About
How I got here
I'm a UX researcher with seven years of experience, and an unusual one at that. Most researchers build their careers either in product companies or consultancies. I've done both, and they've made me a better researcher than either track would have on its own.
In 2022, I joined Tripadvisor as a UX Researcher, where I stayed and grew until a restructuring in November 2025. Tripadvisor gave me the rigour and pace of embedded product research. Over three and a half years, I supported five different business units across B2C and B2B, from the Community team working on traveller contributions to the Partner Platform team building tools for hoteliers and restaurateurs. Switching contexts and getting up to speed on new parts of the business quickly became second nature.
I was also the only researcher based outside the US for most of that time, working from Singapore while my team was 12 to 15 hours behind. That required a level of autonomy and proactive communication that became a defining feature of how I work. It meant making research land even when I was halfway across the world.
At Tripadvisor, I consistently looked for ways to contribute beyond what was asked. That included building research practices from the ground up, earning stakeholder trust, and making research integral to how teams make decisions rather than a service they occasionally request. It all lives on Research Practice.
Before Tripadvisor, I spent three and a half years at Chemistry, a strategic design consultancy in Singapore, where I was promoted to Senior Design Researcher. I led research and experience design projects for public sector clients, guiding junior researchers and leading engagements end to end.
The projects I delivered operated at a national scale for government agencies including the NHB, IMDA, and CPF Board. Consultancy taught me how to manage complexity: aligning stakeholders with competing priorities, translating ambiguous briefs into clear research questions, and moving fast across unfamiliar territory.
Why I do this
Being a researcher is both a challenge and a privilege. It means diving deep into someone's experience, sometimes into something difficult or uncomfortable for them to share. But that depth is what uncovers real human needs. When those needs are solved for correctly, in genuine collaboration with Design and Product, research can meaningfully improve people's lives. That is what keeps me coming back.
In their words
Daniel has done a fantastic job applying his UX research skills to yield insights for Product about our users that are as good as gold. His work — particularly his UX research on the redesigned Claim and Verification flow — directly informed what solutions Product prioritized in their projects. He also happens to be an incredible team player who leans in, gets curious, and brings great energy to the team.
The benchmarking studies required immense logistics planning, cross-functional collaboration, and research rigour across three markets simultaneously. Daniel managed the process exceptionally, and his findings were incorporated directly into our roadmap planning and future strategy discussions.
Outside of work
I've been shooting film over the past eleven years. In that time, I kept noticing the same thing: people living their everyday moments in ways that looked remarkably similar regardless of where they were. That observation became a project.
I took everything I had captured and grouped the images not by place or year, but by what connects them. Eight themes emerged. I call the project ren, after the Chinese character 仁. It carries several meanings, but there's one that stayed with me most: recognising yourself in someone else.