Available for the right next chapter

Creative judgment.
Operational nerve.
Products that work.

I turn ambitious, messy ideas into clear experiences people can actually use, from digital products and business systems to visual campaigns and live productions.

See what I build Start a conversation

South Florida / Remote / Open to hybrid

650K+ live products organized
$1.1M raised for the Combined Federal Campaign
80K+ social audience managed
15+ yrs creative production

Selected work

I make complicated things feel obvious.

My role changes with the problem: product owner, designer, operator, client lead, creative director, or the person who figures out why the system is failing and gets it moving again.

01

Product strategy / UX / Operations

Local Leaf

A mobile-first discovery product that makes an enormous, fragmented retail inventory searchable, comparable, and understandable.

  • Directed product vision, interface design, data strategy, and release decisions.
  • Re-architected an unstable refresh system into measured, dependable workflows.
  • Scaled coverage beyond 1,200 stores and 650,000 products while holding memory near 230 MB.
Product directionMobile UXData systemsAI agents
Visit Local Leaf Google Play
Local Leaf search screen Local Leaf product results screen Local Leaf product detail screen
Current BYO.BAR public website
BYO.BAR Overview using the Ocean Drive theme BYO.BAR Overview using the Coast theme BYO.BAR Overview using the primary Sunny theme
02

Business systems / Service UX

BYO.BAR

The public brand and private operating system for a new hospitality business, designed around how the work actually gets sold, scheduled, staffed, paid, and delivered.

  • Built the client journey from inquiry and quoting through deposits and final feedback.
  • Created staffing, event, expense, payout, and automated invoicing workflows.
  • Turned a startup concept into a functioning business with real clients and daily operations.
Service designClient operationsFinanceWeb product
Visit BYO.BAR
Nerdy Talk Trivia touchscreen controls using the LCARS theme Nerdy Talk Trivia cast TV question and score screen with a large emoji reaction

Experience design / Live operations

Nerdy Talk Trivia

A touch-friendly host dashboard for running live trivia: rounds, scoring, teams, media, timing, and presentation controls brought into one calm operating surface.

Worth Watcher home-screen debt widget Worth Watcher account and daily interest dashboard Worth Watcher earned-interest widget

Android product / Financial UX

Worth Watcher

A released Android app and home-screen widget that makes the daily cost of debt and growth of savings visible, then turns account data into a clear best next move.

View on Google Play

Self-directed 3D motion studies

Building little worlds to see how they move.

Blender experiments in scene building, modeling, lighting, materials, camera animation, and rendering, driven by a long-running interest in spacecraft and cinematic science fiction.

Low-poly spaceship loop Original modeling study · lighting · camera motion
Enterprise-D asteroid field Fan animation study · scene lighting · warp sequence

How I work

One creative brain.
Several useful gears.

01

Find the real problem

I listen, trace the friction, and separate what people ask for from what will actually help them.

02

Make the system legible

I turn tangled operations and dense information into interfaces, decisions, and next steps.

03

Direct the tools

I use designers, developers, AI agents, and production teams as a coordinated creative workflow.

04

Stay until it works

I test the result in the real world, catch weak assumptions early, and keep refining after launch.

“I don’t call myself a creative genius, but some people might.”

Joe Trohoski
Joe Trohoski working on a film production Major studio production experience

Production experience

Calm judgment when the work gets complicated.

Fifteen years across major film sets, voice performance, commercial photography, and visual design sharpened the same skills I bring to product and operations work: reading the room, protecting the work, adapting quickly, and delivering under pressure.

I understand high-stakes creative environments, shifting priorities, exacting stakeholders, and the quiet coordination required to keep a large production moving.

IMDb
B.S. Photography The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Defense Information School Technical certificate, visual information
U.S. Navy Photographer Advanced from E-1 to E-4
Finance & Client Operations Citibank and Bank of America

The practical part

Choose the version that fits the conversation.

Let’s talk

Bring me the problem
you cannot quite name.

thejoetroco@gmail.com

South Florida · Remote · Select hybrid roles