I’m Ellie, The techno-designer

Photo of Elena Hoshizaki by Johnny Thanphachanh

Technodesign = technology + design. I am a mixed media designer, senior software engineer, UX designer/engineer, and artist. My specialty is creative technology, including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML).

I currently work at Apple as a Human Interface Designer. I obtained a master’s degree (MDes) in Design with an emphasis in New Media from UC Berkeley in 2024. Previously, I was a Senior Software Engineer and worked at Disney for 7 years. My undergraduate degree is in Architecture from UCLA.

My work ranges from physical computing to traditional painting. Art is my lifelong passion. I find delight in playing with craft, color, and whimsy.

I am half Japanese-American, half Italian + German-American, and a native Angelena — born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

📷 Photo by Johnny Thanphachanh

More Experience

  • Web app development for UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Center for Equity Gender Accessibility and Leadership (EGAL). I currently work with Webflow, JavaScript, SVG animation. I manage the EGAL resources website. I also defined and maintain the accompanying component library and style guide.

  • Senior Software Engineer | DECEMBER 2017 - JULY 2022

    The Walt Disney Company, Glendale, CA

    Built new features in an agile environment for major domestic and international Disney sites including Disney.com, StarWars.com, and Disneyland® and Walt Disney World® official websites

    Developed and launched Unison, a unified suite of internal tools for Marvel, National Geographic, and ABC News digital products

    Collaborated with Product, Design, UX and QA to build interactive guest experiences with an emphasis on performance and responsive design

    Led engineering for A/B testing product concepts, including Ads and UI redesigns, to find promising directions that address both guest and business needs

    Mentored junior developers and onboarded new engineers

  • Web Application Developer | JULY 2015 - DECEMBER 2017

    The Walt Disney Company, Glendale, CA

    Interpreted UX designs to build creative web experiences with a keen eye for visual design and user interaction

    Co-founded and oversaw the Women + Tech Brown Bag Lunch Series, a monthly open forum to discuss topics relevant to women and technology

    Drove and developed projects from concept to production, working closely with product managers and designers

    Developed and maintained extensible cross-browser, cross-device code to build scalable applications and reusable modules

    Relaunched Disney’s flagship eCommerce website, shopDisney.com, featuring a responsive redesign and PCI compliant checkout experience written in React

  • UX Engineer | APRIL 2014 - JULY 2015

    MediaHound, El Segundo, CA

    Developed front-end code to launch new user-facing websites including MediaHound.com and DateNightMovies.com

    Created low to high fidelity wireframes and prototypes

    Partnered with Creative Director, Stakeholders and engineering team to build compelling user experience solutions

  • Operations Administrator | NOVEMBER 2012 - JANUARY 2014

    Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, Los Angeles, CA

    Administered, monitored and validated automation tasks

    Collected data from reports and queries to support team efficiency

    Built a system of templated spreadsheets to arrange, manipulate, format and prepare large amounts of information

  • Graphic Designer | MAY 2012 - NOVEMBER 2012

    Digital Color World dba BannerWorld, Los Angeles, CA

    Exercised graphical input and creative knowledge daily while utilizing proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

    Administered company operations - from collecting orders, to sending orders to the in-house production team for large-format CMYK printing, to summarizing consumer feedback

  • Associate Project Manager | JUNE 2010 - MAY 2012

    EME Partners, Los Angeles, CA

    Managed and co-managed 30+ projects ranging from minor Single Family Dwelling remodels to entire new site construction

    Designed and developed project proposals with lead architect

    Liaised and delegated tasks amongst clients, lead architect, engineering team, contractor, and City Planning offices

    Expedited drawings to LA Department of Building and Safety

Education

Seal of The University of California, Berkeley, featuring an open book, a star, and a banner with the motto 'Let There Be Light', encircled by the university's name and founding year 1868.

Master of Design (MDes)

Emphasis in New Media

UC Berkeley

2024

Logo featuring a red gear shape with the letters 'GA' inside in black.

Web Development Immersive

General Assembly

2014

UCLA Extension logo with white text on a blue background.

User Experience Design

UCLA Extension

2013

The seal of the University of California, featuring an open book with a star above, a serpent wrapped around a staff, and a banner with the phrase 'Let There Be Light.'

Architectural Studies (BA)

UCLA

2011

Seal of Santa Monica College, California, featuring a torch with flames, a book, and the year 1929, surrounded by the text 'Santa Monica College California' and the Latin motto 'Humanitas Veritas Munus.'

Philosophy (AA)

Santa Monica College

2008

Leadership

Creative Co-Lead

Disney PRIDE

2021-2022

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Membership Chair

Disney Women + Tech

2016-2017

Administrative Officer

UC Berkeley MDes Student Association (MDSA)

2022-2023

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Mentor

Disney CODE: Rosie

2016-2019

Skills

Creative

Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects, Sketch, Figma, InVision, Procreate, Autodesk AutoCAD, Fusion 360, Rhinoceros 3D, Midjourney, Dall-E, prototyping, wireframing, interaction design, illustration, painting

Engineering

HTML, CSS/SCSS, JavaScript, React, Angular, Bootstrap, Node, Underscore, Google Ad Manager, Google Analytics, Docker, Python, PHP, WordPress, Git(hub/lab), Raspberry Pi, Arduino