Senior designer,
design leader,
always building

Always up for an interesting problem

I'm JC Zabel. Currently at Microsoft, designing AI-powered guidance across Azure, from Portal patterns to Advisor recommendations to the tools our field teams use to support customers. Before that, scaled an enterprise platform past 20M devices as the founding designer. AI-native, drawn to mission work, still shipping the software myself.

See the work →Recent projects

Flagship case study

Azure Advisor · Build 2026 · Private preview

A wall of recommendations → five decisions that matter.

AI-powered, agentic guidance for enterprise cloud resiliency and retirements. Turning walls of context-free recommendations into five decisions that matter. Private preview, unveiled at Microsoft Build 2026.

Read the case study →
HUNDREDS OF RECOMMENDATIONSAskSCOPE + INTENTFIVE THAT MATTER1CRITICAL2NEXT3NEXT4LATER5LATER

Recent projects

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CharTaker screenshot

CharTaker

React

A Starfinder character manager that carries a player from a guided build through live play, starships, and shared campaigns. Built solo and shipped to the App Store.

ViteCapacitorSupabase
Live demoApp StoreGoogle PlaySourceView →
MealMapper screenshot

MealMapper

React Native

A cross-platform app that turns a week of meals into a sorted grocery list and a one-tap store order, built for two people sharing one kitchen.

ExpoTypeScriptSupabase
Live demoSourceView →
Inspec screenshot

Inspec

TypeScript

A franchise management application for streamlining inspections and operations.

Franchise ManagementSide Project
Live demoSourceView →
All projects →

How I lead

Grow the people

The best design orgs are built on trust and growth. I invest in 1:1s, design crits, and stretch assignments because a team that's learning is a team that delivers.

Ship over perfection

I run my teams on speed and iteration first. We ship working increments fast, then polish what matters. Momentum beats perfection.

Design the system

I think in systems, not screens. Scalable patterns, shared tokens, and reusable components mean the team moves faster and the product stays coherent as it grows.

Test what you don't know

We build confidently on what we know and test what we don't. Get it in front of users early, validate fast, and iterate. Assumptions are risks; feedback is fuel.

Working on something that matters?

I'd like to hear about it. Climate, energy, healthcare, public good. Those are the ones I lean toward, but if it's real work on a hard problem, drop me a line.

jc.zabel@gmail.com →