Hi, I'm Alex Bilstein, a hands-on UX leader. I can take your product from zero to one 🚀, modernize your legacy app ✨, or build a high performing team 🏆 within your organization.
About
I’m Alex, a passionate UX leader with 15 years of experience designing solutions and leading teams that make a difference.
From helping launch seed-stage startups to leading design efforts at multi-national enterprises, I’ve had the privilege of shaping products that improve lives and create real impact.
I was most recently the founding designer and Director of UX at Austin's award winning blood testing startup, Betterway. I created their design system, established a human centered design process, provided evidence based insights, and directed the end-to-end user experience. They're currently seeking their C series funding.
Before that I was at Navio, a startup created to support cancer patients on their journey. After building a robust treatment plan platform, we pivoted to support complex longitudinal studies, some of which are still ongoing. I was the Lead Designer reporting to the Head of UX.
Before Navio, I led the Austin design team as Director of UX at Optum. We were part of a global, centralized team of over 100 designers where I reported to the Senior Director of UX. We served dozens of product groups and owned the Market Analytics portfolio.
My first venture into healthcare UX was at The Advisory Board. I was hired as an individual contributor for a product called market advantage which grew to about $60M in annual revenue. We added products and team members to our group, and I eventually became the Director of UX for our Strategic Planning products until we were acquired by Optum.
See full CV →Praise
Don't take my word for it. Read what others have to say about me.
Colleagues
Extremely talented people I've had the fortune to work with during my career.
Anthony Rezendes
Principal User Experience Designer at Chegg
It was my pleasure to work with Alex directly and feel fortunate to have been granted the flexibility to explore and iterate. Alex is the type of manager who fosters the conditions under which innovation can happen -- conditions any UX professional would be happy to work.
Ragavendran Madhusudanan
Product at Zillow
Without doubt, Alex is one of the best UX practitioners that I have had a chance to work with so far. I won't hesitate for a second in recommending Alex for solving any big design problem that requires a balance of sound UX knowledge, and leadership skills.
Jen Shaffer
Experience Leader and Strategist at Optum
Alex is a rare mix of "let's get things done" plus design strategy plus inspiring and guiding a team of designers plus applying solid design principles to his solutions. I admired his team's dynamic and aspired to cultivate a similar culture to my team. Alex is not only a great leader of others, but an exemplar for his peers to follow.
Patrick Purdy
User Experience Strategy & Service Design Lead at Wellmark BCBS
In my time working with Alex I’ve found him to be an insightful manager, an engaged project lead, and an innovative user experience professional. Truly a complete designer, I whole-heartedly recommend Alex as a user experience professional and a leader.
Samantha Bailey Fast
Director of User-Centered Innovation at Surescripts
Alex is a great model of servant leadership in the context of User Experience Design. He cares deeply about the outcome and what it takes to achieve quality user-centered application design, but is equally committed to growing his team through hands on coaching and transparent communication. I would be eager to work with him again in the future.
Mentees
Designers, builders, and makers I've had the pleasure of mentoring at ADPList.
Brandon Tran
Freelance Designer at Arizona State University
Alex was very helpful during our session. He was attentive, did his research beforehand, and provided many resources to reference. I found that Alex was also easy to talk to and encouraging. I would absolutely recommend talking to him if you find yourself feeling uncertain with your design career path or how to get better as a designer.
Jiayi Zheng
Product Designer at Omnicell
I had a great session with Alex. He did research and preparation for the questions that I had and provided helpful insights. Alex was very easy to talk to and also shared his experience in the health tech industry with me which was very insightful for me who is also very interested in the field.
Mohamed Al Murtadha Abdel Karim
UX and Brand Consultant at Milan Global
I really enjoyed meeting with Alex, I found that he had such a great wealth of knowledge when it came to individual problems that I was having as a solo designer. He gave about an air of comfort and care when addressing issues with great feedback on how to solve those problems! 100% would recommend!
Jing Wang
Lead UX Designer at California College of the Arts
Alex is a great mentor. We talked about the complexity of the healthcare system, how it can match candidate strengths, the approach to accessing an opportunity in the healthcare field, and more. It was very insightful and helpful. I appreciate it a lot! Thank you, Alex!
Susie Chen
Founder at a stealth startup
So so lovely chatting with Alex and hearing his stories working in healthcare! Alex is kind and approachable, while being very knowledgable about the field. I'm very grateful for his advice and suggestions. Thank you Alex, for taking the time to mentor me! :)
Students
Anonymous reviews from post-graduate students I've been honored to teach through the University of Texas.
Anonymous
Student
Alex was very clear on concepts. He made sure to provide examples that were clear and straightforward. The exercises provided to the class also depicted real-world examples of what someone might do if given a task like this. He made sure to pop into each breakout room and clear up any doubts and answer any questions.
Anonymous
Student
Alex is great at explaining complex ideas in a simple, approachable manner. I especially liked the "Crazy 8" method of brainstorming. The class put me at ease, at a time I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle the demands of the course. I'm loving the material, and feel like I'm in good hands with this mentor.
Anonymous
Student
Alex always has wonderful mentoring sessions. His pace is alway perfect and I always enjoy how he is always asking if any of us have questions. When we go into the breakout rooms its great to see he is always coming and going to each room to see how we are doing. He has a hands on mentoring mantality and I love that kind of teaching.
Anonymous
Student
Alex has been my favorite teacher so far! He's very good at explaining complex topics and always makes good use of our time!
Anonymous
Student
This was our last mentored session and Alex was wonderful as always. He was very informative and answered any questions that we had asked. He also took the time after the session was done to answer any other questions related to the mentored session.
Contact
Wanna chat?
I want to hear about your challenges — email me at hi@alexbilstein.co.
Whether you're searching for a founding designer, someone to grow your team, or you're modernizing a legacy product — I can help.
Available on-site in Austin and for remote-friendly work around the world. Full-time, contract, and consulting.
