Hey, I'm Simone

An Italian product designer with a passion for AI, data, and design. I believe in working with good people to design products that create real value and respect users. Ethics, empathy, and integrity are at the heart of my design process.

Over the last seven years, I've worked on a range of B2B  products, from web applications to back-office tools.

But it wasn't always like that; being a designer was a dream I had to fight for.

My Story

I grew up studying web development and earned a degree in Arts & Technology.

That helped me start as a front-end developer, but I quickly realized that my true passion was designing better products that could impact people's lives.


Over the years, I found my place as a designer in small, medium, and enterprise companies, where I played a key role in building their products from scratch.

That helped me develop a systems thinker mindset that helps me connect the dots and see how each touchpoint fits into the overall experience.

As a structured and pragmatic person, I enjoy tackling complex challenges.

My Core Principles

Do It Yourself
This is the key principle I operate by. I like to fix problems and often get annoyed by bureaucratic process. I strongly believe that actions produce data and that there is no better time to fix something than now. I have a strong bias for action versus discussions about priorities.

Curiosity & Autonomy
"There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." — Peter Drucker

I'm annoyingly curious in my pursuit to understand why I need to do something, but when I understand it, I work fully autonomously. This means that I'm usually slower to get up to speed, but with time, I understood that my questions could be layered in a way that saves my energy, and the ones of my coworkers.

How I Think & Decide

First Principles & Grounding
I start with first principles, then demand grounding. I'm comfortable navigating ambiguity. I'll generate hypotheses fast and I'll challenge assumptions hard. But I don't like staying in "theory land." Once a direction emerges, I'll push for grounding: examples, evidence, constraints, or a cheap experiment that creates new facts.

Opinionated, But Persuadable
I usually have a point of view. That can feel like I've already decided. Most of the time, I'm still testing the model. The fastest way to move me is not to argue harder, but to show clearer reasoning and sharper trade-offs.

Converge by Forcing Choices
When a team is stuck, I will try to compress the problem into a small set of real options. Then I'll ask us to choose. If you feel I'm pushing too quickly, it's usually because I think the cost of waiting is higher than the cost of being wrong.

Collaboration

High ownership and high visibility
I don't micromanage by default. I assume competence and I give trust. To keep that trust, I need two things: strong ownership and strong communication. Ownership means you don't outsource thinking. You come with options. You propose a path. You make progress even when you're blocked. Visibility means you keep work legible: what's happening, what changed, what's at risk, and what you need.

Quality matters
I get frustrated by laziness, satisfaction with poor output, or pretending something is "done" when it clearly isn't. If you're unsure whether the output is good, show it early. I'd rather steer a draft than critique a reveal.

Goals must be crisp
If the goal is vague, execution becomes noisy. I will push hard for clarity on the goal. When goals are crisp, I'm easy to work with. When goals are fuzzy, I become demanding because I'm trying to create a stable target.

What tends to create friction with me
• Late surprises • Poor communication • Vague goals • Low ownership • Accepting weak output as "fine" • Trying to move forward without acknowledging trade-offs

Communication

Give me structure, not volume

I prefer short writing with a strong shape. If you bring me something with a clear problem statement, constraints, options, and a recommendation, I will be fast and useful. If you bring me something that's unstructured, I will ask a lot of questions and it can feel like I'm "slowing you down." Usually I'm trying to prevent us from building the wrong thing.

Make assumptions explicit
I love when people label assumptions. It makes discussions clean. It also makes it easier to decide what we should validate.

No late surprises
Late surprises break trust quickly. If something is slipping, risky, unclear, or blocked, tell me early. I don't need perfection. I need visibility.

How to disagree with me
Disagreeing with me is not only allowed, it's encouraged. I respond best to direct disagreement paired with clear reasoning and explicit trade-offs. If you think I'm wrong, say it plainly. If you have better evidence, show it. If you want me to change my mind, don't try to be polite—try to be precise.

Life in shorts

© SIMONE PULVIRENTI 2026

I'm excited to work together!
Say hi to drsimone.pulvirenti@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonepulvirenti/