About StarFish Medical
StarFish Medical has been building innovative, world-class medical devices for over 25 years, serving clients across North America. Their expert team of industrial designers, engineers, and manufacturing specialists helps medtech innovators overcome complex technical challenges to bring life-saving products to market.
With a deep commitment to exceptional design and user outcomes, StarFish Medical wanted to take their product development even further by adding a dedicated User Experience Design expert to their team.
The challenge: hiring a new discipline
With a robust design culture and a highly skilled industrial design team, StarFish wanted to extend their team to include a dedicated UX Designer. They knew they needed someone exceptional, someone who could match the technical rigour of their existing team while enhancing their user-centred approach.
They didn’t just want a strong portfolio. They wanted someone who could thrive in their complex, collaborative culture and help shape how UX integrates into their process. That’s where we came in.
Our approach:
Strategic preparation before recruiting
Before we sourced a single candidate, we partnered with the StarFish team to define exactly what kind of UX Designer they needed:
- Skillset mapping: We identified key UX capabilities that would complement their existing design and engineering strengths
- Job description development: We crafted a clear, compelling job description that spoke directly to high-caliber UX professionals
- Custom interview framework: We built a tailored interview process that included the right evaluation materials and guided questions to support objective, skills-based hiring
Guided co-interviewing and evaluation
Because UX hiring was new territory for StarFish, we took a hands-on approach in the interview process:
- Co-led interviews: We moderated two key interviews, a portfolio review and a design challenge. This allowed us to surface both craft and critical thinking
- Skill-based evaluation: Our UX-specific expertise ensured the team could assess each candidate’s problem-solving approach, communication style, and fit with their collaborative work environment
This structure not only helped identify the right candidate but also gave the StarFish Medical team confidence in their hiring decision.
Results: a successful hire
With our tools and support, the Starfish Medical hiring team was able to:
- Successfully hire their first dedicated UX Designer
- Improve team understanding of UX roles and capabilities
- Lay the foundation to grow a UX practice within the company