Award-Winning Design Leader and Practitioner
Building world-class UX organizations and delivering impactful digital experiences for Fortune 100 and national brands.
Hello, I’m Joseph Smietanski.
My 20+ year career journey in design has been defined by one constant: great design emerges from great teams, clear vision, and unwavering commitment to business impact.
My approach combines strategic vision with operational excellence—evolving from executing UX processes to defining them, from contributing to products to shaping portfolios, and from managing teams to building cultures where creativity and psychological safety fuel innovation.
Brand Experience & Career Evolution
Throughout my design and leadership career, I've solved complex problems for diverse organizations—from local nonprofits to global brands, and Fortune 500 and 100 companies.
I've designed for, and/or led design for Domino's Pizza, OSU Medical Center, Santander, Chrysler Capital, Maserati Capital, Fiat, Sony PlayStation, Chevrolet, General Motors, Cadillac Financial, and General Motors Financial.
This breadth of experience across multiple industries has shaped my ability to adapt strategic approaches while maintaining design excellence.
UX Leadership at GMF
As AVP of UX for General Motors Financial, I owned the strategic direction and delivery of the UX organization, overseeing all product design and research across B2C and B2B product portfolios. This included flagship digital properties serving millions of customers, mobile apps, and innovative prototypes for future financial experiences.
Strategic Impact & Business Results
Organizational Transformation at GM Financial
I joined as the third UX hire at GM Financial, where I built a world-class UX department from the ground up and delivered products for one of the world's largest captive auto lenders. I developed a mature UX practice where none existed—establishing processes, building teams, defining vision, and delivering measurable outcomes.
Strategic Outcomes
Scaled from 3 to 20 talented professionals across five states.
Developed a UX Maturity Model and matured capability from Level 1 to Level 4 while establishing a documented processes adapted to our unique business environment.
Earned 9 industry design awards over 5 years.
Drove many measurable conversion gains, including a 22% increase in conversions for the GMF online credit application.
Built a robust design system from early foundations to a mature multi-brand system.
Vision & Strategic Leadership
Defining the Future of UX at Enterprise Scale
Great organizations require intentional vision, clear roadmaps, and relentless execution.
Vision & Direction
Established UX mission statement and 5-year strategic vision aligned with business objectives.
Created UX maturity roadmap guiding systematic capability development.
Balanced process rigor with flexibility across evolving agile frameworks.
Change Management
Managed four UX vendor partnerships ensuring quality and alignment.
Navigated organizational change through 5 managers, 3 SVPs, 2 EVPs, and 2 CEOs.
Built strong stakeholder relationships across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Executive Leadership.
Led distributed teams across 5 states through in-office, hybrid, and remote models.
Team Building & Culture
Creating High-Performing Diverse Teams
Attracted and retained top-tier talent, growing from 3 to 20 members across Product design, UX Research, Content Design, and Conversation Design.
Achieved consistently high team engagement survey scores.
Built diverse, psychologically safe culture where team members brought their whole selves to work.
Established advancement frameworks with clear pathing from junior to senior roles.
Developed career advancement framework to include Lead level positions, with Principal roles on the future roadmap.
Fostered an environment where team member recognition, events, and having fun became the norm.
