Matthew
De Goes
Senior Director of Product Design
User experience / product design / research / strategy / process
8+ Years
leading product design
70%+
feature adoption among enterprise clients
50%+
reduction in defect escape and rework
I approach AI as a multiplier, skillfully applied. My focus is on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users, teams, and the business, then integrating those capabilities in ways that feel native to the product and durable over time.
I believe strong AI adoption requires thought leadership, clear standards, and continuous experimentation. Humans remain responsible for problem solving, judgment, validation, and accountability, while AI should be applied where it meaningfully improves speed, quality, and decision-making.
AI & Product Teams
About Me
Senior product design leader with over a decade of experience scaling teams, improving how companies ship product, and turning research, systems, and emerging technology into measurable business impact. I work across product, design, and engineering to create stronger organizations, better customer experiences, and more durable ways of building.
AI & Innovation
I focus on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users and the business. My work emphasizes practical application, thoughtful integration, and product experiences that feel native rather than added on.
Selected Leadership Areas
My leadership spans Product Design, Research, Design Systems, and Design/Research Ops. I emphasize team growth, cross-functional collaboration, and the systems needed to help organizations scale with clarity and consistency.
How I Drive Impact
I drive impact by connecting user needs, business priorities, and product execution. Through research, collaboration, and structured ways of working, I help teams improve speed, quality, and overall business performance.
What I Build Across Teams
Across teams, I build the foundations that support stronger product development. This includes scalable systems, clearer processes, shared quality standards, and practices that help teams work more effectively together.
A Few Case Studies
Here are a few of the more impactful projects I’ve led.
Accelerating Product Delivery and Quality at Scale
Takeaway
I lead the way to redefine how Peek shipped product by introducing the systems, collaboration model, and quality controls needed to improve speed, execution, and cross-functional alignment.
As Peek Travel rapidly scaled across Product, Engineering, QA, IT, and Design, the organization had begun to feel the strain. Teams lacked a consistent development process, ownership was uneven, and features sometimes shipped without the right level of review, creating misalignment, rework, bugs, and missed expectations.
I led the creation of a company-wide Product Development Process in partnership with directors and individual contributors across the organization. The framework established four stages, from research and problem identification through design and validation, development and QA, and finally shipping and feedback. We introduced clear review gates before development and before release, supported by a weekly UX review that brought design and engineering together earlier to identify blockers and improve quality before launch.
33% increase in design and delivery speed
Enabled by better up-front discovery, clearer scoping, and earlier identification of unknowns.
50% reduction in defect escape and rework
Driven by stronger review gates and earlier UX validation before release.
Turning AI Opportunities into Shipped Product Value
Takeaway
I led the effort to bring emerging AI capabilities into the Peek platform in a way that felt meaningful, product-native, and valuable to customers, as reflected in strong adoption and real operational impact.
As AI began emerging as a meaningful technology shift, Peek launched a company-wide initiative to identify where automation and AI could create real business value. Rather than treating AI as a novelty, we focused the work on practical opportunities that could save operators time, reduce manual effort, and improve decision-making across the platform.
I helped lead the effort from research through product definition, working closely with the CEO, CPO, and other cross-functional leaders to define the opportunity space, conduct onsite observation and interviews, shape the product vision, prioritize the first capabilities, and validate the initial launch. That work led to a new AI Copilot offering inside the platform, designed to feel native to the product rather than bolted on. The strongest early use cases were summarized review insights, which helped operators identify themes across thousands of customer reviews, and daily operational summaries, which helped managers prepare for complex or unusual day-of-tour needs.
70%+ adoption among enterprise clients
The strongest usage came from large, multi-location operators where review volume and operational complexity were highest.
Higher stickiness where AI solved scale problems
The feature was most valuable for top-tier clients, where summarizing large volumes of feedback and surfacing operational outliers saved meaningful time and supported better decisions.
Modernizing Platforms and Systems for Scalable Growth
Takeaway
I helped modernize a legacy platform by creating a scalable design system that improved consistency, reduced defects, and gave Design and Engineering a faster, more durable foundation for building.
When I joined Peek, the platform was operating on a legacy foundation that needed modernization. As the company continued to scale, the lack of a unified design and engineering system made it harder to build consistently, move quickly, and maintain quality across the product.
I partnered closely with Product Design and Engineering to define and build a scalable design system that could serve as the foundation for the platform moving forward. We shipped a shared system of components and patterns that new features and pages would be built on, creating a more consistent product experience while also improving how teams designed and developed together.
30% faster design and development overall
Even while some work still had to be done in legacy areas of the platform, the shared system materially improved delivery speed across both design and engineering.
Up to 40% faster on new system-based work
For features built fully on the new design system and components, teams moved even faster with fewer bugs and less rework.
“Matthew is that rare leader who combines deep technical expertise with genuine empathy for both users and team members.”
“What sets Matthew apart is his unwavering commitment to elevating those around him. He's built a collaborative culture through innovative design rituals and mentorship programs, while personally maintaining our complex design system.”
“He (Matthew) quickly became the mental model that I will use to measure all future co-workers against.”
“He has the work ethic of someone who deeply cares about his team, his company and his craft.”
“Not only is he versatile, with his experience and pragmatism, there is no challenge he can’t tackle.”
What Other’s Say About Me
Read more on LinkedIn
Contact Me
Email
mtdegoes@gmail.com
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/mtdegoes
Matthew
De Goes
Senior Director of Product Design
User experience / product design / research / strategy / process
8+ Years
leading product design
70%+
feature adoption among enterprise clients
50%+
reduction in defect escape and rework
I approach AI as a multiplier, skillfully applied. My focus is on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users, teams, and the business, then integrating those capabilities in ways that feel native to the product and durable over time.
I believe strong AI adoption requires thought leadership, clear standards, and continuous experimentation. Humans remain responsible for problem solving, judgment, validation, and accountability, while AI should be applied where it meaningfully improves speed, quality, and decision-making.
AI & Product Teams
About Me
Senior product design leader with over a decade of experience scaling teams, improving how companies ship product, and turning research, systems, and emerging technology into measurable business impact. I work across product, design, and engineering to create stronger organizations, better customer experiences, and more durable ways of building.
AI & Innovation
I focus on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users and the business. My work emphasizes practical application, thoughtful integration, and product experiences that feel native rather than added on.
Selected Leadership Areas
My leadership spans Product Design, Research, Design Systems, and Design/Research Ops. I emphasize team growth, cross-functional collaboration, and the systems needed to help organizations scale with clarity and consistency.
How I Drive Impact
I drive impact by connecting user needs, business priorities, and product execution. Through research, collaboration, and structured ways of working, I help teams improve speed, quality, and overall business performance.
What I Build Across Teams
Across teams, I build the foundations that support stronger product development. This includes scalable systems, clearer processes, shared quality standards, and practices that help teams work more effectively together.
A Few Case Studies
Here are a few of the more impactful projects I’ve led.
Accelerating Product Delivery and Quality at Scale
Takeaway
I lead the way to redefine how Peek shipped product by introducing the systems, collaboration model, and quality controls needed to improve speed, execution, and cross-functional alignment.
As Peek Travel rapidly scaled across Product, Engineering, QA, IT, and Design, the organization had begun to feel the strain. Teams lacked a consistent development process, ownership was uneven, and features sometimes shipped without the right level of review, creating misalignment, rework, bugs, and missed expectations.
I led the creation of a company-wide Product Development Process in partnership with directors and individual contributors across the organization. The framework established four stages, from research and problem identification through design and validation, development and QA, and finally shipping and feedback. We introduced clear review gates before development and before release, supported by a weekly UX review that brought design and engineering together earlier to identify blockers and improve quality before launch.
33% increase in design and delivery speed
Enabled by better up-front discovery, clearer scoping, and earlier identification of unknowns.
50% reduction in defect escape and rework
Driven by stronger review gates and earlier UX validation before release.
Turning AI Opportunities into Shipped Product Value
Takeaway
I led the effort to bring emerging AI capabilities into the Peek platform in a way that felt meaningful, product-native, and valuable to customers, as reflected in strong adoption and real operational impact.
As AI began emerging as a meaningful technology shift, Peek launched a company-wide initiative to identify where automation and AI could create real business value. Rather than treating AI as a novelty, we focused the work on practical opportunities that could save operators time, reduce manual effort, and improve decision-making across the platform.
I helped lead the effort from research through product definition, working closely with the CEO, CPO, and other cross-functional leaders to define the opportunity space, conduct onsite observation and interviews, shape the product vision, prioritize the first capabilities, and validate the initial launch. That work led to a new AI Copilot offering inside the platform, designed to feel native to the product rather than bolted on. The strongest early use cases were summarized review insights, which helped operators identify themes across thousands of customer reviews, and daily operational summaries, which helped managers prepare for complex or unusual day-of-tour needs.
70%+ adoption among enterprise clients
The strongest usage came from large, multi-location operators where review volume and operational complexity were highest.
Higher stickiness where AI solved scale problems
The feature was most valuable for top-tier clients, where summarizing large volumes of feedback and surfacing operational outliers saved meaningful time and supported better decisions.
Modernizing Platforms and Systems for Scalable Growth
Takeaway
I helped modernize a legacy platform by creating a scalable design system that improved consistency, reduced defects, and gave Design and Engineering a faster, more durable foundation for building.
When I joined Peek, the platform was operating on a legacy foundation that needed modernization. As the company continued to scale, the lack of a unified design and engineering system made it harder to build consistently, move quickly, and maintain quality across the product.
I partnered closely with Product Design and Engineering to define and build a scalable design system that could serve as the foundation for the platform moving forward. We shipped a shared system of components and patterns that new features and pages would be built on, creating a more consistent product experience while also improving how teams designed and developed together.
30% faster design and development overall
Even while some work still had to be done in legacy areas of the platform, the shared system materially improved delivery speed across both design and engineering.
Up to 40% faster on new system-based work
For features built fully on the new design system and components, teams moved even faster with fewer bugs and less rework.
“Matthew is that rare leader who combines deep technical expertise with genuine empathy for both users and team members.”
“What sets Matthew apart is his unwavering commitment to elevating those around him. He's built a collaborative culture through innovative design rituals and mentorship programs, while personally maintaining our complex design system.”
“He (Matthew) quickly became the mental model that I will use to measure all future co-workers against.”
“He has the work ethic of someone who deeply cares about his team, his company and his craft.”
“Not only is he versatile, with his experience and pragmatism, there is no challenge he can’t tackle.”
Contact Me
Email
mtdegoes@gmail.com
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/mtdegoes
Matthew
De Goes
Senior Director of Product Design
User experience / product design / research / strategy / process
8+ Years
leading product design
70%+
feature adoption among enterprise clients
50%+
reduction in defect escape and rework
AI & Product Teams
I approach AI as a multiplier, skillfully applied. My focus is on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users, teams, and the business, then integrating those capabilities in ways that feel native to the product and durable over time.
I believe strong AI adoption requires thought leadership, clear standards, and continuous experimentation. Humans remain responsible for problem solving, judgment, validation, and accountability, while AI should be applied where it meaningfully improves speed, quality, and decision-making.
About Me
Senior product design leader with over a decade of experience scaling teams, improving how companies ship product, and turning research, systems, and emerging technology into measurable business impact. I work across product, design, and engineering to create stronger organizations, better customer experiences, and more durable ways of building.
AI & Innovation
I focus on identifying where AI, automation, and emerging technologies can create meaningful value for users and the business. My work emphasizes practical application, thoughtful integration, and product experiences that feel native rather than added on.
Selected Leadership Areas
My leadership spans Product Design, Research, Design Systems, and Design/Research Ops. I emphasize team growth, cross-functional collaboration, and the systems needed to help organizations scale with clarity and consistency.
How I Drive Impact
I drive impact by connecting user needs, business priorities, and product execution. Through research, collaboration, and structured ways of working, I help teams improve speed, quality, and overall business performance.
What I Build Across Teams
Across teams, I build the foundations that support stronger product development. This includes scalable systems, clearer processes, shared quality standards, and practices that help teams work more effectively together.
A Few Case Studies
Here are a few of the more impactful projects I’ve led.
Turning AI Opportunities into Shipped Product Value
Takeaway
I led the effort to bring emerging AI capabilities into the Peek platform in a way that felt meaningful, product-native, and valuable to customers, as reflected in strong adoption and real operational impact.
As AI began emerging as a meaningful technology shift, Peek launched a company-wide initiative to identify where automation and AI could create real business value. Rather than treating AI as a novelty, we focused the work on practical opportunities that could save operators time, reduce manual effort, and improve decision-making across the platform.
I helped lead the effort from research through product definition, working closely with the CEO, CPO, and other cross-functional leaders to define the opportunity space, conduct onsite observation and interviews, shape the product vision, prioritize the first capabilities, and validate the initial launch. That work led to a new AI Copilot offering inside the platform, designed to feel native to the product rather than bolted on. The strongest early use cases were summarized review insights, which helped operators identify themes across thousands of customer reviews, and daily operational summaries, which helped managers prepare for complex or unusual day-of-tour needs.
70%+ adoption among enterprise clients
The strongest usage came from large, multi-location operators where review volume and operational complexity were highest.
Higher stickiness where AI solved scale problems
The feature was most valuable for top-tier clients, where summarizing large volumes of feedback and surfacing operational outliers saved meaningful time and supported better decisions.
Modernizing Platforms and Systems for Scalable Growth
Takeaway
I helped modernize a legacy platform by creating a scalable design system that improved consistency, reduced defects, and gave Design and Engineering a faster, more durable foundation for building.
When I joined Peek, the platform was operating on a legacy foundation that needed modernization. As the company continued to scale, the lack of a unified design and engineering system made it harder to build consistently, move quickly, and maintain quality across the product.
I partnered closely with Product Design and Engineering to define and build a scalable design system that could serve as the foundation for the platform moving forward. We shipped a shared system of components and patterns that new features and pages would be built on, creating a more consistent product experience while also improving how teams designed and developed together.
30% faster design and development overall
Even while some work still had to be done in legacy areas of the platform, the shared system materially improved delivery speed across both design and engineering.
Up to 40% faster on new system-based work
For features built fully on the new design system and components, teams moved even faster with fewer bugs and less rework.
Accelerating Product Delivery and Quality at Scale
Takeaway
I lead the way to redefine how Peek shipped product by introducing the systems, collaboration model, and quality controls needed to improve speed, execution, and cross-functional alignment.
As Peek Travel rapidly scaled across Product, Engineering, QA, IT, and Design, the organization had begun to feel the strain. Teams lacked a consistent development process, ownership was uneven, and features sometimes shipped without the right level of review, creating misalignment, rework, bugs, and missed expectations.
I led the creation of a company-wide Product Development Process in partnership with directors and individual contributors across the organization. The framework established four stages, from research and problem identification through design and validation, development and QA, and finally shipping and feedback. We introduced clear review gates before development and before release, supported by a weekly UX review that brought design and engineering together earlier to identify blockers and improve quality before launch.
33% increase in design and delivery speed
Enabled by better up-front discovery, clearer scoping, and earlier identification of unknowns.
50% reduction in defect escape and rework
Driven by stronger review gates and earlier UX validation before release.
“Matthew is that rare leader who combines deep technical expertise with genuine empathy for both users and team members.”
“What sets Matthew apart is his unwavering commitment to elevating those around him. He's built a collaborative culture through innovative design rituals and mentorship programs, while personally maintaining our complex design system.”
“He (Matthew) quickly became the mental model that I will use to measure all future co-workers against.”
“He has the work ethic of someone who deeply cares about his team, his company and his craft.”
“Not only is he versatile, with his experience and pragmatism, there is no challenge he can’t tackle.”
What Other’s Say About Me
Read more on LinkedIn
Contact Me
Email
mtdegoes@gmail.com
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/in/mtdegoes