What I Do
Twenty years building products. A lifetime studying human behavior, and now agentic AI. Three arcs, one through-line.
My Experience
My career spans product design, health science, and agentic AI. Each one helps inform my perspective on a question that has shaped my entire career: what does it actually take to change human behavior?
Health Science
I studied biological sciences at Stanford, and ranked first in my class, achieving a Beckman scholarship for my published work in neuroscience and electrophysiology. I went on to found Healify and eventually worked directly with patients as a somatic therapist, treating chronic pain and anxiety. The science of how humans actually change has become both my academic foundation and how I approach all of my professional work.
Product & UX Design
I spent twenty years building consumer and enterprise products for popular brands such as Apple, Intuit, Realtor.com, and Capital One, reaching over 100 million users. I drove results and won awards: a 14% increase in paid conversions at Realtor.com ($45M incremental revenue), 20% fewer support calls at Intuit, and 300% ROI lift for Capital One. I learned how to optimize for KPIs, but even more importantly, how to ask the right questions.
Agentic AI
Agentic AI is new to all of us. But after I got over the initial shock of realizing it could fully automate my job, I started getting innovative with it. Agentic AI now feels like a natural evolution of my career, the co-creative ally I have been seeking all along. I started designing, building, and architecting applications with AI nearly full-time in 2024, and have been on a mission ever since: to extend human capacity in everyday life in deep partnership with AI.
How I Work
From first conversation to production. How a typical engagement actually goes.
Discovery
Before any creative work, I want to understand the real problem — not just the brief. That means conversations with stakeholders, reviewing existing data, and identifying where the stated need and the actual need diverge. This is often where the most valuable work happens.
Creative Sessions
Collaborative working sessions where I bring initial concepts and provocations. Fast, generative, no polish. The goal is to find the direction worth pursuing, not to present finished thinking.
Rapid Prototyping
With agentic tools, I can move from concept to working prototype in hours. This collapses the feedback loop dramatically — instead of reviewing wireframes, teams can react to something real. That speed isn't just efficiency; it changes what questions you can ask.
Stakeholder & End User Research
Validation that runs alongside building, not after it. Qualitative interviews, usability sessions, and stakeholder alignment checks woven into the process rather than bolted on at the end. The most expensive mistake in product is solving the wrong problem with precision.
Production Integration
I can take work all the way to production — code, agents, APIs. No handoff required unless the team wants one. The best outcome is something live that real people use, not a deck that describes what it could be.
Testimonials
"Erik Burns is a game changing UX & innovation thought leader, with a relentless focus on making a massive impact. Erik was instrumental in launching programs that improved the Revenue Per Buyer at realtor.com by +40-50%. Erik's interaction style helps inspire the cross functional team."
Director of Product
Realtor.com
"Erik is a rare gem; he is not only a prolific designer, but also a good front end developer, which allows him to quickly build compelling web applications... He is a true team player, always adaptable to good ideas — and a patient and supportive mentor. Erik is one of the best in his field."
VP of Product
Hightail
"Erik brings a passion and enthusiasm that energizes everyone he encounters and translates into superior product design. He has a knack for asking probing questions that get to the heart of an issue... Erik's many talents come together for maximum effect because of his positive attitude."
Principal Software Architect
Xerox PARC
Technologies I Use
The tools and patterns I work with across every project.
Claude API
Tool use, structured outputs, streaming, and prompt caching. The backbone of every agentic system I build.
Agentic Systems
Multi-agent orchestration, typed signal protocols, long-context memory, and human-in-the-loop design.
Node.js · Netlify
Serverless functions for agentic workflows, real-time streaming, and data pipelines.
Google Firestore
User-partitioned, privacy-first data storage. The persistence layer for HabitualOS and Healify.
11ty · Zero Gravity
Static site generation and Zero Gravity — a semantic microformat for AI-readable content.
Behavioral Science
CBT, somatic therapy, and motivational research applied directly to product and AI design.