curriculum vitae

PETER BARTSCH

Howdy. I'm Pete. I create, develop and manage new digital products and experiences, and the teams that make it all happen. From scrappy startups to Fortune 500s, I've brought strategic vision and hands-on leadership to projects and groups in rapid transformation. I am passionate about maps, automation and AI as a design tool, and love complex challenges.

 

 

DIGITAL TOOLS: CURRENT FAVS

  • Figma / Figjam
  • Obsidian MD
  • OBS
  • Plasticity 3D
  • Blender 3D
  • Descript.com
  • Cursor.com

 

© 2025 Peter Bartsch
Handmade with ❤️ and 🤖
in Illinois.

Peter Bartsch
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Thiosphere.org

Inventor / Founder

Modular, Open Source Space

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Inventor / Founder Thiosphere.org
Senior Lead UX John Deere
Head of UX FourKites.com
Consultant: Agile + UX MavenWave Partners
Product Marketing Manager Nokia (HERE Maps)
Product Manager Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi
Principal Dig the Pixels / D7TV.com
Member, Board of Directors How Weird Street Faire
Snowboard Instructor The Burton Chill Program
Product Manager Cognistar.com
Product Manager SkyMall.com
Principal tronicmedia
Interactive Specialist Life Fitness
BA: Humanities Arizona State University
Student@Large School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Founder F. A. Skates

 

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Thios

Inventor / Founder

June 2024 - Present

  • Invented modular shelter system for diverse applications, achieving market-ready prototype with comprehensive manufacturing specifications
  • Mastered advanced design tools (Blender 3D, Plasticity CAD) and fabrication techniques to accelerate product development timeline
  • Engineered production-ready designs with detailed bill of materials and cost analysis, reducing manufacturing complexity
  • Integrated multiple AI services using Cursor AI + Claude Code to build automated marketing platforms and business tools
  • Open-sourced design files to focus on zero-mile farming communities, establishing foundation for sustainable Agrospheres initiative
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John Deere

Senior Lead User Experience, Digital Customer Experience

August 2020 - June 2024

  • Orchestrated UX side of enterprise-wide digital customer experience transformation, for all product lines and global markets/li>
  • Unified global customer authentication and account management systems, increasing logged in user engagement across all digital touchpoints
  • Part of transition team to Figma, establishing comprehensive global design systems that increased design team velocity significantly
  • Architected license management system to be deployed across all product lines worldwide, catalyzing 9% increase in recurring revenue
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FourKites.com

Head of User Experience

January 2017 - August 2020

  • Scaled design organization from sole practitioner to 10-person team, launching 6 major products that secured Fortune 500 enterprise clients
  • Established design practice as early employee (#28), implementing processes that supported 300% YoY revenue growth to $100MM annually
  • Developed comprehensive user research protocols that directly informed product strategy and market positioning
  • Transformed annual customer conference from 15 to 500+ participants over three years through strategic workshop leadership
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MavenWave Consulting

Senior Management Consultant / Agile + UX

January 2014 - January 2017

  • Transformed digital product development for Fortune 500 clients including Abbott, Nike, and OptumRx, delivering projects 10% ahead of schedule
  • Built and mentored cross-functional design teams using Agile methodologies, consistently exceeding client expectations
  • Evangelized Agile principles across enterprise stakeholders, achieving 90% adoption rate across client organizations
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Nokia / HERE Maps

Product Marketing Manager, HERE Traffic

August 2012 - January 2014

  • Managed product marketing strategy for real-time traffic platform serving millions of users globally through in-dash GPS systems
  • Created innovative large display geo data visualizations for OEM partnerships in Europe, Asia, Mideast and Africa
  • Led integration of acquired Trapster app into HERE Traffic platform, improving user onboarding experience and user engagement
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Gogo Inflight Internet

Product Manager, Signature Services

April 2008 - August 2012

  • Launched inflight connectivity and airborne/terrestrial web services across 6 major airlines as pre-launch product team member
  • Developed sponsored flight tracker generating recurring revenue streams, functioning independently of flight’s connection status
  • Pioneered first Agile integration with FAA-proctored manufacturing process, establishing best practices for the company
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How Weird Street Faire

Member, Board of Directors

May 2001 - November 2024

  • Member of Board of Directors for 501.c.3 Non-Profit, in good starting with both state and federal for over 20 years
  • Donated proceeds for local SF based womens shelter and STEM educational center in Vallejo, CA
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Dig the Pixels / D7TV.com

Founder / Principal Designer

August 2004 - April 2008

  • Awarded Best Designed Site at Drupalcon 2008 Boston
  • Featured in TechCrunch as "The Next MTV for Mobile Content"
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Cognistar.com

Co-Founder

June 2000 - August 2004

  • Led production team in creating 80+ online video courses
  • Scaled operations to achieve $2M+ annual revenue
  • Established production workflows and quality standards
  • Managed end-to-end course development lifecycle
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SkyMall.com

Title

August 1998 - March 2000

  • Spearheaded DVD catalog production and distribution
  • Created detailed 3D product models for DVD-ROM integration
  • Enhanced digital shopping experience through interactive content
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tronicmedia

Founder

August 1997 - December 1998

  • Provided custom web development and hosting solutions
  • Specialized in creating animated 3D GIFs for early web applications
  • Managed client relationships and project deliverables
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Life Fitness

Interactive Specialist

August 1994 - March 1997

  • Developed and tested Exertainment Systems prototypes
  • Created and launched first lifefitness.com website
  • Demonstrated products at major events including MTV Beach House and CES
  • Collaborated with production team on system optimization
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A.S.U.

B.A. Humanities

August 1989 - May 1993

  • Focus on Architectual Theory
  • (and vert ramp skateboarding)
  • Minor in snowboarding
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School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Student@large

September 1987 - June 1989

  • Oil Painting
  • Copper Sculpture
  • Neon
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F. A. Skates

Title

August 1985 - March 1988

  • Founded and operated independent skateboard retail business
  • Managed inventory, sales, and customer service
  • Built local skateboarding community through events and promotions
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Burton Chill Foundation

Title

November 2000 - March 2002

  • Instructed underserved high school students at Wachusett Mountain, MA
  • Taught snowboarding fundamentals to ~70 students per season
  • Participated in youth mentorship and development program
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