Melissa Potter
Manager of System Software Programs
At Humane, I'm on the ground floor of a new piece of technology and learning its capabilities along the way.
Melissa joins Humane as a senior engineering program manager, bringing nearly a decade of background in tech working in various software disciplines. She looks forward to bringing her experience launching six consumer products and close to a dozen sustaining software updates to Humane’s first-generation space. She is excited about the challenge of working on new hardware that has the chance to disrupt the distraction of our smartphones.
David Wagensellar
Corporate Controller
Humane is the best.
David has over 25 years of financial management experience in Silicon Valley. He began his career in finance operations, supporting manufacturing, and over time he held roles with increased responsibility including Treasurer, Controller, and CFO. David led the successful sale of Network Equipment Technology as Interim CEO, then joined a start-up to lead growth initiatives including ERP implementation, forecasting, and cash management. David enjoys team-building and helping early stage companies take the next steps in their growth projections.
Ilgu Cha
Lead Industrial Designer
It feels exciting to work with the best team, to dream together, and change the world for the better.
Ilgu has over ten years of experience in industrial design. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, he worked at various companies, from startups to design agencies. Before Humane, Ilgu worked at Molekule, designing air purifiers from concept to manufacturing on all product lines, as well as packaging and retail store design. He also worked at Fuseproject with various international brands such as L’Oreal, Kodak, Movado, and Samsung. In the early stages of his career, Ilgu was the sole designer on the mechanical engineering team at LG electronics, developing mobile user experiences. Ilgu is passionate about the hands-on design process to build new user experiences.
Katherine Perez
System Software Engineer
My favorite thing about working at Humane is the team's shared, genuine passion to bring huge changes to the technology industry and to deliver more human, natural experiences through technology.
Katherine is a passionate, creative, open-minded software engineer who prioritizes delivering the best inclusive experiences. She has diverse, embedded software engineering experiences, from delivering systems-level validation for Tesla Autopilot hardware and program management specifications for Surface Dock Windows drivers at Microsoft to leading system software performance improvements for the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 at Microsoft. She loves working in challenging, yet forgiving work environments in the pursuit of discovery and growth.
Vamsi Kambhampati
Senior Software Engineer
When I heard about Humane, I was curious, but had little clue about what the team was building or their mission. Now that I know, I’m convinced that Humane has the right approach to technology for the Intelligence Age. I’m also convinced that privacy and security are of paramount importance and I’ve joined the Humane team to help build these foundations.
Vamsi spent the last ten years at Apple working on a range of security topics. He was involved in shipping many products, from the first 64-bit iPhone and Apple Watch to Face ID and the Touch ID keyboard. As part of the CoreOS Biometrics team, he worked on improving the Face ID enrollment experience, making performance improvements for faster FaceID unlock. He was also the lead engineer on the TouchID keyboard, taking it from prototype to ship. Vamsi holds a PhD in Computer Science from Colorado State University, where he proposed a novel location hiding approach for securing critical infrastructure services from DDoS attacks.
Maxime Chevreton
Lead Hardware Reliability Engineer
I chose to work at Humane to be a pioneer of innovation, to work on tomorrow’s technology and help shape a better future. My favorite part of Humane is Humane itself: its people. I get to work alongside a fearlessly talented team to come up with the best solutions to technical problems, and have fun with amazing individuals along the way.
Maxime is a Lead Reliability Engineer at Humane. He brings with him nearly eight years of experience in reliability at Apple, where he continuously pushed products to their limits to enable the best customer experience possible. He worked on various products: starting with camera modules, then iPhones, and finally leading the team for the AirPods product line. Maxime takes pride in breaking things to build products and relationships.
Dara Feder
Head of Development and Growth
At Humane, ideas are percolating all the time in a positive environment.
Dara has spent over 15 years in Human Resources attracting, retaining, and developing talent across rapidly growing teams. As a lifelong New Yorker, Dara spent the majority of her career working with and supporting organizations within Financial Services. She is passionate about helping people develop their careers and she has a deep understanding of successful collaboration and teamwork. She enjoys meeting new people and forging strong, trusting relationships.
Ryan Forbes
Senior Electro-Mechanical Global Supply Manager
Humane offers an opportunity few get in their lives, one which enables me to work with the most talented people in the industry to create and build something truly groundbreaking. Everyone is so open, collegial, and down-to-earth. What an amazing group of people doing amazing things.
Ryan is an experienced global strategic supply professional with a passion for sourcing the world’s most transformative technologies. During his five years at Apple, Ryan focused on strategic supply for electro-mechanical commodities supporting iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods. As a group manager, Ryan also led a team of strategic supply professionals supporting final assembly operations for a variety of Apple’s most impactful products. Ryan is a U.S. Navy veteran with eight years of active-duty experience prior to joining the consumer electronics industry. Ryan is thrilled to be a part of the Humane team and the opportunity to drive the next-generation of consumer technologies.
Cooper Pellaton
Senior Software Engineer
Absolutely everyone on the team is phenomenal, the level of domain expertise that each person brings is unparalleled, and everyone cares not only about the mission but also about each other. I truly feel valued.
Cooper is deeply interested in problems that bridge domains using high-performance compute. He studied computer science at Georgia Tech where he researched in the Wheeler Laboratory and supported the development of an fMRI processing toolkit. Previously he worked on distributed machine learning training at Video++, billion-scale graph embedding at Alibaba, and, most recently, natural language processing at Memora Health. Cooper is passionate about building the future of computing.
Parker Uphoff
Manufacturing Mechanical Engineer
I am constantly learning new ways to push the bounds of what was previously known. Also, everyone is willing to pick up a shovel and help where needed!
Parker entered the manufacturing sector as a quality engineer in the automotive industry. In recent years, he has applied analytics tools and statistics to develop new manufacturing assembly equipment for consumer electronics. He joined Humane to work alongside a truly talented team on complex and innovative technology that challenges his manufacturing skillset.
Bilgehan Avser
Manager, Technology Development
When the opportunity to be part of the next shift in computing technology presented itself, I knew I couldn't pass on it. I love the energy and the collective enthusiasm around building something truly audacious.
Bilgehan is an experienced hardware engineer with over ten years of hands-on experience in the research and design of wireless systems. Prior to joining Humane, he spent the last seven years at Apple, leading the antenna design on multiple iPhone projects. Bilgehan holds a PhD in electrical engineering from University of California San Diego and is the inventor of more than 30 patents in multiple wireless technologies.
Mollie Wong
Head of People Operations
I love seeing the commitment to our values of trust, truth, and joy weaved into everything that we do. The thought and care that goes into our People programs to support individuals is world class.
Mollie is a globally focused HR leader with 20+ years of HR experience. She leads with a passion for creating and developing cohesive, high-performing teams. As a trusted thought partner, her approach to problem-solving is measured yet innovative. She takes pride in creating an environment that spurs collaboration, bringing together diversity of thought and opinion that leads to creative ideas and innovation by challenging the status quo.
Collin Cornwell
New Media Community Engagement Manager
I knew Humane was the perfect place for me to help build what comes next in technology. I was drawn to the people and energy driving their passion. Humane is truly sculpting the future.
Collin has a background in audio engineering and gaming in the new media space. His career began at a post production house called Plush NYC. He moved on to Casey Neistat's studio at 368 Broadway and then his own consultancy, working with Electronic Arts, Xtrfy, and Stream Elements. Collin hopes to create pathways for capturing, consuming, and sharing new media.
Aileen Quach
Community Coordinator
I chose to work at Humane because of the company values: I was drawn to the emphasis on truth, trust, and joy.
Aileen intrinsically understands people. As Community Coordinator, she brings her superhuman ability to create memorable, positive experiences to her colleagues at Humane. Aileen is a 20-year veteran of the hospitality industry. Over the last decade, she has worked in the high stakes fine dining world. She's crafted and overseen bar programs in multiple Michelin-starred restaurants, trained and managed a highly skilled team of bartenders—she even made President Obama a martini. She epitomizes hard work with a smile, and her bottom line is ensuring everyone is happy.
Garrett Olinger
Product Designer
I genuinely align with the desire to improve the human experience through technology. Humane aims to do that while putting us back in touch with the world around us. Plus, the people are rad.
Garrett is a multidisciplinary designer specializing in product and brand, both for small stage startups and global corporations. He started his career in New York, designing for various brands in studio, then publishing at Penguin. He spent more than a decade in Silicon Valley designing system-oriented experiences for Facebook, Instagram, Apple and recently Coinbase. Garrett strives to help create products that bring joy and delight through thoughtful technology.
Ken Kocienda
Head of Product Engineering
I get to work with people who share the same ambitious goals—to make products people will love using. I feel good about coming to work every day.
Ken combines experience in engineering and design to create great products. With a Yale degree in history, a background in fixing motorcycles, teaching English in Japan, and making fine art photographs, he worked at Apple for over fifteen years. He created the touch screen typing and autocorrection system for the first iPhone and was on the software and design teams for the Safari web browser, iPad, and Apple Watch. In 2018, he wrote Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs, a Wall Street Journal bestselling book.
Ardra Hren
Senior Software Engineering Manager
I joined to help build the next stage of personal computing, in an environment centered around our collective humanity.
Ardra's code runs everything from bloodwork ingestion pipelines to infrastructure for self-driving cars. They studied cognitive and computer science at Brown and built TA teams and class curriculums to share their love of everything from formal verification to Intro CS. Most recently, a core contributor to Cruise Automation's simulation infrastructure, Ardra migrated unreliable continuous integration workflows to a new and more robust system, reducing car code integration time by 30%. Ardra cares deeply about building effective and compassionate teams and technology that feels refreshing and natural.
Kelvin Kam
Manager, ME Global Supply Chain
Everyone shares the vision and passion to build products that will change us and make people's lives more "humane by design." Working at Humane is engaging, full of surprises, and I never stop learning.
Kelvin has over twenty years of diverse experience in automotive, consumer electronics, and accessories. He has had increasing responsibility in manufacturing, managing global ODM/JDM outsourcing, and mechanical commodities including metal, plastic, leathers, packaging, and supply chain management. He has taken the lead at Fitbit and Belkin in defining their global mechanical sourcing strategy and re-engineered their planning and inventory management processes. Kelvin is passionate about building challenging products and efficiently managing supply chain complexities.
David Liu
Senior Legal Counsel
I enjoyed working with the Humane team when I was an associate at Wilson Sonsini and really appreciated the things we developed together. Now that I am at Humane full-time, I can truly say this is my home and these people are my family.
David is an engineer-turned-attorney with a passion for novel technologies. He worked on high-performance lithium-ion battery electrode materials as an assistant professor at the New York State College of Ceramics before he started his legal career. As a corporate associate at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati PC, he helped numerous emerging companies with financing and corporate governance. David is committed to leveraging his legal and engineering skills to help technology companies grow.
Vincent Licata
Compliance Engineering Lead
I wanted a new challenge and the opportunity to work on an amazing technology that will change the world.
Vincent led the Compliance Engineering team at Energous Corporation and was responsible for leading, developing, and achieving new global regulatory compliance approvals for wireless power transfer at a distance. He has participated in several international standards bodies and performed research used to develop standards and international recommendations. Vincent has a strong background in RF/EMC measurements and methodologies; he is passionate about laying the groundwork for global regulatory compliance and solving complex problems in order to obtain regulatory compliance approvals.
Alissa Smith
Senior System Software Engineer
Humane is rare in that it prioritizes people on multiple levels: in the way it strives to reshape the technological landscape and positively impact customers’ lives, in the way it engages with the local community, and in the way it treats its employees. My favorite thing about Humane so far is the community I’ve already found here; how so many incredible people with diverse backgrounds and skills can unite around a common goal for good.
Alissa is a system software engineer with a passion for challenging and multidisciplinary problems, especially in the wireless communication domain. She recently worked at Apple writing real time critical control algorithms for a 5G/4G/multimode cellular SoC. Alissa began her career as a hardware engineer, then worked across multiple layers of the stack, from desktop applications down to firmware for small embedded MCUs. At Humane, she is excited to collaborate across domains to truly impact lives.
Joe Edd
Lead Talent Engagement Partner
The excitement surrounding employee growth is unlike anything I've experienced. As the company grows, people are celebrated through promotions, shoutouts, and praise. Milestones are also fun to share with the Humane community!
Joe is a seasoned technical recruiter who comes to Humane with a strong background in recruiting for Google Pixel and Nest. After three years of teaching ESL in Korea, Georgia, and Taiwan, Joe transitioned to technical software recruiting for financial organizations. He then joined Nest to lead Hardware Recruiting and recruiting for Nest Services. After the Google-Nest integration, Joe drove all Hardware hiring for the Nest and Pixel organizations. Joe is passionate about building world-class hardware teams and making the world a better place through technology.
Anika Mukherji
Senior Software Engineer
I'm extremely excited about working for a company with a mission so powerful and an actual ambition of changing the world for the better. The most amazing part has been how the mission seeps into everyday life. You can see how the ideals of the company impact how people act and interact. Humane feels like a place where anything is possible.
Anika is an experienced, dedicated, and fearless engineer with a background in both software and site reliability engineering. She loves diving in and tackling any sort of problem in any space—from platform refactors, to latency/cost optimizations, to continuous deployment. Before Humane, Anika was at Pinterest as the sole SRE for the core Pinner API and web application.
Ketaki Mangalmurti
Lead Software Engineering Program Manager
I had been following the speculation about Humane for a while and just had to be a part of the team that is building a next-gen product and platform that fundamentally changes the way we process information.
Ketaki is an Engineering Program Manager focused on system software programs. Before joining the Humane team, she spent more than ten years working in wireless systems engineering and program management at Qualcomm and Meta. Ketaki is passionate about building products that eliminate economic barriers and simplify access to technology.
James Zollinger
Head of Product Security
I joined to Humane to work with open-minded, thoughtful, and incredibly talented colleagues developing never-before-seen, ambitious products with the potential to change how we interact with the world around us.
James is a security and cryptography expert with an emphasis on end user products which balance usability and security. During his 11 years at Netflix, he went from designing the streaming service and requisite product security to leading one of the best security engineering organizations in the world. James has a degree in biophysics from Yale, where he researched structural biology and worked as a teacher before entering the technology industry.
Jay Shah
Senior RF Engineer
I was drawn to Humane's goal to design products that the market has never seen.
Jay Shah is a Senior RF design engineer who has more than 12 years of industry experience. He has past experience working with Qualcomm, Amazon, and Apple on challenging products including Fire TV stick, Alexa speaker, iPhone 14, iPad, and HomePod, gaining knowledge in multiple fields of RF system design. At Humane, he is excited by the adventure of contributing at such an early stage of the program, with the chance to navigate extreme challenges and to work on solutions with some of the best and brightest minds across the industry.
Birte Mahyera
Senior Legal Counsel
Building technology that allows us to focus more on each other and our surroundings excites me every day!
Birte is an internationally experienced attorney who found her passion helping guide product innovation, commercialization, and growth. She has worked in Germany, Brazil, Switzerland, and the United States advising startups to Fortune 100 companies on complex commercial transactions, intellectual property asset management, and highly contentious dispute matters. Birte embraces curiosity and is motivated by developing creative, forward-looking solutions.
Conor Sanchez-O'Shea
Growth
Humane is a rare place where the mission, values, product, and team are all excellent. Everyone is insanely talented, supportive, and open. I learn from my colleagues constantly—not just professionally, but on a personal level.
Conor likes to solve big problems that help make our world a better place. Most recently, he founded and led Up to Us, a non-profit that helped get 1.5 million young people ready to vote and to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Conor previously worked at Tesla, helping lead the launch of Model Y and Model 3. He has also worked with the United States Senate, researching student loan forgiveness and public health issues. At Humane, Conor leverages his past experiences and his passion to help guide the transition to a world where AI is used for the greater good.
Lilynaz Hashemi
Software Engineering Manager II
This team is so dedicated and intelligent while maintaining such an awesome culture: I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am truly excited every day I come to work because I get to build some really cool technology while also working with great people.
Lilynaz has a background in biopsychology and neuroscience, with extensive experience working with children with disabilities and analyzing how people interact with their environments. As a key leader on the Messages software engineering team at Apple, Lilynaz developed cutting-edge technology that facilitated daily communication for over half a billion people. Lilynaz's eye for creativity appears in her work in advancing human interactions. She produced features such as iMessage stickers, Tapbacks, and the ability to share your identity with new people in a secure manner. Lilynaz's innate desire to facilitate positive change in people's lives contributes to her passion for authentic and positive interactions between people and the world around us.
Brian Huppi
Lead Hardware Architect
People. People. People. Humane has the best, most supportive work environment of any place I've worked.
Brian is a seasoned hardware engineer. He led sensing technologies during his 12 years at Apple, where he co-invented multi-touch alongside Imran and led input hardware technologies that spanned from Apple’s first optical mouse to 3D Touch on iPhone. Brian followed his passions of creating industry-defining hardware alongside Tony Fadell at Nest where he helped create the world’s first learning thermostat that used machine learning to observe human behavior to automatically adjust for comfort, energy use, and cost.