Imagine a world where a single developer can build a full-fledged, market-ready product in a matter of days—without a large team or extensive coding. That world is here, thanks to AI-powered UX engineering. The integration of artificial intelligence into UX development is reshaping how digital experiences are designed, built, and optimized. While AI has supercharged developer productivity, it has also introduced a new set of challenges and opportunities that redefine the role of engineers in the modern tech landscape.
One of the leading voices at the forefront of this transformation is Damodaran, a staff engineer at eBay, who has been instrumental in bridging AI with UX engineering to create scalable, high-performance solutions. With a deep understanding of both industry and academia, Damodaran advocates for embracing AI-driven tools while ensuring that core engineering principles remain intact.
The New Era of AI-Powered UX
With AI-driven development tools becoming increasingly sophisticated, the traditional role of a UX engineer is evolving. Today, product managers and solo developers can leverage AI-assisted platforms to prototype and launch minimum viable products (MVPs) with unprecedented speed. Tools like Stately AI, Figma’s AI features, and platforms like VO.dev and lovable.dev are democratizing product development, making it accessible to a broader audience.
This shift has sparked a debate: Is traditional UX engineering still relevant? Damodaran, who recently chaired an invited session at ITAI 2025, believes the answer is a resounding yes—but with an important caveat. “AI enhances productivity, but it doesn’t replace the need for strong engineering fundamentals. What separates a great engineer from an average one is their ability to harness AI effectively while maintaining core competencies,” he explains.
Engineering at Scale: eBay’s UX Platform
As a senior leader in eBay’s Presentation Platform team, Damodaran has played a key role in launching eBay’s UX platform as a service—an initiative designed to deliver a seamless user experience across devices while preserving site performance.
“The challenge was delivering site-wide personalized coupons without impacting the performance of host pages. We had to ensure seamless integration within a multi-page application environment, without requiring coordination with multiple teams for every release,” Damodaran recalls. The solution, which initially addressed UX delivery efficiency, has since evolved into a standard practice not just at eBay but across the industry.
Today, this platform doesn’t just power UX services—it also supports eBay’s ads, recommendation, and guidance platforms. According to Damodaran, this is a prime example of how engineers can maximize the impact of their innovations by identifying cross-functional applications for their solutions. “It’s about taking a solution to a specific problem and scaling it across different arenas to enhance its industry-wide impact,” he says.
The Shifting Landscape: AI and Engineering Expertise
With AI lowering the barriers to entry for building digital products, the industry is seeing a significant shift in how engineering expertise is valued. While AI-driven tools allow teams to build faster, they also raise the bar for quality, maintainability, and performance. Companies like Apple, Google, Netflix, and Meta are looking for engineers who can not only code efficiently but also ensure that their solutions are scalable and sustainable.
“With AI, the moat that senior engineers once had has reduced—at least when it comes to building MVPs and early-stage products,” Damodaran explains. “However, beyond the initial launch, strong UX engineers are still crucial to refining, scaling, and maintaining products in the long term.”
This is where AI becomes a powerful ally rather than a replacement. Engineers who master AI-powered development tools gain a significant edge, as they can accelerate their workflows without compromising on quality. Damodaran highlights tools like Stately AI for designing robust UIs through finite state machines, Figma’s AI-powered automation, and platforms like VO.dev and lovable.dev for rapid prototyping.
Educating the Next Generation of Engineers
Beyond his work at eBay, Damodaran actively contributes to the AI and UX engineering community as a technical program committee member and reviewer for IEEE conferences. He frequently speaks at international conferences, advising industry professionals and academic researchers on leveraging AI to enhance UX design.
His upcoming book, published by Apres (Springer), delves into the secret techniques that large-scale websites use to unlock performance gains. “Understanding the nuances of performance optimization and UX engineering at scale is more important than ever. My goal is to help engineers navigate this evolving landscape by equipping them with practical strategies that blend AI-driven automation with traditional engineering expertise,” he shares.
Seizing the AI-Driven Future
As AI continues to reshape the field of UX engineering, Damodaran’s message is clear: Engineers should embrace AI as an opportunity rather than a threat. “We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how software is built. The most successful engineers will be those who can integrate AI into their workflows while ensuring that their core skills remain sharp,” he emphasizes.
The future of UX engineering isn’t about AI replacing engineers—it’s about engineers who know how to harness AI to build smarter, faster, and more scalable products. By adapting to these changes, developers can position themselves at the forefront of the next wave of digital innovation.
