Structuring Digital Products for Discovery, Productivity, and Scale

Justin Barr Young is a product manager and creative technologist based in Los Angeles. For nearly two decades, he has led and mentored teams at the intersection of design thinking, technology, and business. Known for his collaborative approach and rapid execution, Justin translates complex domains—like cybersecurity and web hosting—into user-friendly, strategically impactful solutions for startups and enterprise companies alike.

Currently, Justin is a Senior Product Manager at GitHub, where he leads efforts to define and enhance the experiences of new users and enterprise developers. He previously led GitHub’s UI platform team, driving the development and scaling of the Primer design system, accessibility standards, front-end frameworks, and site-wide navigation. Before GitHub, he contributed to the growth of successful Los Angeles startups, including Signal Sciences (acquired by Fastly in 2020) and Media Temple (acquired by GoDaddy in 2013). He began his career as a product designer and front-end engineer before transitioning into product management.

Justin earned his bachelor's degree in public policy from Occidental College in 2010 and continued his education with courses at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Designing navigation for complex digital products isn’t just about designing menus and links—it’s about guiding users to their workflows while adapting to evolving sets of features, engineering constraints, and information architecture. Navigation plays a critical role in usability, adoption, and long-term success, especially in high-growth products.
Drawing from real-world experience, including at GitHub, I’ll walk through the challenges of structuring navigation at scale, balancing flexibility, discoverability, and accessibility. I'll explore how navigation systems evolve over time and the trade-offs that product, design, and engineering teams face along the way. Expect practical insights, real-world case studies, and a candid discussion about what works—and what doesn’t.

Light snacks and beverages will be available during the event!

Host or Publisher UX in LIS Series at UCLA