Women in STEM: Irene Au

By Robyn Lam

Irene Au is a human computer interactive designer who has accomplished many great feats. Not only has she created her own program of study in human-computer interaction, but she is determined to raise the value of design and user research within software companies. Irene helps companies improve their products by adding a new perspective that will create a better user experience, elevating the importance and design within technology companies.

Education

Irene attended amazing universities where she was able to grow and expand her experience in the engineering field.

University of Southern Carolina (1990-1994)

Irene graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors from South Carolina Honors College and majored in electrical and computer engineering.

Irene was the Palmetto Fellows Award and Carolina Scholars Award recipient where she gained full scholarship for her universities. The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship is a merit-based program which recognizes the most academically talented high school seniors and encourages these students to attend college in the state of South Carolina. The Carolina Scholars is one of the university’s top undergraduate merit scholarships and it is awarded to the top 20 in-state students each year entering the South Carolina Honors College.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1994-1996)

Irene received her Master’s Degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering with a focus on Human-Computer Interaction.

Occupations

Irene has been with many companies, sharing her expertise with the organizations and her peers. Due to the large number of companies she has worked with, we have listed only a few.

Khosla Ventures (2014 - Present)

Irene is currently the Design Partner of Khosla Ventures, located in Menlo Park, California, where she works with CEO’s in the Khosla Ventures portfolio to help them improve their companies. Irene builds and strengthens their design capabilities, ultimately driving value to the businesses and portfolio.

Stanford University (2020 - Present)

Irene is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, California, where she lectures for Advanced Product Design:

Implementation 1 and 2 (ME216B and ME216C) in Stanford University's Mechanical Engineering department.

Avalon Yoga International (2012 - 2020)

Irene was a yoga teacher in Palo Alto, California, where she instructed classes to integrate breath, cardio, flexibility, and more to nourish the mind, body, and spirit.

Rosenfeld Media (2010 - 2018)

Irene was the Strategic and Editorial Board member at Rosenfeld Media, the premier publisher of UX books. As a strategic board member, Irene helped broker valuable connections to Resenfeld Media with many industry executives and consultants, and advised on future opportunities. As an editorial board member, she helped guide decisions around what should be published, which authors should get support, and what topics are relevant to UX practitioners.

Google (2006 - 2012)

Irene was the Global Head / Director of User Experience at Google, located in Mountain View, California. She led the global organization of all user experience and design team members as well as interaction designers, visual designers, and others who were all responsible for the UX of all of Google’s services and products.

Not only did she transform Google’s user research organization, but she also introduced and optimized design thinking practices through the creation of design training. Additionally, she laid the foundation for Google's site-wide redesign and helped make a famously engineering-driven culture more design-oriented.

Yahoo! Inc. (1998 - 2006)

Irene was the Vice President of User Experience (2002 - 2006) where she was responsible for Yahoo’s user experience worldwide. She manages a large team which included visual design, interaction design, and more!

Irene was the Director of User User Experience (2000 - 2002) where she helped establish and led an effective User Experience and Design team consisting of integrated members of cross-functional product development teams that drive interaction, interface, and visual design for Yahoo’s products and services.

Irene was the Manager of the User Interface Design and User Research (1998 - 2000) where she became the first interaction designer at Yahoo. She built Yahoo's user-centered design practice and led key design and research projects. Irene created Yahoo's first usability lab, introduced user testing, field research, and proactive design methods to the company.

Accomplishments

Irene has received full scholarships for the colleges she attended due to her hard work and dedication to studying. Receiving those scholarships was not an easy task and Irene had accomplished a lot to achieve them.

Irene has also been featured in podcasts and magazines. For example, in the Nodes of Design podcast, Irene talked about the psychology of design. Irene had also been featured in Wired magazine, CommArts magazine, and more! Additionally, Irene authored the definitive O’Reilly book called Design in Venture Capital.

Irene is also a wonderful leader who has creative ideas and can bring a lot to a team. She is a very hard worker and can complete any challenge brought to her. Christian Plasser worked with Irene at Yahoo and in his letter of recommendation to Irene, he said in January 4, 2007 that you could “Drop any challenge on Irene and she'll figure it out and deliver a success story in no time, whether it's a whole new initiative, building up a large team from scratch or managing a turnaround. Irene is masterfully skilled at prioritizing, assembling the right people and executing her vision, but most important of all, she is a great leader with an uncanny ability to bring out the best in people. All that, and lots of fun to work with. what more could you ask for.”

Irene has become an important figure in the STEAM world due to her many accomplishments and she has inspired many generations. Not only has she been a great role model to women, but she has become a prominent role in improving the design methods in many companies.

Today

Today, Irene resides in Palo Alto, California, and is a Design Partner at Khosla Ventures, an Adjunct Lecturer at Stanford, and the top UX/design executive for Google, Yahoo, and Udacity.

She continues to lead, help, and improve the strategic design of companies to increase the value of businesses today. Additionally, she continues to inspire women of all ages today.