Inside UX/UI Design with Chad Rupp, Senior UX Designer at Amazon

Harness Projects mentor Chad Rupp, Senior UX Designer at Amazon, recently discussed his key learnings drawing on his personal experience at one of the world’s top tech companies.

Chad joined us recently for a pair of insightful webinars, where he shared his perspective on breaking into the UX industry and building a sustainable design career. And yes—at the time of writing, there are still a few places available in that intake.

Chad brings over 22 years of experience, nearly a decade of it at Amazon. His story gives aspiring designers a rare, real-world view into what UX looks like at one of the world’s most influential tech companies. Whether you’re early in your journey or looking to sharpen your edge, his insights offer something practical, honest, and motivating.

From Visual Design to Purpose-Driven UX, Chad’s entry into UX wasn’t planned—it evolved. Starting with a degree in multimedia and web design, he cut his teeth at agencies designing celebrity campaigns for clients like Britney Spears and Bon Jovi.“I pretty much started in UX from the beginning. However, I didn’t know I was doing UX. I was just trying to make digital interfaces look really cool,” he recalls.

As his career matured, he became more interested in solving real problems—not just making things look polished. That shift in mindset led him from visual design into full-scale UX, where questions like “Does it work?” and “Who is it for?” became central to his craft. Today, he applies those same questions to far larger, more complex systems at Amazon.

Designing at Scale: UX at Amazon
At Amazon, Chad doesn’t just design interfaces—he tackles ecosystem-level problems with broad impact. That often means designing with millions of users in mind, while collaborating across disciplines like product management, engineering, data science, and operations. “It’s a great company. I get to design and solve problems at a world scale. And they’re big, juicy problems, for sure.”

Depending on the team, Amazon’s UX culture can feel like a small design studio or a scaled department. Either way, the expectations are high—and the opportunity for personal growth is massive.

In our UX/UI Design Career Launcher program at Harness Projects, Chad is bringing some of that mindset to a project built to simulate what it’s really like to work at a company of that scale.

Why Industry Experience Matters in UX/UI Design Hiring
One of Chad’s strongest points during his webinars—and in our preparation for the upcoming project—is the emphasis he places on real-world experience when reviewing portfolios or mentoring junior designers. “When I went to college, I did not have real-world experience,” he says. “With Harness, you get to talk to founders, product managers—you learn how they think from a business standpoint and how you can best serve them from a user experience standpoint.”

Chad looks for portfolios that show how a designer thinks: how they identified a problem, collaborated to understand it, and contributed to a meaningful solution.“What matters to me is understanding how you solved the problem—and how it helped the customer. That’s what I care about.”

This is exactly the kind of thinking we’ll be helping participants develop in our UX/UI Design Career Launcher program where Chad offers direct feedback and guidance.What Amazon Looks for in UX/UI Designers.

Chad was also generous in outlining what Amazon looks for when hiring. Three qualities stood out clearly: mindset, communication, and hustle.

• Communication “Communication is key. You’ll be talking to developers, PMs, VPs, even CEOs. If you can’t articulate your design thinking, your work might never launch.”
• Mindset; “You have to have a mindset to grow. The tech world is always changing—AI is a big one right now—and you need to stay curious and open to learning.”
• Hustle “The UX space has gotten very busy. So how do you differentiate yourself? Be relentless. Show companies you care and that you really want to be there.” He’s seen that the designers who stand out aren’t necessarily those with the flashiest work—but those who can talk through their process, adapt quickly, and bring others along with them.

It’s Competitive—But You Can Get In; Chad is quick to acknowledge that breaking into UX isn’t as easy as it once was. But he’s also clear: it’s still completely doable. “Absolutely you can get a job. The market’s tough, yes—but I’ve seen people land roles from internships to director levels. You just need to focus, keep learning, and keep applying.”

He’s helped people from all kinds of backgrounds—musicians, engineers, hospitality workers—move into UX roles by focusing on real practice, building confidence, and getting exposure to how teams actually work.

That’s why we’ve designed our UX/UI Design course to include not only Chad’s mentorship, but a live brief with real business constraints— something your typical bootcamp simply doesn’t offer.

Final Thoughts: Make Your UX/UI Design Practice Real
Chad’s story is a reminder that UX isn’t about trends or tools—it’s about solving meaningful problems for real people. It’s a field for the curious, the collaborative, and the creatively resilient.

Chad’s parting wisdom
“Be authentic and be nice. Just ask. The UX community is incredibly giving—and people will help you if you’re genuine.”

Book a call with our team to see if it’s the right fit for your UX/UI Design journey.