Drew Barontini builds products, designs systems, and develops ideas. He is a writer and VP of Product at Research Solutions, where he leads the team building Scite—an AI platform that helps researchers discover, understand, and build on scientific literature.
His career has never followed the boundaries of a single discipline. Drew discovered design through making shirts, posters, and identities for bands. That work led him from print into digital design, where learning to bring his ideas to life introduced him to front-end development and software engineering. Before beginning his first full-time product role, he built that foundation through freelance and studio web design. He learned to understand products from multiple perspectives: how they look, how they work, and what they mean.
After college, Drew spent a year as a Designer and Front-end Developer at Tribune Technologies, designing exploratory information displays and communication applications that informed downstream work across its newspaper and media businesses. He then joined Envy Labs, a digital product consultancy. As Code School emerged from the company’s work and grew into an independent education startup, his career grew with it. Across Envy Labs, Code School, and Pluralsight—which acquired Code School for $36 million in 2015—Drew progressed to Director of UI Engineering while remaining deeply involved in the craft.
After leaving Pluralsight, Drew pursued independent product work—co-founding Belay, a soft-skills learning platform, and New North, a personalized travel planning service, while contributing to Method & Craft, a design community. He joined Differential as a Senior Engineer in 2017 and, over eight years, moved through Product Director and Head of Strategy roles before becoming Chief Product Officer. He led designers, engineers, strategists, and cross-functional product teams while developing product systems that could adapt across different clients, products, and organizational environments.
Across nearly two decades, Drew has built B2B, B2C, and internal products spanning online education, industrial manufacturing, aviation, and scientific research. His work has supported organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Big Ass Fans, major U.S. airports, universities, and leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Today, Drew brings that range to the intersection of product development, scientific research, and artificial intelligence. Although he operates as an executive, he continues to work inside the product—talking with customers, shaping opportunities, designing experiences, writing code, prototyping with AI, and refining how teams build. He also regularly shares the work through podcasts, webinars, and product demonstrations.
Drew calls himself a product builder because it reflects the full shape of his craft. As a systems designer, he shapes the technical, organizational, and knowledge systems through which people work. As an idea developer, he uses writing to turn observations and experience into models, patterns, and language people can apply.
Outside his organizational work, Drew is developing Claritorium, a system for cultivating clarity, and Equilio, an operating system for product builders. He lives in Orlando with his family. Across his work, one belief remains constant: better systems help people think clearly, work together, and move with intention.
I build products, design systems, and develop ideas. I’m a writer and VP of Product at Research Solutions, where I lead the team building Scite—an AI platform that helps researchers discover, understand, and build on scientific literature.
My career has never fit within the boundaries of a single discipline. I discovered design through making shirts, posters, and identities for bands. That work took me from print into digital design, where learning to bring my ideas to life introduced me to front-end development and software engineering. Before beginning my first full-time product role, I built that foundation through freelance and studio web design. I learned to understand products from multiple perspectives: how they look, how they work, and what they mean.
After college, I spent a year as a Designer and Front-end Developer at Tribune Technologies, designing exploratory information displays and communication applications that informed downstream work across its newspaper and media businesses. I then joined Envy Labs, a digital product consultancy. As Code School emerged from the company’s work and grew into an independent education startup, my career grew with it. Across Envy Labs, Code School, and Pluralsight—which acquired Code School for $36 million in 2015—I progressed to Director of UI Engineering while remaining deeply involved in the craft.
After leaving Pluralsight, I pursued independent product work—co-founding Belay, a soft-skills learning platform, and New North, a personalized travel planning service, while contributing to Method & Craft, a design community. I joined Differential as a Senior Engineer in 2017 and, over eight years, moved through Product Director and Head of Strategy roles before becoming Chief Product Officer. I led designers, engineers, strategists, and cross-functional product teams while developing product systems that could adapt across different clients, products, and organizational environments.
Across nearly two decades, I’ve built B2B, B2C, and internal products spanning online education, industrial manufacturing, aviation, and scientific research. My work has supported organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Big Ass Fans, major U.S. airports, universities, and leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Today, I apply that range at the intersection of product development, scientific research, and artificial intelligence. Although I operate as an executive, I still stay inside the product. I talk with customers, shape opportunities, design experiences, write code, prototype with AI, and refine how our teams build. I also regularly share our work through podcasts, webinars, and product demonstrations.
I call myself a product builder because it reflects the full shape of my craft. As a systems designer, I shape the technical, organizational, and knowledge systems through which people work. As an idea developer, I use writing to turn observations and experience into models, patterns, and language people can apply.
Outside my organizational work, I’m developing Claritorium, a system for cultivating clarity, and Equilio, an operating system for product builders. I live in Orlando with my family. Across all of this work, I’m exploring one enduring idea: better systems help people think clearly, work together, and move with intention.
