Growing up in different countries Vera Schmidt graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg as a Diplom-Designer and received her Master of Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design as a Fulbright Scholar. She then gained first professional design experience as a freelance designer for different companies within Germany and in New York City.

Her career at Mercedes-Benz began in 2008 before she became the first Advanced Designer for User Experience at the Mercedes-Benz R & D Lab in Silicon Valley in 2011, to grow a new Advanced UX Design Studio.

Her focus within the Mercedes-Benz R&D lab was on innovative design concepts, visionary features and interface aesthetics. One of the main projects she worked on amongst others was the Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion where the teams created complex future scenarios with a vision in mind that transform the vehicle into a communicating, intelligent robot.

In 2015 Vera Schmidt went back to the HQ in Germany to grow an Advanced Digital Design Department in Sindelfingen, Stuttgart. Her cross-functional teams are designing the digital look and feel and conceptualize the digital vehicle of tomorrow in collaboration with experts and partner teams throughout Daimler. She introduces new areas of expertise at the Mercedes-Benz Digital Design and develops core UX strategies and concepts for our next generation Experiences in and outside cars.