At Deepnote, I led AI Chat from product definition through launch, building a persistent, context-aware assistant—from data modeling and APIs to retrieval, streaming responses, and the interface. I also co-authored the company’s 2025 AI strategy, made large notebooks load 7× faster, and established shared UI standards through semantic design tokens, automated migrations, and linting enforcement.
Before engineering, I reached Staff level in product design, working with GetYourGuide, Mercedes-Benz, and Red Bull. That background shapes how I approach ambiguous problems: understanding what people need, prototyping solutions, and weighing product and technical tradeoffs.
More on LinkedIn →At Deepnote, I was one of the early AI engineers building AI into a collaborative notebook for data science and analytics.
I led a major redesign of the AI experience and rebuilt its frontend architecture. State machines coordinated generating, reviewing, editing, and running code, including streamed changes inside the notebook editor. Weekly AI adoption among paying customers increased by about 30% following the redesign.
Alongside co-authoring Deepnote’s 2025 AI strategy, I led the first version of AI Chat from product definition through launch. That meant building persistent conversations end to end: data models and APIs, notebook and project context, retrieval over Deepnote’s documentation, streaming responses, and the conversation interface.
Beyond AI, I made large notebooks load 7× faster, bringing load time below half a second. I also owned the engineering rollout of company-wide UI standards: semantic design tokens, reusable component patterns, AST-based code migrations, and lint rules to enforce adoption.
A demo of the redesigned AI editing and review experience.
By Gabor Szalai, Head of Product Management. How we brought AI into everyday notebook workflows.
How I repaired malformed streamed tool calls before they reached application state.
My launch post and demo of a persistent, context-aware assistant.
By Peter Kocur, Head of Design. The semantic color system we built together.
A demo of AI using existing modules instead of rewriting code and SQL.
In design tools, I could move boxes around and stay focused on what I was making. With Flexbox, I kept getting stuck: why did an item shrink, and where did that extra space come from? Inspired by Bret Victor’s work, I built Flexbox Land to make those hidden parts visible.
I reimplemented the CSS Flexbox layout algorithm in JavaScript to reconstruct layout state the browser doesn’t expose directly.
To recover otherwise inaccessible layout information, I developed techniques for probing the browser’s own layout and measurement behavior through controlled DOM and style changes.
That work became FlexRay, a layout inspector that works with existing HTML and CSS, visualizing item geometry, spacing, flex lines, and alignment.
Beyond the inspector, I shipped Flexbox Land end to end, integrating FlexRay into 250 coding playgrounds across 50 lessons, with 500+ original illustrations.
A replica of the Citizen Quartz Multi Alarm III watch based on David Harel’s 1987 paper introducing statecharts
Demo →GitHub →Twitter thread →
Manage design styles in a web app and access them through an API or a live WebSocket connection
GitHub →Add it to $GIT_DIR/info/exclude so it stays local
Practical strategies for repairing streamed tool calls
Creating a lo-fi print effect with CSS and SVG filters.
Get faster access to docs, assets, browser compatibility and package info.
MindNode is great at summarizing videos, learning, and helping you remember things.
Life after Launch School’s Core curriculum
Process is just as important as fundamentals at Launch School.
Becoming a Flexbox pro is hard. I’d like to create a place that makes learning easier.
TIER hired me in 2018 to design, prototype, and document their first in-house app.
I built multiple complex prototypes and worked with the founders to perfect the user experience.
We mixed periods of focused work, short check-ins, and longer deep dives. That yielded best results.
The extendable design system we built and documented made it easy for future teams to pick up where we left off.
The apps launched about 4 months after we finished. The iOS version hit #1 in Germany one day after launching.
Doodle hired me in 2016 to improve their native apps designed for frequent users.
We’d deliver everything the website had, but better. We’d make it the best version of Doodle.
We ran extensive user interviews and usability testing. Designed an iMessage app. Increased poll creation by 30 %. Launched a full visual redesign. Lifted ratings from ~4.0 to 4.6–4.8 out of 5 stars.
Our incremental process was very rewarding. I had such a great time working with all the talented people at Doodle.
Reimagined Red Bull TV which later won a Google Play Award for Best TV Experience. Prototyped complex remote-operated TV UI, autoplay, a minimized player, and more. Built a design system spanning Web, native apps, TV.
Shipped Bertha, an app for finding and paying at gas stations. Focused on map navigation and finding gas on the road. Designed a color coding system for pricing. Introduced in-depth interviews and user testing to the company.
Designed, user tested, and launched the first native apps for the SoftBank-backed unicorn travel startup. Drove customer retention by designing an in-app ticket feature. Collaborated on a cross-platform design style guide.
GetYourGuide lets you book tours and activities. I was hired to design native apps to accompany their website.
I assisted the launch of both apps, and later worked on adding new features and refining existing ones.
User testing in particular was a huge part of all our efforts. I learned a lot working with the experienced team at GetYourGuide.
“Andy is a designer who knows what it means to design for impact.
He deeply understands when to be pragmatic and yet always keep the customer at the heart of his work.
He does this through a proven process that’s focussed on validation.
That process transforms complex problems into easy to understand concepts that result in delightful experiences with real, measurable impact.”
“Great designer, quick prototyper, and master of the customer-centric approach.
On top of his exceptional experience with mobile and web UX, Andy is a great team player loved by developers, and has a fantastic personality.
If you’re lucky enough to get to work with him, your chances of success will grow exponentially.”
“I am a Senior iOS developer and have worked closely with Andy to improve the user experience of Bertha, an app we developed at Mercedes-Benz.io.
I've experienced Andy as a passionate UX designer with a strong user focus.
In his work he loves direct interaction with developers.
He has excellent observation and interviewing skills running user testing sessions.”
“Probably the best team mate I've ever had as a product designer. He documents everything. It’s easy for anyone to pick up where he left off — a great asset for a freelancer.
He’ll plan his day upfront, tune out every distraction, and won’t waste time doing trivial tasks. He doesn’t waste your money.
He' very diplomatic, approachable, respectful, authentic, and has a good sense of humour. I sensed most of these qualities the first day we met and he hasn't changed since. We ended up becoming friends.
And just to wrap up... he’s very open minded, eager to learn, and open for feedback. All important traits to have as a colleague.”
“Andy is the best designer I have worked with.
He doesn’t only deliver excellent works but also cares about the development of his fellow colleagues.
When I started working with Andy, I was just starting my career as a product designer. He mentored me by sharing his knowledge in design tools, user research methodology, design system, and more. He even gave me some coding lessons!
What I've learned from him helped me to become a designer I am today and I am so glad I met Andy at one of my very first design jobs!”
How’s your day going so far? I hope everything’s great. If it’s not, I hope it does get better soon.
Did you eat breakfast today? It’s supposed to be an important meal. I probably had a piece of toast with vegan spread on it, and a fried egg. I almost always have that. It’s nothing special and I usually get pretty hungry before noon. Then I have to pester people around me to come eat lunch early. They think I’m crazy.
You’re reading this message using your eyeballs, which evolved over millions of years. Think about that. Pretty amazing, right?
We haven’t yet found anything like us in the Universe. Anything alive.
Us humans, we’re good at finding patterns and grouping things. We form tribes. But ultimately, we’re all made of the same stuff. Star stuff.
I feel grateful for being alive today. And lucky I get to do what I do.
Technology can improve people’s lives, but it can also make them worse. Even when our intentions are good.
So I think we all have a responsibility to constantly improve ourselves, achieve mastery, and make this planet a better place for future life.
I buy a lot of books and never read them. Remember Sapiens? Yep. Anyway, here are some books I did read and they are awesome.
Check out my favorite books →
