About

Hi, I'm Dennis.
I make design teams work.

Not in the "frameworks and slide decks" way. In the "I've been in the room, I know what breaks, and I'll help you fix it" way.

Dennis, founder of Synoptro
I've been in the meeting
where everyone is confused.
I built this to fix that.

I'm Dennis — a designer, operator, and founder of Synoptro. I've spent my entire career at the intersection of design and operations, at Comcast, GSK, and Taco Bell, building systems that let talented teams actually do their best work.

I built Synoptro because design teams deserve better operational support than they usually get. Not frameworks in slide decks. Actual, practical help from someone who's lived it. I know what it's like to be the person in the room trying to make the work flow — and I built this practice around that.

Every engagement starts with listening. I want to understand your team, your context, and what success actually looks like for you. Then we fix it together.

Let's talk about your team
What I believe

The principles behind every engagement

I'm not here to sell you a framework. I'm here to help you build something that actually works for your team.

01
Operational clarity is a design problem.

Confusing handoffs, unclear ownership, broken rituals — these are design failures. They deserve the same care and craft as anything else your team ships.

02
Context always trumps frameworks.

A system that worked at Google won't work at your 12-person startup. Good operational support starts by understanding where you actually are — not where you think you should be.

03
Speed without friction is possible.

Teams move slowly when they're unclear. The goal isn't more process — it's the right amount, placed correctly, so your team can move fast without stepping on each other.

Organizations I've built and scaled inside

Taco Bell
Comcast
GSK
Universal Ads
Experience

Where I've built and learned

My perspective comes from a career spent inside large, complex organizations — learning what it takes to make design teams thrive at scale.

Synoptro Founder Dec 2023 — Present

Built a fractional DesignOps practice to give growing design teams the operational clarity that enterprise organizations take for granted — without the overhead.

Taco Bell Design Operations Lead Dec 2023 — Present

Designed and operationalized Taco Bell's first multidisciplinary design operating model — standing up UX Research, Content Strategy, and Design Systems as core capabilities. Scaled a team of 12 designers, implemented the org's first enterprise design system (improving delivery by a full sprint, cutting engineering rework ~30%), and owned a $4.5M annual tooling and research budget.

Comcast Sr. Program Manager, Digital Experience Aug 2021 — Dec 2023

Built and led a UX Center of Excellence, designing the operating models and governance structures that shifted UX from ad hoc support to a genuine strategic partner. Designed a tiered intake and engagement model that reduced sprint friction by 33% and introduced experience measurement (SUS) to make the business case for UX investment.

GSK Senior Product Designer May 2020 — Aug 2021

Led UX strategy and design for global analytics platforms supporting medical and compliance functions. Delivered a redesign that moved usability from a SUS of 34 to 81. Established a recurring research practice and won GSK's 2021 Gold Award for design impact.

Comcast Effectv UI/UX Engineer Jul 2017 — May 2020

Designed and built Comcast's first self-service digital advertising platform. Led responsive redesigns of internal tooling, introduced NPS measurement during pilot, and improved satisfaction by 20+ points. Served as a Certified ScrumMaster driving Agile practices across teams.

TopClick UX Strategist & Founder Feb 2010 — Jul 2017

Founded and ran a UX consultancy for seven years — owning strategy, delivery, and business operations across a range of client engagements. Where I developed deep fluency in the tradeoffs between user needs, business goals, technical constraints, and timelines.

Let's work together

Ready to stop
patching and
start fixing?

Whether you need a full operational overhaul or just a trusted thought partner, I'd love to hear what's going on with your team.

Book a Conversation Send an email instead

I typically respond within one business day.