Eva Snee
Director of User Experience, Databricks
JANUARY 15, 2026
4:30 P.M. – 5:20 P.M.
Sieg Building, room 134
UX Research in a Changing Industry
The last few years have reshaped how UX work gets done. Drawing from firsthand experience across multiple waves of industry change, Eva Snee reflects on how UX Research has adapted—and struggled—in the face of the pandemic, layoffs, and evolving expectations. This talk explores why UXR now finds itself at a pivotal crossroads, and what we can do to ensure the role continues to evolve rather than disappear.
Eva Snee is a User Experience Director at Databricks, leading designers and researchers to build best-in-class experiences for data practitioners. An HCDE alum with 20 years in tech, she has led research and design across hardware and software for both consumer and highly technical products.
She spent 11 years at Google as an early UX practitioner on Google Cloud Platform, later helping build first-generation AI vision systems, communication experiences, AR/VR products, and Google Home hardware and developer platforms. Previously, she worked at Microsoft on Windows and Bing.
Across her career, Eva has developed deep insight into navigating and evolving career paths, pushing the boundaries of research and design, and enabling professional reinvention.
The UX Speaker Series is hosted Thursdays in winter quarter by the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington. Presentations are open to the public.
Depending on the speaker's preference, a recording will be posted to this webpage after the event. View the full schedule at hcde.uw.edu/ux.