AJ

EXPERIENCE & PERSPECTIVE

AJ TorgesenUser Experience Designer Developer

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Design craft. Engineering depth.

Designer and full-stack developer with 8 years of experience owning the complete design-to-deployment pipeline for data-driven web applications. Specialized in translating complex research requirements into intuitive, accessible user experiences — most recently building literacy assessment tools now used by charter schools and school districts serving hundreds of families. Currently completing an M.S. in UI/UX Design. Bring a rare combination of UX methodology, visual design craft, and engineering depth, with a growing practice in AI-integrated product development.

01 / EXPERIENCE

Work experience

UI UX Designer /
Software Developer

2016 — Present

Florida State University

Florida Center for Reading Research & Qualitative Methodology and Innovation Dept.

  • Sole designer and developer on a team with a project manager, researcher, and faculty lead — owning the full pipeline from UX research and wireframing through front-end design, full-stack development, and deployment across 20+ web applications.
  • Designed and built the Adolescent Assessment of Literacy (AAL), a full-featured literacy assessment platform currently serving as the primary assessment tool for three charter schools, with an upcoming district rollout projected to reach approximately 600 families.
  • Built applications using R/Shiny, CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, creating custom data visualizations and interactive dashboards to surface literacy research insights for educators and administrators.
  • Conducted stakeholder interviews, iterated on prototypes in Figma, and delivered polished pitch presentations to faculty, administrators, and research partners to align product direction and secure adoption.
  • Integrated AI APIs into product workflows to enhance functionality and streamline development, with a forward-looking approach to AI-assisted design and development practices.
  • Designed application interfaces and supporting visual assets using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, ensuring visual consistency across products.

02 / EDUCATION

Always learning.

M.S., User Experience Design

Utah Tech University

In progress · Graduation December 2026

B.S., Applied Statistics

Brigham Young University (BYU)

AJ · PORTFOLIO