Aaron Grando
AI product and technology leader. Philadelphia, PA.
Profile
I have 19 years of experience across software development, creative technology, and product leadership. Most recently I was VP, Creative Innovation at Mod Op, where I led a six-person product and engineering team and owned six products in the agency's AI portfolio. My work covered product strategy and technical direction, with hands-on contributions to prototypes and implementation.
Expertise
AI systems. LLM applications · Agents · Retrieval-augmented generation · Shared knowledge architecture · MCP integrations · AI evaluation · Generative image tools
Product. Product strategy · Portfolio prioritization · Prototyping · MVP definition · Adoption measurement · Build-versus-buy decisions
Teams & clients. Product and engineering management · Collaboration with design and strategy teams · Client advisory · Prototype-led selling · Internal product rollout
Technical foundation. Next.js · PostgreSQL · OAuth 2.0 / SSO · OpenAI APIs · Web application architecture · Development with Claude Code and Cursor
Chronology
Founding member of the Innovation team. Led a six-person product and engineering team in the company's first product engineering group, developing AI products for internal use and client work. Member of the AI Council, which defined responsible-use practices and compliance protocols.
- Nexus Led product and technical direction for the shared platform at the core of Orion, Mod Op's AI operating layer (known publicly as Mod Engine, Mod Chat, and Orion). Nexus provided identity and permissions, approved company and client knowledge, agents, and a chat workspace, and its MCP integration made that knowledge available in tools such as Claude Code and Cursor. Mod Op reported 95% employee adoption and more than 700 agents at Orion's July 2026 launch. Digiday separately reported roughly $3M in avoided licensing costs across the platform.
Owned five other products alongside Nexus.
- Brand Agents Helped shape assistants grounded in approved client knowledge. Launched internally in April 2025, with more than 200 client-specific agents deployed by August 2026. Wrote the public launch article.
- Mod Heat Originated the concept in February 2024 and pitched it to the executive team. Defined the scoring and concept-generation approach and contributed to the build in an unfamiliar stack using Cursor. Shipped internally in November 2024 as Innovation's first product; Mod Op announced it publicly in October 2025.
- GEO by Mod Op Took a February 2026 hackathon prototype through specification, design, and engineering to a live product on June 18, 2026 at geo.modop.ai. Developed its free-audit and paid-program model with search and strategy colleagues. Mod Op launched it publicly in August 2026.
- Launchpad Built the first version of a shared prototype deployment system and directory, then organized two cross-team hackathon sprints and used colleague and client feedback to guide MVP decisions. Hosted more than 70 prototypes by August 2026.
- Audience Lab Developed audience-simulation prototypes beginning in 2023 and directed the production release in May 2026. Onboarded agency strategists who use digital-twin feedback in client creative-development work.
By August 2026, prototype-led work had generated active pipeline conversations with dozens of client accounts. Helped shape the portfolio story that became Orion, wrote Mod Op's public articles on Brand Agents and micro-tools, and appeared on five episodes of the Leader Generation podcast.
Engineering and technology leadership
Joined as a developer, was promoted to tech lead and then Technology Director, and led the agency's digital experience and technology practice. Managed multidisciplinary teams across engineering, UX, creative, strategy, production, and analytics for clients including NBCUniversal, Under Armour, Planet Fitness, FOX, Sheetz, Swarovski, Stanley Black+Decker, Kellogg's, William Grant & Sons, Dietz & Watson, and Sparkling Ice. Co-led the agency's first all-hands session on generative AI in late 2022, created the Frontier AI briefing, and built branded Stable Diffusion demonstrations in 2023 while working with client teams as they began exploring generative AI. Mod Op acquired the agency in 2024; tenure continued through the acquisition.
Interactive Developer
Built websites, web applications, and DVD/Blu-ray titles for Warner Bros., NFL Films, and Bethesda Softworks.
Talks & Appearances
- Beyond Prompts: Better AI Outputs With Context Engineering Leader Generation podcast · Episode 134
- Building Your Army Of AI Agents: What Marketers Need To Know Leader Generation podcast · Episode 129
- Vibe Coding: The Future Of AI-Assisted Development Teams Leader Generation podcast · Episode 127
- Say ‘Hello’ To Brand Agent: AI That Speaks Your Brand’s Language Leader Generation podcast · Episode 121
- AI Playground: Cursor Leader Generation podcast · Episode 110
- The Vibe Coding Advantages: Build Faster, Earn More Rooted In Revenue podcast · May 28, 2025
- The Journey Ahead: How AI is Impacting the Creative Design Process Philly Tech Week x DesignPhiladelphia panel · 2024 · Related Q&A
- The Journey Ahead, Part 2: Navigating the Next Wave of AI in Creative Design Philly Tech Week x DesignPhiladelphia panel · 2025
Writing
- Micro-Tools Could Turn Everyone Into a Builder Mod Op · November 2025
- Brand Agent: How We Created AI That Actually Helps Clients Mod Op · April 2025
- AI & Creativity: The Creative Design Process Mod Op Q&A · June 2024