PETER BARTSCH
(847) 636-2708   |   peter@peterbartsch.com   |   portfolio: petebartsch.com  |  http://linkedin.com/in/peterbartsch
Staff Product Designer — design systems · AI-native workflow. Led UX for a $3.8B subscription platform at Deere across web, mobile, and embedded equipment systems (500K users, 12 languages). Built design org 1→10 at FourKites scaling a real-time IoT asset-tracking platform processing 10M+ daily events ($3M→$100M ARR, $1B+ valuation). Now founder of Thios — running an AI-native workflow (Claude, Cursor, Figma Make) to ship a CAD-driven configurator, dev-grade design system with its own Claude Skill, and physical hardware.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
THIOS (thios.co) | Founder & Lead Designer | Aug 2024 - Present
Open-source modular structures running on a 5-surface design system where I'm the only designer and agents are the engineering team, every surface (DESIGN.md ↔ tokens.json ↔ main.css ↔ design-system.html ↔ OnShape) ships from one source of truth.
* Shipped a complete product ecosystem solo in 21 months — 6 sphere variants with CAD models, prototype, first revenue across every surface.
* Designed and built parametric OnShape CAD as the single source of truth driving BOM and the 3D configurator at thios.co/configurator — customers manipulate real geometry with full configuration state (valid/invalid combinations, loading, error, empty, BOM hand-off), not marketing renders
* Built a 5-surface, dev-grade design system, published its first Claude Skill (audit-design-token-drift) that catches design-token drift across canonical surfaces with file:line citations. Design system as dev tooling, not a Figma library nobody opens — https://www.thios.co/design-system-architecture.html
JOHN DEERE | Senior Lead UX; Digital Customer Experience | Aug 2020 - Jul 2024 
Embedded with product teams to modernize 20-year-old systems and drive subscription revenue across connected agricultural equipment. Proving enterprise design can move fast with the right frameworks.
* Redesigned the license management system for connected ag equipment (Automation/AI services) serving 500K+ users across 12 languages — mapped flows, license states, and edge cases (expired/renewed/transferred/dealer-managed); +34% monthly active authenticated users, –16% support tickets, enabled $3.8B in subscription revenue
* Built a unified account and navigation framework deployed across 8 product lines spanning web, mobile, and embedded equipment systems — consolidated fragmented experiences into a single customer view; +28% first-contact resolution on dealer support
* Core contributor to the enterprise design system in Figma spanning 6 brands and 40+ product teams globally — produced dev-ready handoffs (tokens, prop specs, full state coverage) that reduced design-to-development time 45% on components that actually shipped
FOURKITES | Lead UX / Manager | Jan 2017 - Jan 2020
Employee #28 during hypergrowth, $3M → $100M ARR ($1B+ valuation). Built the design function from scratch — founding designer to a 10-person global team.
* Designed flagship IoT asset-tracking platform 0→1 — real-time supply chain control tower (web) and mobile apps processing 10M+ daily GPS/telematics events for 30+ Fortune 2000 customers (Anheuser-Busch, Georgia-Pacific, Tyson); high-density dashboards with map, list, and timeline views became the primary driver of 3x customer expansion
* Led predictive analytics dashboards (data viz, anomaly states, alerting workflows) that identified shipment delays 6–12 hours earlier than competitors; +41% retention, +$120K avg ACV
* Scaled the design org across Chicago and Chennai embedded in engineering sprint cadence; established component library, design ops, and hiring framework,  –65% one-off component variants while maintaining startup velocity


MAVENWAVE PARTNERS | Senior UX + Agile Lead  | Jan 2014 - Jan 2017 
Led digital product design for Fortune 500 healthcare and pharma clients. Fast iteration in slow-moving industries.
* Designed 6 internal portals for AbbVie supporting 200K+ users across clinical trials and patient support programs — improved medication adherence tracking, –12% hospital readmissions
* Rebuilt OptumRx pharmacy formulary platform processing 1.4B prescriptions annually, created the company's first patient-facing product; –15% drug-interaction–related fulfillment errors
* Established Lean UX and Agile/sprint-cadence practices across client engagements while mentoring junior designers and leading cross-functional design sprints
NOKIA / HERE MAPS | Product Marketing Manager, HERE Traffic | Aug 2012 - Jan 2014
Product work across real-time vehicle-telematics data products and an open-source distributed computing project (DEMPSY, a Hadoop alternative).
* Designed GPS probe visualizations and a probe viewer app for real-time connected-vehicle telematics analysis
* Wireframed and led project delivery for HERE Real-Time Traffic and Trapster app integrations across connected-vehicle data products
* Owned go-to-market for DEMPSY, an open-source distributed computing platform — early exposure to designing for developer audiences


GOGO INFLIGHT INTERNET | Product Manager - Signature Services | Apr 2008 - Aug 2012
Aerospace connectivity: launched in-flight internet across major US airlines — onboard hardware + Air-to-Ground RF network. $700M to get to market.
* Owned airborne products and onboard hardware UX for major US airlines, including initial rollout testing across fleets
* Authored FAA-approved documentation for business and commercial fleet Air-to-Ground (ATG) RF connectivity systems
* Designed an in-flight flight tracker 0→1 (real-time positional data + passenger UX) that drove successful sponsorship deals


SKILLS


UX Systems: User flows · journey mapping · IA · interaction design · state management · edge-case coverage (idle/loading/success/error/empty) · information density · dashboards · enterprise design systems · design tokens · accessibility (WCAG 2.1)
Research & Methods: User interviews · usability testing · design sprints · Lean UX · Agile/Scrum sprint cadence · PRD/RFC participation
AI-Native Workflow: Claude (incl. authoring custom Claude Skill) · Cursor · Figma Make · Adobe Firefly · Midjourney · Obsidian as knowledge base
Tools: Figma · OnShape CAD · Blender 3D · HTML/CSS · Adobe Creative Suite


EDUCATION:
Arizona State University | Bachelor of Arts, Humanities and Architectural Theory


COMMUNITY: 
Member, Board of Directors | How Weird Street Faire 501(c)(3) San Francisco Street Fair 2000 - 2024