product manager

CAROLINE CAHILL

ux/ui & creative strategy

CV
About
Projects
Contact

About Me

TL:DR;

I feel most accomplished when I can use thoughtful development and intuitive design choices to help people understand something they might have otherwise given up on.

I’ve always loved media that made me slightly disgruntled; that ‘why didn’t I think of that!’ feeling. I learned how to design and code digital products so I could bring my own projects with that same effect. I pull from the research, experiences, and media that have inspired me all my life to build familiar yet innovative design work.

Backstory

I’ve worn a lot of hats over my career so far, and they’ve each given me a unique perspective. As the child of Irish emigrant parents, spending my early years between Dublin and the USA kept me from being tied to a single culture. I soaked up as much inspiration from moss-bearded ruins as I did the neon lights and painted deli windows of New Jersey.

My undergrad degree helped me build strong writing, research, and analytical skills. My early 20s were spent obsessing over media theories, diving deep into sociological research, and writing papers on what I found. I care about projects that inspire that kind of intrigue, creativity and passion.

Offline, you can find me:

  • Fighting the daily battle of trying not to buy some bougie olive oil just because the packaging is gorgeous
  • Checking on fermentation experiments in my kitchen
  • Ten links deep on some obscure Wikipedia page (ok, that one's online too)
  • Starting up my 18th Baldur's Gate 3 save
Profile Image

Projects

Project Image 1
Project Image 2
Project Image 3

Shelf Life

Library simulation management roleplaying game.

I served as lead product designer and sound engineer in the development of this RPG. Shelf life was developed as thesis project of my Master's degree program within a team of five colleagues. I provided backend assistance and conducted sociological research and librarian interviews, as well as designed and implemented in-game sprites and assets.

We completed a fully playable RPG with over 70,000 words of dialogue and three hours of playtime in just under three months and received a first class honors distinction after our defense.

More information, link to play and development documentation at shelflifegame.com.

Project Image 1
Project Image 2

Taproot

Interactive Sustainable Foraging Map

Interactive map of New England where users can select their region and view a list, as well as 3D manipulatable models of, foragable plantlife for both edible and medicinal use. Created to encourage food sovereignty, mitigate plant blindness, encourage sustainable harvesting processes and center indigenous American horticultural practices.

Built in p5.js with a JSON database. 3D models built using Blender.

Project Image 1
Project Image 2

Crushd

Social app for logging, reviewing and sharing natural wine.

Collaboration with graphic designer Doreen Zhao. Developed as the citizen sommelier's answer to Letterboxd in response to the growing natural wine movement.

Users can log, review and share natural wines, receive and send recommendations, and share photos of meal pairings.

Project Image 1
Project Image 2
Project Image 3

Mise

Node.js App for Recipe Sharing

A blogging/writing platform specifically for food and cooking writing, developed as a more specialized alternative to Substack for chefs and casual cooks alike.

Fullstack development, built using Html/Css and Javascript with Node.js an SQL database.

Resume

DOWNLOAD

Education

Trinity College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
Master’s of Computer Science Degree, Interactive Digital Media
2023 – 2024

Dissertation: "Beyond Bloodsport: The Slow Feeder Effect: Reimagining a new genealogy of interactive digital narratives in conflict-heavy roleplay video games by subverting player expectations and emphasizing agency."
Awarded First Class Honors (I).

Key Modules

Programming for Digital Media

  • Skills: React, Node.js, RESTful API, Express, C++, C#
  • Projects: Fully functional image-sharing social web app

Authorship for Digital Media

  • Skills: Accessibility best practices for web development, efficient and high-quality site design on tight deadlines
  • Projects: Responsive accessible site for external client (team project)

UI/UX Principles

  • Skills: Start-to-finish interface design experience, from research to wireframes to final product
  • Projects: Full branding redesign for the Science Gallery, Dublin

Thesis Project: Shelf Life - Fully shipped RPG where players take on the role of a librarian in a fractured community. Management simulation game founded upon principles of mutual aid, public education, and community building.

Boston University
Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Media and Computer Science
2018 – 2021

Experience

Product Designer, Games
GetZoot
New York City, NY
2024 - Present

  • Conduct extensive market research to identify target audiences and emerging trends, driving the creative direction of new game concepts for the platform.
  • Develop detailed reports and actionable insights from research to inform design decisions and business strategy.
  • Create wireframes, user guides, and demo versions of game concepts using Figma and Pixi.js to visualize ideas for production.
  • Oversee a team of four engineers, providing guidance throughout the development process to ensure successful game implementation on the website.
  • Strategized and launched TikTok ad campaigns, resulting in a 154% increase in site traffic, including creative design for all promotional content.

Senior Technologist, Web Content Specialist
Brown University
Providence, RI
2022 – 2024

  • Led full lifecycle product development and design with a focus on user-centered design and front-end technologies including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React.
  • Developed and launched multiple full stack web applications that improved page traffic by an average of 31% over 2 years.
  • Led cross-functional teams to digitize and organize historical data, enhancing public access to archived materials through improved UX/UI design.
  • Oversaw Google Analytics integration and launched data visualization projects using Tableau and D3.js to provide insights that improved website traffic and retention.
  • Ensured accessibility compliance with WCAG 2.1 standards and utilized best practices for web page quality checks.
  • Managed site-wide UI/UX web projects from wireframes to post-launch analytics, using Agile methodologies and tools like Figma and Sketch.

Technical Product Manager
Wiline Networks Inc.
San Jose, CA
2020 – 2022

  • Developed comprehensive product requirements and specifications for three major product launches, emphasizing front-end user experience and design.
  • Integrated Jira to manage project timelines, improving delivery time by 20% and enhancing collaboration.
  • Coordinated with engineering and admin teams to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and design standards.
  • Introduced innovative API solutions using Python and PHP, focusing on RESTful API consumption and front-end technologies for improved user interfaces.

Technical Skills

Languages: Java, Python, C/C++, SQL (Postgres), JavaScript, HTML/CSS, R

Frameworks: React, Node.js, Flask, JUnit, WordPress, Material-UI, FastAPI

Developer Tools: Git, Google Cloud Platform, VS Code, Processing, Eclipse

Other: Frontend Development, 3D Modeling (Blender, Maya), Product Design, WordPress, Narrative Development and Design, Technical and Grant Writing, UI/UX Research and Design, Data Analysis (SQL, Tableau), Mobile Development (Swift), Agile Methodologies (Scrum), Adobe Creative Suite, Graphic Design, Figma

Let's Chat!

Email Icon
Phone Icon
LinkedIn Icon