Resume
John Bacus
Professional Experience
I have over twenty years of practical experience designing groundbreaking products, effective growth-oriented business models, and highly motivated teams that develop and maintain them. I love working with people, teaching, coaching, and mentoring their development individually, in teams, and collaboratively across disciplines.
Trimble Inc.
Westminster, Colorado, USA: Trimble is transforming how the world works by delivering products and services connecting the physical and digital worlds. Core technologies in positioning, modeling, connectivity and data analytics enable customers to improve productivity, quality, safety, and sustainability.
Senior Director of Design, Trimble Platform, Aug 2023 - present: Responsible for the Trimble User Experience group, leading Design across Trimble’s four sectors (Construction, Agriculture, Transportation, and Geospatial) and the commercial interfaces that bind them together.
Vice President of Product Management, Trimble Construction Platform, 2021 - 2022: Responsible for a new corporate platform strategy, leading a complex transformation effort bridging previously disconnected product portfolios across Trimble’s Architecture, Engineering, and Construction sectors.
Senior Director of Product Management, Design & Engineering Group, 2020 - 2021: Responsible for new product development and cross-divisional strategy for Trimble's Design & Engineering Group, including SketchUp, Tekla, Trimble Connect, Novapoint (Quadri), and other related products and solutions.
Director of Product Management, Architecture & Design Division, 2012 - 2020: Product Management Director for SketchUp, SketchUp Pro, SketchUp API/SDK, 3D Warehouse, and other products in Trimble's Architecture, Design, and Collaboration portfolios.
ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, Colorado, USA: I joined the faculty at the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado full-time for the 2022-23 academic year, following several years as an adjunct instructor and advisory board member.
Interim Director, Undergraduate Program, Sep 2022 - Aug 2023: Responsible for the daily operation of the BS-CTD (Creative Technology and Design) undergraduate degree program at the ATLAS Institute of the University of Colorado at Boulder, the sixth-largest Major in the College of Engineering & Applied Science.
Senior Instructor, Sep 2022 - present: I teach courses in the CTD degree program, including the required Foundations of Design, senior Capstone Projects class, and electives in Design, Product Management, and Entrepreneurship.
Lecturer (Adjunct), Jan 2017 - Sep 2022: As adjunct faculty, I specialized in electives for advanced topics in Design, Product Management, and Entrepreneurship.
PassiveLogic Inc.
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: PassiveLogic is disrupting the world of automation with the first fully autonomous platform for buildings.
Vice President of User Software, Mar - Sep 2022: Worked in an innovative startup with an inexperienced team of full-stack user software developers to implement velocity-building standards of practice across a broad vision for the future of autonomous control systems in buildings.
Google Inc
Boulder, Colorado, USA: Following the acquisition of SketchUp by Google in 2006, I worked as SketchUp’s primary PM for six years in the Geo group, where I was responsible for growing SketchUp’s user base to over 35 million unique users per year, making it the world's most widely used 3D modeling application.
Product Manager, SketchUp, 2006 - 2012: Product Manager for SketchUp, SketchUp Pro, SketchUp API/SDK; Initiated development of LayOut, 2D page design for SketchUp models; grew user base to 35m/yr, supporting user-generated content initiatives for Google Earth and Maps.
@Last Software Inc.
Boulder, Colorado, USA, the startup company that invented SketchUp, an easy-to-learn 3D modeling tool that anyone can learn and the most widely-used 3D modeling tool on earth.
Director of Product Design, 2002 - 2006, Member of the startup team for SketchUp, a simple but powerful 3D modeling for designers; responsible primarily for Product Management and Design of SketchUp for macOS from initial product launch.
Communication Arts Inc.
Boulder, Colorado, USA: Internationally-known designer of commercial retail environments.
Designer, 1996 - 2002, Held various design consulting roles on environmental design projects worldwide; co-founded an internal digital design group to expand CommArts design capabilities into new digital and hybrid spaces
O.M. Ungers Gmbh.
Berlin, Germany: Internationally-known architects of commercial and institutional buildings in Germany and around the world.
Draftsman, 1995 - 1996, Member of the technical documentation team for various architectural projects in Berlin, Germany, including the Halle 7 of the Messe Berlin expansion.
Volunteering
Co-Chair, Board of Advisors, ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2017 - present
Scoutmaster, Scouts BSA Troop 78, Boulder, Colorado, 2018 - 2020
Team Coach, FIRST Lego League, “Nutty Narwhals”, Boulder, Colorado, 2014 - 2016
Architecture Instructor, Cooper Union Saturday Program, 1992 - 1994
Education
Rice University
MArch., Architecture, 2002 - 2004
Wolfram Research
NKS Summer School, 2003
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
BArch., Architecture, 1988 - 1994
The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Dipl. Cum Laude, Fine Art, 1984 - 1988
Awards & Certifications
Best of Show
2002; IDG/Macworld, “SketchUp for Mac OS X”
Thesis Prize
2004; Rice University School of Architecture
George R. Ledlie Award; AIA/NY Scholarship
1992; Cooper Union School of Architecture
Pratt National Talent Search, Architecture
1988; Pratt Insitute, New York, NY
Eagle Scout
1984; BSA Troop 655, Houston, Texas
Patents & Publications
Books
Bacus, John. Digital Sketching: Computer-Aided Conceptual Design. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2020.
Patents
Bacus, John M. System and Method for Processing Overlapping Input to Digital Map Functions. United States US20150169165A1, filed April 15, 2013, and issued June 18, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150169165A1/en.
Bacus, John M., Paul McLean, Jeff Hauswirth, Preston Jackson, and Brian G. Brown. Managing Map Data in a Composite Document. United States US20130007575A1, filed June 29, 2011, and issued January 3, 2013.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130007575A1/en.
———. Managing satellite and aerial image data in a composite document. United States US9411901B2, filed June 29, 2011, and issued August 9, 2016.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9411901B2/en.
———. Managing web page data in a composite document. United States US9076244B2, filed June 29, 2011, and issued July 7, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9076244B2/en.
Jackson, Preston, John Bacus, Brian Brown, Patrick Lacz, Paul McLean, and Jeffrey Hauswirth. Editing element attributes of a design within the user interface view, and applications thereof. United States US9405433B1, filed January 7, 2011, and issued August 2, 2016.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9405433B1/en.
Jackson, Preston, John Bacus, Paul McLean, and Jeffrey Hauswirth. Method for creating an annotated angle with user specified points, and applications thereof. United States US9047709B1, filed February 18, 2011, and issued June 2, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9047709B1/en.
Jackson, Preston, Patrick Lacz, Paul McLean, Brian G. Brown, John M. Bacus, and Jeffrey Hauswirth. Method of creating a snap point in a computer-aided design system. United States US20130055125A1, filed August 22, 2011, and issued February 28, 2013.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130055125A1/en.
———. Multi-function affine tool for computer-aided design. United States US9146660B2, filed August 22, 2011, and issued September 29, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9146660B2/en.
Miller, Tyler, and John M. Bacus. 3D modeling system distributed between a client device web browser and a server. United States US10868890B2, filed November 14, 2012, and issued December 15, 2020.https://patents.google.com/patent/US10868890B2/en.
———. Controlling Features In A Software Application Based on The Status of User Subscription. United States US20130124155A1, filed November 14, 2012, and issued May 16, 2013.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130124155A1/en.
———. Controlling rights to a drawing in a three-dimensional modeling environment. United States US9218692B2, filed November 14, 2012, and issued December 22, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9218692B2/en.
———. Efficient distribution of functional extensions to a 3D modeling software. United States US9223593B2, filed November 14, 2012, and issued December 29, 2015.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9223593B2/en.
———. Progressively providing software components for browser-based 3d modeling. United States US20130120378A1, filed November 13, 2012, and issued May 16, 2013.https://patents.google.com/patent/US20130120378A1/en.
———. Providing a real-time shared viewing experience in a three-dimensional modeling environment. United States US9898852B2, filed November 14, 2012, and issued February 20, 2018.https://patents.google.com/patent/US9898852B2/en.
Academic Courses
I have developed a range of academic courses that I teach, primarily through the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder.
ATLS 1100-011: Design Foundations, This course aims to teach students how to use fundamental design concepts effectively and compellingly in their work. This course will cover the critical, theoretical, and technical skill sets necessary to become a more engaging, thoughtful, and articulate designer through lectures, class discussions, in-class exercises, projects, and critiques.
ATLS 4010-001: Capstone Projects, This is the defining creative project in the career of a CTD student. This course is designed for students to practice the technical skills and creative concepts they have acquired throughout their undergraduate careers and make meaningful professional connections.
ATLS 4000-002: Research Methods and Professional Practices, Lays the foundation for students to produce culminating work in their major. In this course, students will engage in domain exploration, learn to define a research problem, utilize tools and methods for professional design research, refine presentation skills, and engage in iterative and collaborative work.
ATLS 4519-090/091: Product Management Studio, In this course, we explore the role and function of Product Management with a practical, studio-oriented method. In other words, you’ll build a real product and get it to market over the semester."
ATLS ATLS 4/5519-008: Digital Sketching, This class is for designers learning to use digital techniques to be better designers. In this class, we will explore design through sketching, drawing, model-making, simulation, and computation. Students will learn practical sketching skills in a multitude of media and the historical and philosophical context in which they operate. Follows the material in my book, “Digital Sketching; Computer-aided Conceptual Design.”