# Leanne Cushing > Lead Product Design Engineer | Captain of Valkyrie on Battlebots Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/leannecushing I’m an experienced mechanical design engineer with a lifelong passion for robotics and engineering. I’ve designed systems for the automotive, entertainment, medical, food, and consumer electronics spaces. Over the past fifteen years I have shipped products in the hundreds to millions and enhanced product development by designing clever, cost efficient solutions for products and systems. My career experience has equipped me with a strong ability to execute across design, manufacturing, process development, quality, reliability, assembly automation, and cost-down engineering. This broad, hands-on foundation naturally led me toward product design roles, where a dynamic skill set directly elevates the final product. In addition to providing strong engineering leadership, I prioritize cultivating an upstanding, respectful, and collaborative team culture; enabling me to contribute effectively as an individual engineer or lead depending on the team's needs. Boston’s Top Women in Tech (2017) Battlebots Most Destructive Robot 2020 Battlebots Faceoffs Winner 2024 ## Work Experience ### Senior Mechanical Engineer @ Stealth Jan 2026 – Present ### Design Engineer, Content Creator @ Questionable Designs Jan 2023 – Present | Berkeley, CA Contract content and engineering work for the entertainment industry. ### Manager and Captain of Team Valkyrie @ BattleBots Jan 2018 – Present | Berkeley, CA Lead a team of 6 engineers to compete on Battlebots on Discovery and Science Channel from 2018-2021. In 2022 I stepped back as a team manager/mentor for Valkyrie with a new generation of passionate engineers; at the beginning of 2024 I have stepped back into the captain role to support and lead the team while we iterate on the design and plan to compete later this year. ### Robotics Subject Matter Expert @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jan 2019 – Present | Cambridge, Massachusetts Reviewing educational material for MIT Horizon, MIT's continuous education online platform. ### Lead Product Design Engineer @ Backbone Jan 2024 – Jan 2026 | Atherton, CA Supported individual components and subassemblies through manufacturing development and eventually launching for MP the Backbone Pro. Drove offshore vendors to manufacture injection and compression molded parts for our next device Rapid in-housing prototyping with SLA and DFM prints before OK2Tool or ECNs New part design, iteration and validation before system implementation. Ran design and program reviews, orchestrating ID/UX reviews to provide timely feedback to Asia during product development. Supported manufacturing, reliability or quality engineering tasks as needed. ### Senior Mechanical Design Engineer @ Bellwether Coffee Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Berkeley, California, United States I have briefly returned to this startup after a few years away to help my friends in supporting the launch of a new electric, climate-friendly coffee roaster internationally. I established the manufacturing supply chain for metal extrusion and filtration vendors; supported the bulk of first article inspection (FAI) of production parts from international injection molding, casting and machining vendors; addressed DFM/DFA needs while converting the roaster design from prototype to scalable product; and handed off drawings for most subassemblies and final assembly of the SR1 roaster. We were awarded SCA Product of the Year 2024 and had our first few sets of production roasters sold out, with US units already shipping. ### Product Design Engineer @ Apple Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Cupertino, California, United States 7th generation iPad Pro's (new) Magic Keyboard 2025 Magic Keyboard for iPad Air ### Lead Mechanical Engineer, Post Processing @ OnePointOne Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Avondale, Arizona, United States ### Senior Mechanical Design Engineer @ OnePointOne Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 | Santa Clara, California, United States Working to create the future of agriculture technologies with a blend of automation and vertical farm technology. Inventing machines to support plant and processing needs. ### Mechanical Engineer @ Bellwether Coffee Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | Berkeley, California Assisting in improving the design for the next generation of automated, zero emission coffee roasters. Rapid prototyping, testing, design and documentation in a high paced environment. Quickly address field issues and create concise field assembly kits and work instruction. ### Co-Founder, CEO @ domovi Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | Somerville, Massachusetts Domovi's mission was to bringing home appliances into the modern day starting with a connected washing appliance for urban homes. Lead investor calls and pitch meetings, established LOIs with local architecture firms, supported the Greentown Labs mechanical engineering network, and invented a compact multi-washing system for residential kitchens and apartment spaces with my cofounder. ### Contract Mechanical Design Engineer @ Form Energy Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States Help establish initial mechanical design for power storage prototypes. ### Lead Computer Hardware Engineer @ Datto, Inc. Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | Boston, Massachusetts Managed a team of four across the US Datto offices and worked with project/program managers to cover all products, internal and external needs. Hardware product management, supplier/manufacturing troubleshooting and support. New product design, rapid prototyping, packaging design, and hands-on server builds. Product life cycle planning. Vendor relations and L6/L10 partner roadmapping. ### Contract Mechanical Design Engineer @ Smart Vision Labs Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 Working on optics integration onto an iPhone 5 including new product design for aberrometer products, accessories and future diagnostic products. Hands-on assembly, quality checks and testing for current builds. Calibration and test fixture design for in-house work and manufacturer testing Communicating with manufacturer for new product DFM/DFA Documentation for overall design and design organization to adhere to FDA, ISO and other applicable organization requirements. ### Contract Product Design Engineer @ Pavlok Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States Assisted in DFM efforts for a behavior device featured on Shark Tank. ### Hardware Design Engineer @ Vecna Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Cambridge, MA Robotic systems design and support focused. Product improvements, research/testing of various subsystems within our QC Bot. Day to day tasks varied from rapid prototyping, hands-on assembly, communicating with vendors, project time management, Confluence documentation, tolerance stacks and cost analysis work. ### Lead Product Design Engineer @ HelmetHub Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Somerville, MA Assisted in designing a patent-pending system for single point-of-access helmet vending and return before the company ceased operations. Managed suppliers and coordinated with the contract manufacturing team Day to day tasks vary but include: rapid prototyping subsystems, Solidworks modeling, DFM/DFA troubleshooting, working with vendors and manufacturers to coordinate production prototypes and production scheduling, mentoring ME/EE interns, electromechanical research and integration (sensors, motors, UI components), etc ### Freelance Contributor @ Boston's Weekly Dig Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | Boston, MA • Source content for the Arts and Entertainment section of the newspaper and website • Contribute articles about the local performing arts and music scene • Research and develop articles for the future tech section ### Brand Ambassador @ Yelp Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | Boston, MA / London, UK • Engage and interact with a variety of people at conventions, outreach and social events • Customer engagement to optimize app utilization • Answer questions and direct business owners to appropriate resources for needs, sales and questions ### Lead Mechanical Design Engineer @ LabMinds Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | Oxford, United Kingdom / Boston, MA Design systems for an autonomous chemical solution creation robot. Modify and improve old solutions for DFM, cost savings and overall system robustness. Hands-on prototyping with additive manufacturing, modified OTS components and fabricated parts. Support and assist with robot assembly and troubleshooting. ### Design Engineer @ Belcan Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | Lynn, MA • Coordinate, plan and support engineering work for a variety of gas powered turbine engines • Communicate with vendors and suppliers to coordinate agendas and requirements for products • Perform design analysis and support for non-conformances and design change proposals • Provide detailed presentations and documentation for project progress ### Chassis Design Engineer @ Husqvarna Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 | Charlotte, NC Conceptualizing, modeling/drawing, product cost estimation, numerical analysis, prototyping, testing, production launch, and product support for consumer outdoor products. Also design performance and cost improvements for existing products. Support manufacturing with DFM/DFA projects and troubleshooting. Investigate and assist in supplier development. ### Writer @ Reporter Magazine Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 I utilized my role at Reporter to learn how to interview (and be interviewed), articulate complex subject matters, and develop 1000-2500 word articles in a 1-2 week timeline. ### Body Weld Process Engineer Co-op @ Toyota Motor Corporation Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 Organized and oversaw the installation, testing and implementation of many sections of the welding line for the underbody of the first mass production Highlander line in the US Executed kanbans by coordinating timetables for hoist structure construction teams, welding robot programming, and plant employee schedules for time trials ### Mechanical Engineering Co-op @ Barthelmes Manufacturing Company, Inc. Jan 2008 – Jan 2008 • Assisted clients with developing a range of sheet metal parts to satisfy various client needs. • Developed machining processes for parts • Developed welding fixtures and tooling for factory floor ### Mechanical Engineering Co-op @ Harris RF Communications Jan 2007 – Jan 2008 • Designed and improved production fixtures • Researched military standards to ensure product compliance • Performed vibration and leak testing on selected components ## Education ### B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Option Rochester Institute of Technology ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/leannecushing - Website: https://www.questionabledesign.xyz/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/leannecushing JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/leannecushing/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-05