Me By Design
The long way round — and the right one.
I’ve always been someone who builds things. Long before I called it “design,” I was calibrating equipment, fixing systems on site, and eventually writing the code behind products millions of people rely on. Somewhere along that path, I stopped being satisfied with “it works” and started caring more about “it works for them.”
That shift didn’t happen overnight. I kept engineering while I trained in UX — certificates, diplomas, side projects, late nights in Figma. AC Design is where it all comes together: a portfolio I designed, built, and use to show how I think from research through to shipped UI.
I’m not leaving engineering behind. I’m using it — to design products I understand deeply enough to actually deliver.
Less career change. More career completion.
Quick facts
- From
- Kildare, Ireland
- When I started as a designer
- 2013 — Leaving Certificate Design Communications Graphics & CAD. That’s where the visual problem-solving started.
- Education
- BSc Software Design (Cloud Computing), MSc Software Design — Cloud Native Computing (Distinction), Professional Diploma in UX Design, plus ongoing certs and upskilling.
- If I wasn’t doing this
- Carpenter, car detailer, or civil engineer.
- Favourite Quote
- “Done is better than perfect” (ship · iterate · learn)
My journey
2013
Design Communication Graphics
Student · Leaving Certificate
My visual problem-solving journey started here — technical drawing, CAD, and design thinking before I knew what UX was called.
2013 → 2017
BSc Software Design (Cloud Computing)
Student · Athlone Institute of Technology
I completed my BSc in Software Design with Cloud Computing at AIT. Modules like Computer Graphics, Web Development, and Software Quality first connected engineering with visual and structural thinking — wireframes, requirements, prioritization, and design foundations.
2014 → 2017
Millelec Ltd
On-Site Engineer · Part-time
Part-time summer role calibrating and servicing computerized lab equipment. It demanded precision under time pressure — and I built the company website, my first real bridge between engineering and design.
2018
Ticketmaster
Junior IT Field Technician
Junior IT field technician at live events — setting up ticket scanning systems, troubleshooting under pressure, and keeping user-facing tech running when there was no room for failure. My first taste of designing for people in high-stakes moments.
2019 → 2021
Career Break
A deliberate pause between study and the next chapter — time to travel, reset, and figure out what I actually wanted to build next.
2021 → 2022
MSc in Software Design for Cloud Native Computing
Student · TUS · Distinction
MSc in Software Design for Cloud Native Computing at TUS — Distinction. Java, microservices, REST APIs, CI/CD, and production-grade system design.
My placement project brought it together: building the CC Electrical Services website, combining backend engineering with visual thinking for the first time.
2022 → 2023
CC Electrical Services Ltd — Website (v1)
Pre-UX, pure web development — an end-to-end system with Spring Boot, MySQL, React, and API-driven UI flows. Backend engineering, data modelling, and interfaces in one project.
2022 → 2025
Amdocs — Openet (SaaS for Telecoms)
Software Developer
Backend software developer on large-scale telecom platforms at Amdocs/Openet. I shipped Java/Spring Boot services, REST integrations, and SQL data flows in Docker/Kubernetes environments — and learned how enterprise systems actually behave under load. That depth is what I bring to design today: technical empathy, systems thinking, and knowing what’s shippable.
2023
Google UX Design Certificate
Professional Certificate · Coursera
First structured step into UX — research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability fundamentals alongside full-time engineering.
2023 → 2024
Diploma in UX Design
Professional Diploma · UX Design Institute
Professional Diploma in UX Design from the UX Design Institute — mentorship from industry practitioners, Figma, Miro, research methods, and end-to-end process.
Capstone: SwiftAir airline booking case study.
2025
CC Electrical Services Ltd — Website (v2)
With UX training behind me, I revisited CCES — user research, Figma prototypes, and a consistent design system applied to a live product I already understood technically. Engineering knowledge plus design process in one project.
2025 → Present
AC Design
Personal portfolio · Design & development
This site — designed and built by me. A live portfolio showing how I think from research and IA through to prototypes and production-ready UI. AC Design is the proof, not the promise.
2026 →
The next chapter
Moving from a development-first career into hybrid roles that lean toward UX design — keeping engineering as the foundation, and design as the primary craft. Open to UX, product design, and design-engineering roles where both matter.
What’s next
I’m shifting from a development-heavy path into hybrid roles that lean toward UX design — still building, but leading with research, IA, and product craft. I want to work on complex, data-heavy products where engineering depth and design skill both matter. If that sounds like your team, I’d love to connect.