Jascha Goltermann

AI Design Leader & Strategist

Currently leading AI and Search at Booking.com, driving innovation and shaping strategies with global impact

12+
Years in UX

Working in UX since 2012, from web design to the era of AI
8+
Years of leadership

Across a spectrum of roles, from Lead Designer to Head of UX
20B+
Visits impacted

Creating experiences used by millions of people every day
500M+
Unique users reached

Crafting for audiences in 40+ languages across 220+ countries

1700%
UX org growth in scale-up

Scaled and matured teams through high-growth stages
200+
Designers
mentored

Supporting UX talent on ADPList and beyond
40+
Designers
recruited

Building teams across design, research and content
10+
0-to-1 product launches

Thriving in the challenge of turning bold ideas into reality
3
Market-leading platforms built

In diverse ventures from e-commerce to SaaS
0
Shortcuts
on quality

Because design quality is not at odds with scale or speed

Focus Areas

Currently driving impact through design leadership, team empowerment, and UX innovation

Creating Meaningful Value with AI

I’ve led UX teams to design AI-powered innovations that empower millions of users.

My approach ensures AI meets real user needs, enhancing experiences with meaningful value instead of using AI for its own sake.

View Case Studies
Empowering Leadership at All Levels

I’ve guided both ICs and managers, fostering their growth and empowering them to succeed.

I cultivate cultures rooted in empathy, openness, and collaboration, unlocking talent potential and building thriving communities.

View Leadership Values
Passionately Shaping AI & Design

I love contributing to the evolving conversation on AI and design via conferences, events and articles.

By bridging practical insights with visionary perspectives, I help define the role of UX in the era of AI-empowered products.

View Blog Posts

Portfolio

A selection of projects that demonstrate my approach to design leadership and the impact of my work

Redefining Travel with the AI Trip Planner

I led the UX workstream for the AI Trip Planner, Booking.com’s first Generative AI product.

This case study demonstrates how a clear vision and user-first approach can harness cutting-edge AI technology to deliver intuitive, value-driven experiences.

View case study Watch preview
Transforming Search at Booking.com

I led a transformative vision for Search at Booking.com, reimagining how users discover and plan their trips across all verticals.

This case study demonstrates how to drive large-scale strategic change through cross-functional collaboration, and evolve fragmented experiences into a unified system.

View case study
Using GenAI to empower users to filter for anything

I led the UX team for Smart Filters, which seamlessly integrates AI into the heart of Booking.com’s search experience.

This case study shows how AI can be leveraged to address long-standing user needs in innovative and impactful ways, integrating advanced technology into effortless interactions.

In progress Watch preview
Unlocking Simplicity with Natural Language Search

We integrated natural language processing into Booking.com’s search engine, allowing users to search in their own words and express their needs naturally.

This project shows how AI can revolutionise core functionality to make the experience more intuitive and accessible.
In progress

Leadership Values

These proven principles guide how I lead design teams, shape strategy, and deliver transformative results

Elevate Design’s Strategic Impact

Design needs to co-drive business strategy, not just execution.

By leveraging design thinking as a strategic tool in early decision-making, I position design as a partner to identify business opportunities and shape the product direction.

Champion Design Excellence

High standards of craft can be established at scale.

By defining what excellence looks like and building mechanisms to achieve it, I create the foundation for teams to push boundaries while achieving consistently high quality.

Lead Through Empowerment

Impact multiplies when others are empowered to lead.

By creating opportunities for growth and enabling individuals to take ownership, I leverage the cascading effect of mentorship and leadership that strengthens the entire org.

Foster Open Design Practices

Great design emerges through iteration and critique.

By building environments where sharing work early is the norm and feedback flows freely across levels and teams, I empower the best ideas to win regardless of their source.

Deliver Measurable Impact

User value and business growth reinforce each other.

By connecting the value of delightful experiences to measurable outcomes, teams see their tangible impact and become invested in driving business success.

Lead With Strategic Vision

Compelling visions inspire teams and align toward shared goals.

By aligning teams around ambitious but achievable goals, I connect inspiring future states to concrete metrics that demonstrate value for users and the business.

Transform Complexity Into Clarity

The mark of great design is making the complex feel simple.

By guiding teams to break down intricate challenges, I enable elegant solutions that are intuitive and delightful regardless of their technical complexity.

Build Without Boundaries

Great solutions transcend organizational boundaries.

By fostering collaboration across crafts, teams and departments, I ensure organizational structures never limit the ability to create the right solution.

Champion Continuous Learning

Innovation thrives in environments that embrace exploration.

By fostering environments where unplanned outcomes are seen as learning opportunities, I build cultures where teams confidently push boundaries.

Grow Organizational Maturity

Impact scales through systematic processes.

By transforming individual best practices into scalable processes, I foster cultures that enable teams to achieve more while maintaining consistently high quality.

Thoughts

Regularly sharing insights and reflections on design, leadership, and innovation

From Commands to Intent: How AI is Reshaping Interfaces

AI is enabling hyper-personalized, real-time interactions by dynamically adapting to user intent and making digital experiences feel more natural.

The Gatekeepers We Never Meant to Create: Rethinking UX in AI Systems

Seemingly technical decisions in AI - like data flows and model constraints - often shape the user experience in ways we don’t immediately see.

5 Learnings from Designing AI-powered Products

Practical lessons from designing AI products that tackle complexity, build trust, and seamlessly integrate into everyday user experiences.

The Impact of AI on UX Design

In the era of AI, UX design is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. In this talk at Hatch, I shared learnings and practices from developing AI-powered features

Pranav Pathak Product Director - AI @ Booking.com
I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Jascha on several AI-driven initiatives, and I can confidently say he is one of the most visionary and strategic design leaders I’ve encountered.

Jascha has the rare ability to bridge the gap between AI technologies and real user needs, ensuring that innovation doesn’t just dazzle but delivers genuine value.

What sets Jascha apart is his relentless focus on making AI intuitive and human-centric. His depth of domain knowledge in AI and machine learning is matched by his commitment to solving meaningful problems in simple, elegant ways.