years of building research teams from the ground up.

Education

  • Plymouth State University, BA Communications & Psychology

  • Human Factors International User-Centered Analysis & Design

Recognition

  • Elevating Research's Strategic Value: (After presenting work at a product all-hands) "I want the whole team to listen to the importance of UX Research and what thoughtful and methodical discovery can offer product visions and roadmaps." — Sr. Director of Product

  • Scaling Research: (After an annual review) "Great job on a successful year, David. It's been wonderful seeing the increased demand for UXR in multiple product areas and teams. This shows the value and payoff of your contributions so far. Thanks for all your hard work!" — Director of Design

  • Quick Impact in a Complex Space: “Shoutout to @David Rossman for quickly jumping in head-first into one of the most complex spaces we're working in (assortment analytics/transformation). He quickly developed a research plan and conducted many cross-org interviews that helped shed light on top of mind problems and opportunities in this space! #collaborative #entrepreneurial” — Sr Manager, Product

  • Research Informing Strategy: "Kudos to David for wrapping up the integration research. The work was very well received, and the strategy the team worked on (informed by user insights) got a green light! Additionally, David has been connecting the dots between this product space and other product areas. Great job David!" — Sr Manager, Design Research

  • Building Partnerships: “Your partnership has been a key pillar of our project journey.” Staff Designer

  • Research Impact: "The current UX research has helped us immensely in designing our supplier experience and focusing on things that matter for our suppliers for the first launch." - Sr Manager, Product

  • Insightful Analysis: "David! This work product is gold! I sit at your feet - teach me your ways!!! Seriously - really nice work. I appreciate the detail, focus on the customer, and keen insight into what frustration we can help solve. This is exactly what we (product) need/want to ensure we're building something that customers want. Really impressive - keep it up!" - Product Director