👋 Hi, I'm Sarah,
Design & Research Lead
I start by asking the right questions, then let the answers shape the design. That's shaped how I've led design at Datapay and FarmIQ.
I've spent over a decade designing digital products across SaaS, public sector, and agencies, from strategy and research through to designing the screens people actually use.
The work I'm proudest of sits in high-pressure, real-world environments: payroll, farm management, tax filing, safety in the outdoors. Places where the product has to hold up under pressure, not just look good.
I live and work in Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Farmer roles guiding decisions.
Current Role
I'm the Design & Research Lead at Datapay, a payroll platform that pays 1 in 6 New Zealanders. I lead the design discipline and a team of 2 designers. I turn customer insight into prioritised design opportunities, some feed into product's roadmap, others are UX improvements I drive myself. I lead with direction and concepts, and I stay hands-on, not a manager who's stepped away from the craft. I built the design and research practice here from scratch, including a JTBD framework synthesised from existing research, support tickets, and validated with customers.
I created the AI Delegation Framework, now a shared language across product, engineering, and customer-facing teams for deciding when customer-facing AI should act versus suggest. Validated through surveys and customer workshops I held.
My research is now a cross-business resource. Business leaders come to me directly for customer insight. I run the product session in the Customer Advisory Board, consistently rated customers' favourite touchpoint with product at Datapay. I also shape how we work with AI day to day, simple features go agent-assisted, complex ones stay human-led discovery. I coach PMs on the difference between a stakeholder chat and non-biased customer research.
Team Collab Sessions.
Career Timeline
Helping trampers stay safe.
Data at your fingertips.
Design & Research Lead
- Built the design and research practice from scratch
- Coaches a team of 2 designers, shaping how the team works with AI
- Leads the UX for our greenfield product, JTBD and OOUX inform the IA and the roadmap
- Runs customer research and plans customer workshops
May 2025
– current
Senior Product Designer
- Designed the Trade App experience for electricians, from discovery through to high-fi design
- Mentored other designers on the team
Jan 2025
– May 2025
Lead Product Designer
- Grew and led a design team of 3
- Built FarmIQ's design system and team operating model
- Took mobile stickiness to 32.4%
Oct 2022
– Jan 2025
Senior Product Designer
- Part of Hatch's build team
- Tax Time solution (FIF Report)
- Money Mindsets framework, Investing Newbies, and more
Jul 2021
– Oct 2022
Full career history on LinkedIn →
Helping trampers stay safe.
Data at your fingertips.
Leadership Philosophy
Team Learning.
Create clarity
Before anyone starts building, the problem and principles have to be genuinely clear.
Bring people into one conversation
Design, product, engineering, and subject matter experts in the same decision loop, not separate threads, to save time.
Make good outcomes repeatable
I put in the JTBD frameworks, workshops, and roadmaps so results aren't luck or a one-off effort.
Use customer evidence, not opinion
Research drives what's worth doing and what gets deprioritised.
Invest in people
I coach for skill, not just delivery. That goes for my own team and the PMs I work alongside.
Team Learning.
I stay hands-on
Some of the work I'm proudest of:
Interactive JTBD website
Built and shipped using Cursor and GitHub, so customer insight lives alongside engineering work.
Multi-platform design system
Foundations through to governed components, co-owned with engineering.
FIF Report PDF and landing page
Solo designer on the report customers paid $50 for, and the campaign landing page.
Customer Advisory Board
I design the agenda for our quarterly CAB sessions, product leaders help run them. Consistently rated customers' favourite part of the day.
Kind words from colleagues & customers
“Sarah is laser focused on improving the customers' overall experience of the product, but she knows that won't be best served unless the whole team functions well. She has worked hard to improve collaboration within the Product Team, taking on extra work to ensure development always had what they needed. She tackles all problems with expertise, energy, and a great attitude.”
Todd White
Head of Product, FarmIQ
“Sarah uplifted how we did research at FarmIQ, and she made sure I was part of shaping it, not just delivering it. Working closely with her on our design principles, I grew more confident making my own calls. The work we did together raised the bar for design output across the whole product.”
Holly Feary
Senior Product Designer (I led) at FarmIQ
Behind the screens
When I'm not caring deeply about products that make life easier for others, you'll find me outside, tramping, riding one of my bicycles, making pottery, gardening, or hanging out with animals. 🥾🚴♀️⛰️
