About

Designer, team builder, former submariner.

I’m Jake, a UX and product design leader in Columbus, Ohio. For 20+ years I’ve designed data-driven experiences for retail, utilities and enterprise clients — and built the teams that ship them.

Today I’m a Digital Product Design Manager at Accenture. Next, I’m looking for meaningful work: a team to build and lead, and freelance projects that need an experienced design lead.

Jake Clark smiling in a cap and sunglasses against a red and black wall

Before design

Six years as a Navy nuclear-trained submariner and diver.

Submarines run on procedure, redundancy and calm under pressure. That’s still how I approach complex systems: understand every failure point, then design so people can act confidently when it matters.

Longest time submerged: 45 days
Countries visited: 17
Earned: Dolphins

Young Jake in dive gear with a yellow air tank, giving a thumbs up dockside — About to perform a security dive in Crete.

Jake in a wetsuit standing topside on a submarine with crewmates, a Norwegian harbor behind — Safety diver topside as we prepare to leave Stavanger, Norway.

Jake mid-jump from a submarine’s sailplane, with an aircraft carrier on the horizon — Jumping off the sailplane at a Mediterranean swim call, with the USS Theodore Roosevelt behind.

Jake’s commanding officer pinning the Submarine Warfare insignia on his uniform — Receiving my Submarine Warfare pin, known to submariners as “Dolphins.”

Off the clock

Jake and his son with two custom chopper motorcycles in a gravel lot

Jake riding a custom chopper down a country road

Custom motorcycles

I build custom bikes with my oldest son — a good reminder that every design decision eventually meets real materials.

Jake crouching in front of his finished “Get Better Every Day” mural in bright red, pink and blue

The mural in progress, with a lift in front of the wall in the gym

Murals & art

I try to make something new often. In 2022 that was a mural for my CrossFit gym.

What I bring to a team

Leadership. Built and ran a six-site ecommerce team at Rogue Fitness; managed design teams at DSW, Express and Tween Brands.
Facilitation. Led design-thinking workshops and digital strategy for clients at Accenture Industry X.
Research. Personas, usability and accessibility testing, and A/B studies that keep design decisions honest.
Hands-on craft. I still prototype in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so ideas get tested in the real medium.