About
Emily Lai is a service designer leading large-scale service transformation at the intersection of design, policy, and technology.
Emily Lai is a service design leader and global citizen, creative at heart and driven by curiosity. Her journey has taken her across Detroit, Providence, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, San Jose, and London, working at the intersection of design, technology, and business to transform complex systems into simple, human-centred services. Grounded in Human-Centred Design, she focuses on understanding people deeply and translating insight into meaningful, scalable solutions that create lasting impact.
Outside of work, Emily enjoys developing low-carb recipes as part of her commitment to healthy living, and practices Capoeira and yoga to stay balanced. She is always learning, currently studying Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese, and values thoughtful conversations, cultural exchange, and connecting with people from different perspectives.
I am a service designer leading large-scale service transformation at the intersection of design, policy, and technology.
Emily Lai
I'm passionate about driving UX and service design at a strategic level, making sure design decisions really align with both business goals and what users actually need. With 20+ years of experience, I’ve led and scaled UX teams, rolled out human-centered design strategies, and helped untangle complex service ecosystems across global markets.I work best in fast-moving, cross-functional environments, collaborating with execs, engineers, and product teams to build smart, meaningful solutions. My background spans AI-powered UX, SaaS, enterprise transformation, public sector and Medtech. I’ve led design sprints, built scalable design systems, and improved customer experiences through design thinking and UCD approaches.What I love just as much as delivering great work is mentoring teams and helping build a strong, forward-thinking design culture. At the end of the day, I’m all about creating impact, simplifying services, boosting engagement, and using design to solve the right problems in the right way.
Service Design
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