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Lorena Vargas Islas

Sr. Conversational AI Designer

Passionate about the intersection of human factors, technology, and language, I design user experiences for voice assistants and chatbots, now expanding into the LLM-powered solution space.

I'm a designer with 6+ years of expertise in product, innovation, research, and conversation design. Experienced in serving global clients in healthcare, finance, transport, automotive, and consulting.

📍 Torreón, México

About my career

Industrial Designer

I began in industrial design with a focus on visuals and craftsmanship, but my education taught me to value the impact of invisible experiences in products and services. This shaped my human-centered approach and creative thinking process.



Front-end Developer

Captivated by the concept of usability, I was led into UX design— a space where technology offered the perfect opportunity to explore that further. Developing coding skills opened the door to the role that launched my career in the industry I was aiming for.



UX Designer / Researcher

While working as a front-end developer, I gained the design skills needed to transition into UX,
taking part in innovation challenges, company contests, and endless trainings.

Once a UX Designer (and later researcher), I worked on projects that covered the full design process, from business strategy to development, delivering solutions in the form of mobile and web applications, B2C solutions, chatbots, research reports, and over 70 collaborative innovation workshop sessions.



Conversation AI Designer

My very first UX project happened to be a chatbot, and I was drawn in immediately. Conversation design fascinated me with the challenge it presented: mimicking the complexity of language, with its countless forms and nuances. Since then, I’ve pursued formal training in the space, participated in events, joined and eventually lead a tech community called Women in Voice Mexico.

I’ve delivered chatbots across three different roles in various companies and worked on traditional DTMF IVRs, directed-dialog voice assistants, traditional and LLM-powered chatbots in my current position. I also have a growing interest in Responsible AI and accessibility, for which I'm developing skills and frameworks for my team.

Professional background

Roles

Senior Conversation Designer
Concentrix Catalyst | 2023 - Present
Technology consulting

Senior UX Researcher
Concentrix Catalyst | 2022 - 2023
Technology consulting

Senior Product Designer
Citibanamex | 2021 - 2022
Banking

UX Design Consultant
Independent consulting | 2021 - 2022
Service

User Experience Designer
Accenture Monterrey | 2019 - 2021
Telecommunications + Media and Technology

Design Thinking Workshop Faculty and Facilitator
Internal Employee Training | 2018 - Present
Employee training

Front-end Developer
Accenture Monterrey | 2018 - 2019
Healthcare and accessibility
About my projects →

Education

Industrial Design Bachelor's Degree
Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey
📍 Monterrey, México

International Exchange Program
RMIT Design School
📍 Melbourne, Australia

Non-profit

Chapter Lead (Ambassador since 2019)
‍‍
Women in Voice Mexico | 2022 - Present
Tech community leadership

ADPList Mentor
ADPList | 2022 - Present
70+ sessions, 3000+ minutes

Skills + Tools

Conversant in: Accessibility · Generative AI · Design Thinking

CUI Design:
Conversation Design · UX Writing  ·  Persona Design  ·  Voiceflow  · AI Training · AWS Lex · Nuance Mix

GUI Design:  Figma  ·  Sketch  ·  Invision  ·  Adobe Suite   · UX Pin 

Collaboration:  Workshop facilitation  ·  Miro  ·  Mural
Lorena mentoring on design thinking

Achievements

Trainings and certifications

AS A STUDENT
> Ethics for Conversational AI - Open Voice Network | 2023

> Linguistics for non-linguists - Iván Salgado | 2024

> The Business Value of Design (Strategy, Ops and Sales) - AprendeUX | 2023

> Conversation Design Course - Iván Salgado | 2022

> AI Trainer Certification -
Conversation Design Institute | 2022

> UX Design for IoT Environments Certification - AprendeUX | 2021

> Advanced Conversational UX Design Certification - Voice Tech Global | 2021

> Agile Professional Certification - Accenture | 2020

> UX Writing (Spanish + English) - UX Mexico + Skillshare | 2019

> Storytelling - Accenture | 2019

> Design Thinking Practitioner Accreditation - LUMA Institute | 2018

> Front-end Development Academy - Accenture | 2017

Collaborations and talks

AS FACULTY
> Gender in Conversational AI - LatAm Bish Bash by IEEE | 2022

> UX Writing: How words make or break designs (Spanish) - Women Who Code Monterrey | 2021

> Introduction to User Experience - IMEF Universitario | 2021

> Ideation: Beyond brainstorming - Software Guru in DevDay4Women | 2021

> Introduction to Designing for Voice - School of AI Monterrey | 2020

> User Research Training - Service Design Chile | 2020

> Best Pitch Award at Accenture's Global Technology Innovation LATAM Finale - Accenture Brasil | 2019

> Meetings that could've been sessions - Introduction to workshop facilitation - Accenture Internal Training | 2019

Let's talk

Think we can work together? Contact me through email or Linkedin.