Hi, I'm JP.
I'm a coder who designs, and a designer who codes.
I speak dev, IA, IxD, UX, usability, and sysadmin 😊
- Work status
- Open to new opportunities 👍 Let's chat! 💬

A little about me...
- Over the last 20+ years, I've focused on the digital creative space, working as an information architect (IA), interaction designer (IxD), usability expert, and user experience (UX) designer, in both individual contributor and team lead roles.
- I was a software engineer for 5+ years before that, working on desktop and embedded tooling products. I deeply enjoy being able to build and design complete solutions, so I've continued to keep up my development skills when possible. My education and experience required me to pick up new tools and technologies quickly, which helps me adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities.
- I've worked for small, medium, and large companies... local, national, and international... in a variety of domains—embedded technology, telecommunications, ag-tech, OS services, contracting and consulting.
- At home, I'm an avid system administrator for local and remote Linux servers and networks, and can administer macOS and some Windows boxen.
- Hobbies include: my rescue pups, Gracie and Boone; music, primarily collecting; linguistics; knot tying—IGKT member; photography; writing; modern art; programming languages; current events; international news.
What I'm currently looking for
- A 👉100% remote👈 contract or permanent individual contributor role, full-time or part-time, either developing with/for a design team, or designing and developing.
- I'm open to an individual contributor role with leadership or mentorship aspects, but I'd prefer not to manage a team.
Summary resumé
- Name
- John “JP” ARNZEN
- resume {at} johnarnzen {dot} com
- Website
- https://johnarnzen.com
Education
- Institution
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
- Degree earned
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
- Specializations
- System software, telecommunications and networking, computer graphics, engineering psychology
Specialties
- Roles & skill-sets
- Design: information architecture (IA), user experience (UX) architecture, interaction design (IxD), user interface (UI) design, usability evaluation, usability testing, accessibility, user-centered design, usage-centered design, user research, design testing, design systems, design standards, design processes, design communication, navigation design, site navigation, site taxonomies, information classification, information categorization, taxonomy research, taxonomy creation, site maps, wireframes, user flows, process flows, prototyping
- Development: software engineering, front-end development, full-stack development, tool assessment, compiler design & creation, system tool design & creation
- Tools & technologies
- Web standards, HTML, CSS, DOM, JavaScript/ECMAScript, C/C++, C#, .NET Core, ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, SQL, Axure, Sketch, Figma, InVision, Semantic Web, Linked Data, Power BI
- Familiarty & interests
- Python, Julia, F#, LISP/Scheme/Clojure, Haskell, React, Svelte, functional programming, data science & analytics, Web ontologies, RDF/Turtle, OWL
- Delivery frameworks
- Kanban, Agile, XP, RUP, traditional/waterfall
Experience
-
- Company & years
- Canines & Corvids LLC
- 2020–now
- Role & dates
- Owner (November 2020–now)
- Description
- Providing freelance design and full-stack development services for small companies.
- Tools & skills
- Figma, Excel, Power BI, Julia, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, .NET Core, C#, ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework Core, REST, MVC
-
- Company & years
- AT&T
- 2010–2020
- Division
- att.com Digital Experience
- Role & dates
-
- Lead UX Designer (August 2014–October 2020)
- Associate Director of Web Design (June 2014–August 2014)
- Information Architect/UX Designer (August 2010–June 2014)
- Tools & skills
- Axure, Sketch, InVision, Excel, VBA scripting, global navigation design, global navigation management, site maps, wireframes, prototyping, design testing, taxonomy research & creation, design systems, design standards, Agile(ish), ...
-
- Company & years
- Red Hat
- 2006–2010
- Role & dates
- Senior User Experience Designer (December 2006–August 2010)
-
- Company & years
- Cingular Wireless
- 2004–2006
- Role & dates
-
- Senior Manager of Information Architecture & Site Development (April 2005–December 2006)cingular.com e-commerce Content & Creative Services
- Senior Information Architect (February 2004–April 2005) Human-centered Design Group
-
- Company & years
- AGRIS/John Deere
- 2002–2004
- Role & dates
- Usability Engineer & Webmaster (March 2002–February 2004)
-
- Company & years
- Red Sky Interactive & AGENCY.com
- 2000–2001
- Role & dates
- Information Architect (April 2000–July 2001, August 2001–November 2001)
-
- Company & years
- Ratio DesignLab
- 1996–2000
- Role & dates
- System Software Engineer (July 1996–March 2000)
-
- Company & years
- Ceridian Employer Services
- 1995–1996
- Role & dates
- CBT Programmer (July 1995–July 1996)
-
- Company & years
- Georgia Tech Office of Information Technology Helpdesk
- 1994–1995
- Role & dates
- Unix Helpdesk Assistant
-
- Company & years
- Georgia Tech Office of Information Technology
- 1993–1994
- Role & dates
- Unix Lab User Assistant