Global rank:
35,608 / 89,788
Skill pts: 0

About

I spent my formative years in Upstate New York developing a passion for art and design. In 2010 I began studying mechanical engineering at Cornell University. While there I learned to couple my inclinations towards design with the technical experience I was gaining at school. After graduating in 2014 I started working for Burn Design Lab designing biomass cookstoves for East African markets. I then moved full time to Nairobi, Kenya to support prouduction and head up new design projects. In 2019 I received my Master’s degree in Design and Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, after which I began working for Dyson in early 2020.

I believe in product design as a means for impacting and improving lives. Especially in design for developing economies it can be imperative for an integration of the engineering and product design processes. In my work I try to follow the words of industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss:

“An honest job of design should flow from the inside out, not from the outside in”

Experience

  • Design engineer Dyson · Full-time Jan 2020 – Aug 2020 7 mos Hullavington, England, United Kingdom Volunteered double hours overtime to bring the CoVent ventilator project from initial concept to viable design in 30 days, at the request of the UK government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

    Lead product sub-assembly design including; prototype builds, specification generation, design for assembly and manufacture, DFMEA ownership and testing

    Ownership of test rig concept and construction across multiple projects within Environmental Care category
  • Mechanical Design Engineer BioforceTech · Part-time Feb 2018 – Oct 2019 1 yrs 8 mos Milan, Lombardy, Italy Performed structural and mechanical design for industrial waste management and biochar production system valued at over $300,000

    Oversaw the development of part-assembly hierarchies company-wide and established methods of production and assembly
  • Product Design & Development Engineer Burn Manufacturing · Full-time Jan 2015 – Aug 2017 2 yrs 7 mos Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya Led the design of the Kuniokoa (Kuni = Wood, Okoa = Save) from early development through to production

    Improved stove efficiency, emissions, and durability through the application of combustion and heat transfer concepts

    Simplified the stove’s assembly through iterative designs, reducing production costs

    Developed the stove’s aesthetic appearance and usability, creating a positive user experience

    Performed market research focus groups and home placements in rural Kenya to better understand user cooking techniques and gather relevant data for product improvement, sales, and marketing

    Produced part drawings to be sent out to manufacturers for tooling quotes

    Developed jigs, fixtures, and part tooling for the fabrication and assembly of the stove in Kenya

    Launched the Kuniokoa cookstove project

    Led the production ramp up and developed assembly line layouts and processes

    Implemented and maintained product tooling, jigs, and fixtures

    Interfaced with sales and marketing on performance benchmarks, innovative features, and key selling points on the stove

    Led auxiliary design engineering objectives within the company

    Institutional Wood Stove project

    Grill Attachment project

    Fan powered Kuniokoa

    Fabricated over 200 stoves for prototyping, market research, and durability and laboratory testing

    Developed and conducted tests on products that allow us to analyze performance in a number of metrics

    Collaborated with a team from the University of Washington on experimental models to further the field of cookstove research

Education

  • Politecnico di Milano Laurea Magistrale, Design and Engineering 2017 – 2019
  • Cornell University Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering 2010 – 2014