Nashua, NH
(978) 866-3276
mbalkan@comcast.net
www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-balkan

Digital Production, Operations & Systems Specialist

MICHELLE BALKAN

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Digital production, operations, and systems professional with nearly 30 years of experience creating, organizing, and optimizing complex digital environments across web production, email operations, UX workflows, localization, accessibility, and enterprise content platforms.

Known for bringing structure to complexity through scalable systems, workflow optimization, standards development, documentation, governance, and process improvement. Experienced in building and maintaining enterprise websites, multilingual content ecosystems, responsive email programs, and digital production frameworks that improve consistency, reduce friction, and support long-term organizational success.

Trusted to independently learn new technologies, identify patterns, solve complex implementation challenges, and design scalable operational systems that improve efficiency, consistency, and long-term maintainability.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Web production and CMS

  • HTML

  • CSS

  • Jahia CMS (10+ years)

  • WordPress

  • Responsive web production

  • Bootstrap grid architecture

  • SEO metadata

  • Alt tags and title attributes

Email operations and marketing automation

  • Email template systems

  • Multilingual email deployment

  • Responsive email development

  • Marketo (4–5 years)

  • Litmus

  • Pardot

Systems, documentation and workflow optimization

  • Figma (6 years)

  • Components and variants

  • Figma developer mode

  • Developer handoff optimization

  • Email CSS management

  • Outlook rendering optimization

  • Cross-client QA testing

  • Localization coordination

  • Metadata management

  • Content governance

Creative and technical tools

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Adobe Illustrator

  • Miro

  • Smartsheet

  • Akamai

  • Wistia

  • CookieYes

  • Box

  • Naming conventions

  • Developer documentation

  • Information architecture

  • Microsoft Office Suite

  • Visual Studio

  • ClearCase

  • Basic PHP Familiarity

Sr. Graphic UX/UI Designer & Email Template Creator (Digital Production, Operations & Systems Lead)
2005 – Present

Vicor Corporation - Andover, MA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Web Production & Digital Content Operations

  • Independently build and maintain enterprise website sections and landing pages in Jahia CMS, managing HTML structure, responsive layouts, SEO metadata, accessibility, image optimization, and multilingual deployment.

  • Architect and implement enterprise website sections supporting multilingual publishing, content governance, accessibility compliance, and long-term maintainability.

  • Design promotional landing pages in Figma and build reusable Jahia templates for webinars, white papers, and marketing campaigns with integrated data-capture forms.

  • Manage custom branded data-capture form styling across Marketo and related JavaScript language files in Jahia, supporting translated form experiences across multilingual website versions.

Email Operations & Marketing Production

  • Design, develop, code, and maintain a Marketo email ecosystem of 66 responsive templates supporting external campaigns and internal communications.

  • Design scalable template architectures, editable regions, naming conventions, and authoring controls that enable marketing teams to create emails efficiently while maintaining brand consistency and reducing production errors.

  • Build multilingual email systems supporting English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, German, and Korean.

  • Translate approved Figma designs into responsive HTML and implement production-ready templates in Marketo.

  • Manage Outlook rendering reliability, perform Litmus QA testing, and maintain documentation and training materials supporting efficient team adoption.

  • Led evaluation of Adobe Marketo's Email Design Studio transition, conducting hands-on testing, identifying workflow implications, assessing template architecture impacts, and presenting findings and implementation considerations to Adobe account, product, and engineering teams

Design Systems, Documentation & Technical Support

  • Develop best practices, workflows, production standards, and user-facing documentation that improve operational consistency, reduce production friction, minimize errors, and streamline digital implementation.

  • Help build and maintain a cross-functional Figma design system using reusable components and structured layouts supporting scalable digital production.

  • Create developer-facing documentation, style guides, and development-ready design assets that improve implementation consistency and reduce ambiguity

  • Partner closely with developers to ensure final builds align with intended design vision and technical requirements across customer-facing and internal tools.

  • Support high-visibility executive initiatives involving technically complex engineering and product communications.

QA, Localization & Governance

  • Coordinate enterprise website accessibility improvements supporting ADA/WCAG compliance initiatives.

  • Coordinate multilingual workflows across up to five language versions with colleagues in China and Japan.

  • Maintain content governance standards including translation workflows, SEO metadata, and multilingual content integrity.

  • Serve as a primary QA resource validating responsive behavior across devices, browsers, and email clients.

  • Proactively identify, troubleshoot, and resolve implementation issues across digital platforms.

PAPYRUS RACING GAMES / VIVENDI UNIVERSAL — Concord, MA

Production Assistant → Computer Artist → Senior Artist (UI Production & Implementation) | 1997–2004

  • Progressed from Art Production Assistant to Engineering Department UI Specialist supporting multiple shipped racing titles.

  • Served as a single-owner UI production resource translating approved concepts into production-ready front-end implementations.

  • Designed and built graphical user interfaces using Visual Studio and proprietary systems for Grand Prix Legends and multiple NASCAR Racing titles.

  • Developed localization-ready interface systems supporting German translation.

  • Collaborated cross-functionally with engineering and production teams to deliver release-ready interface implementations.

  • Developed a strong foundation in software implementation, localization workflows, testing, and release-quality production practices that continue to inform digital operations, QA, and production system design today.

MINUTEMAN PRESS — Burlington, MA

Graphic Designer | 1995–1996

  • Produced traditional pre-press and graphic production materials in a high-volume print environment.

  • Managed offset print preparation, film processing, plate preparation, and large-format graphics production.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Montserrat College of Art — Beverly, MA