# Elvo Kibiti > Product Design (Mechanical) Engineering Manager at Meta Reality Labs Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/elvo ​34 US (145 Worldwide) patents awarded and 9 US (31 Worldwide) pending ​29 projects shipped. 1 medical consumable, 6 iMacs, 12 iPads, 8 iPad keyboards, 1 Apple Watch Band, 1 Apple Pencil ​18 years working in Consumer Electronics + travel and work with overseas teams/vendors in Asia (5 years living in Shanghai). 2 years BioTech and 3 years Telecom industry experience Open for relocation worldwide and open to “interesting and exciting” opportunities in other roles and fields ## Work Experience ### Product Design (Mechanical) Engineering Manager @ Meta Jan 2022 – Present | Sunnyvale, California, United States Managing ME team that delivered Meta Neural Band ### Staff Product Design Engineer @ Facebook Jan 2021 – Jan 2021 | Sunnyvale, California, United States Product Design Engineer ### Staff Input Product Design Engineer @ Apple Jan 2017 – Jan 2021 | Cupertino, California • Future Apple Pencil and iOS keyboards design lead • iPad Pro Smart Keyboard technical design lead overseeing all aspects of 2018-2020 smart keyboards • Responsible for the continual yield and design improvement of already shipping smart keyboards circa 2015 • Work on defining best practices on candidate screening with Recruiting, Human Resources and Legal teams • Design and execute diversity recruitment plan for Mac PD organization ### iPad, Input, SoftGoods Senior Product Design Engineer/ Factory Technical Lead @ Apple Jan 2012 – Jan 2017 | Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dongguan - China • Technical lead on Apple Watch classic buckle leather band responsible for band/buckle design and factory assembly and cosmetic processing • Development of iPad Pro Smart Keyboard conductive and external fabrics in addition to assembly and lamination processes required to achieve desired electrical performance and keyboard feel aspects • Design lead at sub-component and final assembly factories responsible for providing daily direction to teams of ~20 engineers on how to run production and solve design and production problems • Mentoring and developing junior US, China and Taiwan engineers into active contributing team members • Assist in resource planning (human, equipment, labs) and growing of China region design and factory teams • Work with Asian JDM partners to design factory layouts, assembly lines, assembly flows, fixtures, manufacturing processes, etc as effective & efficient to meet design, manufacturing and operations goals • Work with Operations teams to help improve yield by solving difficult (<1% yield) production issues ### iPad Product Designer / iMac Product Designer @ Apple Jan 2008 – Jan 2012 | Cupertino, CA • Owner of ~20% design aspects on all of the first four iPad generations through complete cycle (concept, design, functional and reliability testing, manufacturing, all up to product launch) • Design and development of prototypes and high volume consumer electronic parts, modules and systems using a wide array of materials and processes making choices based on engineering strengths and weaknesses, manufacturability, processing parameters, cost, yield, sourcing constrains, etc • Detailed design and process analysis incorporating tolerance loops, manufacturing variation, material compatibility, process limitations, vendor capabilities, etc to support high volume manufacturing • Cross-functional team collaboration to ensure structural, thermal, electrical, acoustic, cosmetic, cost and manufacturing/ operations and other requirements were met ### Mechanical Design Engineer @ Cepheid Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 • Designed low, medium and high volume parts (injection molded plastics, sheet metal, CNC/ machined parts), modules, systems and high volume automated manufacturing lines for the Biotechnology industry. Also redesigned parts and processes already in production to improve product reliability/failure rates • Performed mechanical & heat transfer simulations (FEA), experiments, mechanical tests and failure analysis (FMEA) a variety of software e.g. SolidWorks, COSMOS, ABAQUS and lab equipment • Developed inspection criteria (GD&T, AQL) and qualification processes in accordance with FDA guidelines • Key processes included ultrasonic welding, heat staking, laser cutting, fluid delivery systems, feeder systems ### Secretary, Co-Founder, Vice President, President, Lifetime Member @ National Society of Black Engineers Jan 2003 – Jan 2007 - UCLA Chapter Secretary 2004 - 2005 - Silicon Valley Alumni Chapter Co-Founder and Vice President 2006 - 2007 - Silicon Valley Alumni Chapter President 2007 - 2009 - Silicon Valley Alumni Chapter President Emeritus 2009 - 2011 ### Product Design Engineer @ Apple Computer Jan 2005 – Jan 2005 • Worked in Laptop Continuation Engineering team. Primary projects were redesigning the MacBook trackpad to improve click performance (50% improvement of false clicks) and reduce cost (10% reduction) & modified MacBook primary frame design to increase structural performance resulting in total elimination of frame failures • Analyzed manufacturing vendor capabilities using Six Sigma Cp (Capability) and Cpk (Performance) concepts. Based on my analysis, project leads made decisions on vendors to partner with or disqualify ### Associate Engineer @ Centellax Inc Jan 2001 – Jan 2004 • Designed machined and extruded module enclosures using AutoCAD and Ashlar-Vellum software • Designed and simulated microwave transmission lines using LEdit and CST Microwave Studio • Built, tested and analyzed optical and microwave components using ultrasonic bonders, heat tackers, network analyzers, oscilloscopes, plasma cleaners, bit error testers, leak testers, environmental chambers, etc • Performed engineering evaluation and procurement of materials and sub-components from third party vendors ## Education ### BS in Mechanical Engineering UCLA ### Associate's Degree in Mechanical Engineering Santa Rosa Junior College ### High School Diploma Mang'u High School ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ekibiti --- Source: https://flows.cv/elvo JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/elvo/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13