Josh Gravholt

Product Design, Research & UX Leader | Exceeded new product adoption targets nearly 10X (NPS 8.6) @ Freddie Mac | Driving multi-product SaaS accessibility, research integration & measurable impact

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About Me

I’m a Product Design and UX Research leader with 20+ years of experience scaling digital products, building high-performing teams, and driving measurable outcomes in complex, multi-product SaaS environments.

At Freddie Mac, I drove rapid platform adoption that exceeded growth targets nearly 10X in its first year, delivering an NPS of 8.6 and validating our strategy. I also redesigned core workflows that improved task completion by 23% and boosted satisfaction by 39%. As a player-coach, I balance sleeves-up execution with mentoring and developing teams across product design, UX research, and design systems.

I specialize in:

  • Multi-product portfolio leadership: aligning design and research across B2B SaaS products.

  • Research integration: combining qualitative insights and quantitative data to guide product strategy.

  • Accessibility & inclusive design: embedding WCAG 2.x/3.0 standards into design systems, reviews, and QA.

  • AI-enhanced workflows: leveraging tools like ChatGPT, Clarity, and Pendo to accelerate iteration and insights.

  • UX health metrics: defining and tracking adoption, satisfaction, task success, and accessibility scores.


What drives me is solving the hardest problems at the intersection of design, research, and social impact—helping organizations scale digital transformation while delivering inclusive, human-centered experiences.

Abstract blue lines on a black background

About Me

I’m a Product Design and UX Research leader with 20+ years of experience scaling digital products, building high-performing teams, and driving measurable outcomes in complex, multi-product SaaS environments.

At Freddie Mac, I drove rapid platform adoption that exceeded growth targets nearly 10X in its first year, delivering an NPS of 8.6 and validating our strategy. I also redesigned core workflows that improved task completion by 23% and boosted satisfaction by 39%. As a player-coach, I balance sleeves-up execution with mentoring and developing teams across product design, UX research, and design systems.

I specialize in:

  • Multi-product portfolio leadership: aligning design and research across B2B SaaS products.

  • Research integration: combining qualitative insights and quantitative data to guide product strategy.

  • Accessibility & inclusive design: embedding WCAG 2.x/3.0 standards into design systems, reviews, and QA.

  • AI-enhanced workflows: leveraging tools like ChatGPT, Clarity, and Pendo to accelerate iteration and insights.

  • UX health metrics: defining and tracking adoption, satisfaction, task success, and accessibility scores.


What drives me is solving the hardest problems at the intersection of design, research, and social impact—helping organizations scale digital transformation while delivering inclusive, human-centered experiences.

Experience design leadership
Experience design leadership

Experience Design Leadership

  • User-centered Design

  • Storyboarding/Storytelling

  • Information Architecture

  • Research/Usability Plans

  • User Interview/Surveys/Testing

  • Experience Mapping (Service, User, Story, Customer)

Digital Strategy

  • Design Systems, Pattern Libraries, Style Guides

  • Desktop and Mobile, Responsive Design

  • Mobile Application Strategy

  • SEC, SOC, HIPPA, 508-Compliance

  • SASS Product Evaluation

  • Personas

Creative Direction

  • Interactive Branding

  • Leading Brainstorm/Design Sessions

  • Interpersonal Skills, Design Critique

  • Interactive and Data-rich Application Design (Sketch, XD, Figma)

  • Visual Design (Adobe Creative Suite)


Marketing

  • Content Strategy

  • CMS (Content Management Systems- Drupal-Acquia, WordPress, Oracle UCM)

  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization- organic, Yoast, MOZ)

  • Direct Marketing (Eloqua, Mailchimp, Mandrill, Hubspot)

  • CRM (Client Relationship Management- Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics)

Software Development

  • Agile Software Development, Scrum

  • Agile UX, Lean UX

  • Wireframing (Figma)

  • Prototyping (Figma)

  • Process Flows

  • Software Development Life Cycle

Product Management & Analytics

  • Web User Analytics (Pendo, Full Story, Google Analytics, AppDynamics)

  • Executive Dashboards (Tableau, Power BI)

  • Product Team Collaboration (Teams, Jive, Slack, Basecamp)

  • Roadmap & Project Management (Jira, Confluence, Hipchat)

Education and Certifications

Education and Certifications

AI (Artificial Intelligence) Strategy
eCornell- Cornell University

UX Certification
Nielson Norman Group

Level 3 Marketing Certification
Pragmatic Marketing: Focus, Plan, Build

Leadership & Executive Speaking Certification
Dale Carnegie International

Project Management Fundamentals
Global Knowledge

Developing a UX Strategy Playbook
User Interface Engineering Group

Communicating with Diplomacy & Credibility
American Management Association

User Experience Management
Nielson Norman Group

Competent Communication
Toastmasters International

Masters of Fine Arts
University of Arizona
Multi-media, Digital, Interactive Branding

Bachelors of Fine Arts
University of Minnesota
Multi-media

Awards and Recognition

Awards and Recognition

Wunderman Thompson: Matt Reese Award for for Innovation, Excellence, and Leadership

Cambridge Associates: Innovation Challenge Recognition, App Design

HealthPartners:
President's Award

© Josh Gravholt 2025

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