Design is how I think.
Building is how I prove it.
I grew up in Guatemala City, in a family where education was the one thing you did not negotiate. So I paid for mine. I worked full-time as a nanny through my undergraduate degree, and then through my Master's. It taught me something I still believe: the distance between where you start and where you want to end up is mostly effort.
Design found me before I had a word for it. During my undergraduate degree I worked on a charity project supporting weavers and their children in Guatemala. I interviewed families, listened to what they actually needed, and reshaped how the project reached them. Thirteen children ended up with scholarships, school supplies, and uniforms. I was not calling it user research at the time. I just knew that paying attention to people changed what got built.
My brother, a software developer at Google, put a name to it. When he described UX, I realised I had already been doing it. I applied for my Master's at NYIT, finished with a 4.0, and started at IBM.
Since then I have led a team of 8 designers on watsonx Orchestrate, IBM's flagship AI product, from concept through General Availability. I contributed patterns to IBM Carbon that are now used by 324 teams and seen by 450k+ monthly visitors, and ran a product-led growth initiative across 39+ products that contributed to a 10% revenue increase in 2024. What I am proudest of is not the scale. It is that almost all of it started with somebody being confused, and ended with them not being confused.
Before any of that I was a graphic designer, and it has never left me. I came into product design already thinking about how something looks and what it communicates, before I learned to think about how it works. The best things I have shipped live in between.
Outside of work I lift heavy weights, travel when I can, and spend time with my pets. I am also building SALTOS, an AI-powered English learning platform for underserved communities. It is the project where everything I care about finally sits in one place.
I am looking for my next team. If you are building something that needs a designer who thinks like a product manager, earns trust with engineering, and cares about the people on the other side of the screen, I would like to hear from you.
The journey
From a graphic design degree in New York to leading design on IBM's flagship AI product, and building my own.
BFA Graphic Design · Purchase College, NY · Magna Cum Laude · 3.8 GPA
Discovered UX through my senior project, Life Beyond Textiles ↗, a charity that provided 13 kids in Guatemala with scholarships, school supplies, and uniforms. That's when I knew I wanted to keep using design to create real impact.
MA UX Design · NYIT · 4.0 GPA · Summa Cum Laude
Completed my Master's while working full-time. Graduated with a job at IBM already lined up.
Intern · UX Researcher
First role at IBM. Started with research, understanding users before touching a single design.
Co-op · UX Designer
Extended into a co-op. Built my design foundations at enterprise scale while finishing my Master's simultaneously.
IBM Standout Newcomer · Problem Solver Extraordinaire
Issued by IBM · May 2021
"There has yet to be a challenge that Susana hasn't conquered."
UX Designer · Full-time
Joined IBM full-time. Three months later, promoted to Design Lead.
Promoted to Advisory Designer
"A rising star on the Business Automation team - performing well above her current band level, not only leading her team of visual and UX designers, but also working with stakeholders to define the roadmap and identify opportunities for innovation."
IBM Equity Award · Arvind Krishna
Selected among top IBM talent to receive an annual equity award. Recognized for outstanding contributions in hybrid cloud and AI.
"Our clients' success, and the success of IBM, depends on the talent, passion, dedication and hard work of IBMers like you. Because of your exemplary track record, IBM is confident that you have what it takes to continue making important contributions to our success."
– 2024
Leading design on IBM's hardest problems
Three years running design across IBM's most complex AI and enterprise products. Two of them shaped everything I know about shipping at scale.
watsonx Orchestrate
Designed the chat interface, the core interaction model for how people talk to an AI agent. Ran remote workshops through the pandemic. My concept won an ideation sprint and took me to the London team. Shipped to General Availability.
IBM Content Services
The first design team this product team had ever worked with. I built the working model from nothing, led 3 designers and 1 researcher, and delivered a modernised admin experience in twelve months, on time.
IBM Culture Catalyst Award
"Susana has been leading the way to rebuild the culture and collaboration in the Austin Studio for the Business Automation team. She has organized regular Design Share reviews and critique sessions for designers across the Automation teams."
UX Designer · Carbon Design System
Contributed to Carbon, IBM's design system serving 640k+ GitHub repos and 450k monthly visitors. Shaped the 2026 site relaunch.
– Now
UX Advisor · Harvard Business School Foundry
UX feedback, experience audits, and improvement recommendations for HBS Foundry ↗.
"I particularly appreciated the specificity of your feedback. The kind of detail that makes a real difference in how we build. The feedback doc you put together and shared after our session is invaluable."
Enterprise Design Thinking Coach · IBM
Certified to facilitate IBM Enterprise Design Thinking workshops across global, cross-functional teams. Over 30 workshops facilitated across the US, UK, and internationally.
Leader beyond the screen
While building at IBM, I was also building in my community. Facilitated 30+ workshops, mentored UT Austin students (since 2024), and led organizations for Latina advancement.
– Now
Building SALTOS
Audio-first English learning for Spanish-speaking frontline workers. Designed it, built the full tech stack, ran a pilot with 39 workers, filed a provisional patent. A side project built to help my community, and it is already helping people.
Growing others
I never stopped creating for the team.
Culture is the foundation of great work. I learned that early and never stopped acting on it.
"Culture is very important to me. I saw how critical it was on my first IBM team, when we were separated and I wanted to build something for everyone, not just the people next to me. I never stopped creating events even as my role grew."
Susana ChinchillaAccessing data for your design
Co-facilitated with a fellow designer. Showed IBM designers how to track metrics using an IBM product, to inform stakeholder presentations and fuel year-end reflections. Held one day before I left IBM. The recording was shared afterwards so more people could watch it.
61
Total enrollments
6
Countries reached
Global
US · Ireland · India · Canada · Portugal
Design critiques, share-outs and community
Organised regular Design Share reviews, critique sessions, and return-to-office workshops across IBM Austin. Hosted global events and networking sessions. Brought designers together across products who had never met.
Design critiques
Global events
Networking sessions
Beyond the screen
I am not only a designer.
I am a certified IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Coach. I facilitate workshops that help teams of any role and any background build user-centered experiences from the ground up. It does not matter if you are an engineer, a product manager, or an executive. The process meets people where they are and gets everyone building toward the same goal.
30+
Workshops facilitated
6
Countries reached
Aug 2025
Certified by IBM
IBM EDT Coach · Aug 2025
With Phil Gilbert
ALPFA · UT & McCombs
Code2College
I recently had the chance to speak with Phil Gilbert, the creator of IBM Enterprise Design Thinking, about my work and the product I am building. He is now supporting my journey as an advisor.
Where it started
The project that started everything.
Before IBM. Before UX. A charity project in my senior year that taught me what design can actually do.
Thirteen scholarships, school supplies, and uniforms provided through user research and design work during my BFA senior project. Those kids are the reason I went into UX: to use what I know how to do to help more people.
Personal project · Dec 2025 to now
A product that is helping my community.
I built a simple AI-powered tool that helps housekeepers learn job-specific English phrases, delivered through SALTOS. It started as a personal project for my community and it has been running on its own since.
92%
Phrase retention
4.8/5
Confidence impact
39
Workers in pilot
Thirty-nine personalised completion certificates went out in June 2026, one for every worker who finished the first cohort. Every single one of them earned it.
Recognition
What IBM said about the work.
In their own words, from the awards, promotions, and recognitions across 5+ years.
Annual equity program · selected among top IBM talent
I am delighted to inform you that you are among those who have been selected to receive an equity award this year. This award recognizes your outstanding contributions and skills, and your management team's belief in your ability to build on our leadership in hybrid cloud and AI.
Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM
IBM · Special cash recognition
Our clients' success, and the success of IBM, depends on the talent, passion, dedication and hard work of IBMers like you. Because of your exemplary track record, IBM is confident that you have what it takes to continue making important contributions to our success.
IBM · Austin Studio · Business Automation
Susana has been leading the way to rebuild the culture and collaboration in the Austin Studio for the Business Automation team. She has organized regular Design Share reviews and critique sessions for designers across the Automation teams. In this face to face activity, she has actively incorporated across the products and enabled designers to expand their networks.
IBM · Business Automation
Susana is a rising star on the Business Automation team with a growth mindset and a positive attitude that has helped the team weather the recent churn and strategic shifts in the business. Susana has a strong work ethic and is performing well above her current band level, not only leading her team of visual and UX designers, but also working with stakeholders to define the roadmap and identify opportunities for innovation.
Issued by IBM
Dropped into a complex project space with many parallel missions, Susana has excelled in her short time as a UX Designer on the Build team within Business Automation. Her skill in breaking down complex requirements and translating them into compelling user experiences is one we could all take notes on. Her strength comes from her innate ability to build relationships that foster a collaborative culture that takes pride in developing the highest quality user experiences. There has yet to be a challenge that Susana hasn't conquered.