# Max Sims > Senior Product Manager @ Gambit Labs | User Research, Medical Design Location: Menlo Park, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/maxsims Max Sims is a co-founder and chief design officer at Gambit Labs, a startup that develops VR games for treating teenage ADHD with EEG brain signals as a controller. He has over 30 years of experience in design, computer graphics, VR, and neuroscience, spanning various industries such as automotive, entertainment, nanotechnology, and medical devices. He is also a principal at Prescient Venture Design, where he takes equity stakes in early-stage companies and helps design all the touchpoints. He is an adjunct professor at Academy of Art University, where he teaches design thinking and transportation design. He has published multiple articles on the art and technology of VR and service design, and has worked on two Oscar-winning teams. He is passionate about combining diverse knowledge and creating innovative solutions that have a positive impact on society. ## Work Experience ### Senior Product Manager and Product Designer | Co Founder @ Gambit Labs( formerly TopDown BCI), LLC Jan 2021 – Present | Silicon Valley, California, United States VR games for treating teenage ADHD with EEG brain signal as a controller. ### Principal @ Presicient Venture Design Jan 2016 – Present | Silicon Valley We take equity stakes in early stage companies and help design all the touchpoint. Primary industries are Automotive HMI, nanotechnology (http://www.aguavia.com) and medical devices (not announced yet) Formerly Technolution ### Adjunct professor @ Academy of Art University Jan 1994 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area Currently teaching 4 sections of Design Thinking course Teach in ID and Transportation Design 2 year sponsorship with VW ERL (Electronics Research Lab) Started in the Computer Animation Department which has frown to 2000 students 2 month substitute for Assistant director of ID department Sept/October 2008 ### Adjunct Professor @ Academy of Art University Jan 1994 – Jan 2006 I started teaching Alias products when the CG program was 15 SGI machines in the basement of 79 New Montgomery building. It is now 2000 students strong. I also teach in the ID/ transportation program under Tom Matano. I created the digital imaging sequence in ID as well as the advanced rendering in the CG program. I created the first online maya class for the cybercampus. I have taught in the Graduate and undergraduate programs. SW taught: Maya, Alias Studio, Painter, Photoshop, Illustrator ### Senior Product Manager @ Theia Interactive Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Menlo Park, California, United States Created new product lines for an Unreal Developer. Claria can test a users responses at the cognitive level to aerospace, product and automotive designs. Used HP Omnicept SDK and HMD. One of their earliest ISVs. ### Adjunct Lecturer @ UC Davis Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 Teaching Design Thinking for Data Analytics Practicum Masters candidates. 15 different projects from cancer, aviation startups and arts organizations ### Adjunct Faculty and Internship Coordinator Industrial Design Undergrad Program @ California College of the Arts Jan 2014 – Jan 2020 Undergrad ID Animation and Motion graphics in Design Communication 4 with Advanced Rhino with grasshopper parametric scripting plug in. ID Studio sponsored by Autodesk "Beauty for the Body" Design Drawing Grad and Undergrad Design ### Senior Product Designer @ Asian Art Museum Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco, California Lead Creative Designer for Mandala Flow State VR Experience which takes users through an immersive journey of a 3D mandala. Commissioned by the museum as part of Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment exhibition. • Created tools and art: Generated mandala animation based on real-time users’ EEG readings. • Originally nurtured this multi-disciplinary project within SCU’s Imaginarium VR Lab. ### VR Lab Instructor | Adjunct Professor @ Santa Clara University Jan 2014 – Jan 2018 | Santa Clara University Run and founded the Imaginarium VR/AR lab at Santa Clara University Expanded lab from 4 laptops to specifying and maintaining 32 systems with HTC, Oculus and Hololens across campus. Work with the Imaginarium Communication Team on social media posting videos and articles Teach VR boot camp to students and faculty from majors in ARTS, Mathematics, Religious studies, COEN, Marketing, Econ, Physics, Classics, English to Communications. Run Faculty Learning Community Awarded Faculty Collaborative as a grant to create an Augmented Reality Playbill experience with SCU Presents for Director Jeffery Bracco's production of Glass Menagerie May 11-19. Research Support (Highlights) Work on a VR neural feedback system to get synchrony between L/R hemispheres to put user in a relaxed/and focused state through reading of Alpha and Beta Waves in 14 channels with 1500 millisecond response Contributed to Elizabeth Day‘s (Education) STS class where students presented VR experiences that would create lesson plans to be taught to the California educational Core Support and educate Professor Takeshi Moro for teaching an ELSJ course that will use 360-degree filmmaking and the Imaginarium with the Japanese Senior center in San Jose Missions of Santa Clara de Asis project presented to the California Missions Foundation annual meeting on SCU campus. 4th dimensional projections to VR with 2 math majors and a Professor Emeritus Thomas Banchoff from Brown ### Principal @ Technolution Jan 1989 – Jan 2016 | Silicon Valley I run a consultancy with European and North American clients in design and animation. Design and business modeling/strategy for clients including ILM,Marine Advanced Research, Pixar, PDI, frog design, Fitch, En Effecto, Silver Haze, Natus, Multiverse Networks, Renault/Nissan, Switch Vehicles. Company name sold to Technolution AB . VF Outdoors, Agua Via ### Senior Product Manager and Product Designer | Cofounder @ Space 650 Jan 2013 – Jan 2015 | Silicon valley Emerging out of stealth mode for a virtual production and design studio. Specializing in performance capture, virtual cinematography and HMI. ### Senior Product Designer Contract for Automotive UX @ Stanford University Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 | McClatchy Hall Work in Clifford Nass' CHIMe lab (Communication Between Humans and Interactive Media Lab with Nissan Post Doc and two PhD candidates on Automotive HCI research project ### Advisory Board Member @ Caustic Graphics Jan 2007 – Jan 2011 Advise on Tools, ID strategy, Strategic Partnerships, Demonstrations of new rendering technology Company sold to Imagination Technologies Cambridge England ### Advisory Board member @ The Multiverse Network Jan 2005 – Jan 2011 I advised Multiverse on all matters of 3D asset creation, strategy and even legal issues. I was in Spain managing the relationship I created between them and Enne. Served on the board with the producer and director of Titanic and Avatar. ### Adjunct Faculty @ EDMC Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 Started the Maya classes for the new AI Sunnyvale campus. Now its off to grad school. ### Adjunct Faculty School of Art and Design @ San Jose State University Jan 2006 – Jan 2009 Have taught Art 129 (Maya Animation) SP 2006 teaching DSID 129 Design Visualization 3 ### Director of Corporate Relations @ Cogswell Polytechnical College Jan 2008 – Jan 2009 Created and maintain professional development programs. ### Associate Professor @ Cogswell Polytechnical College Jan 2000 – Jan 2008 I was in charge of Modelng and Rendering specialization in the Digial Arts and Animation Department moved to senior position in President's office. ### Executive producer @ Enne Jan 2006 – Jan 2007 I was helping the Junta of Castille y Leon in Salamanca Spain establish a Digital Content Creation region. I am in charge of the games and virtal worlds business and advising on animation as well as mobile games. I am the liason for Multiverse and Enne for their preferred services provider and knowledge transfer agreement. I also am the training director for Universidad Enne as well as visiting professor at USAL. I am teaching and doing strategy at Enne in Spansh. ### Invited Professor @ Universidad de Salamanca Jan 2006 – Jan 2007 I was a visiting professor starting up their masters program in Digital Content Creation at the Instituto de Bellas Artes y Ciencas. We are planning the campus in Villa Mayor and creating cirriculum for the masters program starting Sept. 2008 ### Lead Author Inside Maya 5 @ New Riders Jan 2001 – Jan 2003 recruited industry thought leaders to co-write the book on how to make a short film with ADSK maya software. Book in 5 languages: Spanish, Russian, Italian, Chinese and English for the Indian subcontinent. ### Product Manager @ think3 Jan 1998 – Jan 2000 | Santa Clara CA and Bologna Italy Managed surfacing product thinkshape. created and managed team in Sheffield England and Bologna Italy for thinkreal rendering product. ### Director 3D production @ Luuluu.com Jan 2000 – Jan 2000 Hired and managed team of 9 3D artists in a digital fashion start up ### CAID Consultant @ frog design Jan 1995 – Jan 2000 Design visualization for their clients Dual, Packard Bell ### Consultant @ 3DO Game Co. Jan 1995 – Jan 1996 Artist on High Heat baseball Modeling and Mocap cleanup ### CAID vendor @ Lunar Design Jan 1994 – Jan 1996 Alias Modeling and rendering ### Consultant @ The 3DO Company Jan 1993 – Jan 1995 3d pipeline optimization and motion capture for High Heat Baseball ### Application Engineer @ Alias Jan 1989 – Jan 1994 Sold and supported customers in Midwest and Western region. trained and did benchmarks for industrial design and animation companies. ### Junior Designer @ Design Logic Jan 1986 – Jan 1989 work on D Tech (Japan) lamps with Paul Montgomery, Martin Thaler and David Gresham. Hayes Modems, Dictaphone digital answering Machines won Best in concepts ID magazine ### Jr SFX technician and PA @ Robert Short Productions Jan 1986 – Jan 1986 Worked on props for movies such as Beetlejuice, Masters of the Universe, Nightflyers ( based off of George RR Martin's book) ### Intern designer @ Adam Opel AG Design studio Jan 1985 – Jan 1985 Worked on "tall boy" 4 door concept, and production Vectra wagon ### Design intern @ Renault Jan 1985 – Jan 1985 Worked on the team for the 1993 Twingo, the first Clio and Safrane ## Education ### MFA in Industrial and Interaction Design California College of the Arts ### BS in Industrial Design University of Illinois Chicago ### Transportation Design ArtCenter College of Design ### Medical Device Design UCSC Silicon Valley Extension ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/maxsims - Website: http://maxsims.prosite.com - Website: http://www.behance.net/maxsims --- Source: https://flows.cv/maxsims JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/maxsims/resume.json Last updated: 2026-02-23