# Vignesh Vishwanathan > Manager of NPI Mfg & Quality | Gies MBA Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/vigneshvishwanathan Driving Innovation and Quality in Hardware @ Lambda With over 9 years of experience in robotics, mechanical product design, and quality / manufacturing engineering, I am passionate about solving complex challenges. Previously, I was a Senior Hardware Engineer of Quality at Cruise, the leader in self-driving technology. As the Quality + Manufacturing Lead for new product introduction programs, I managed a team to execute hardware bring-up and readiness for R&D programs, spin up and transfer quality processes and workflows to Commercial Ops, and ensure Cruise hardware meets PPAP requirements and are approved for vehicle builds. I also supported multiple vehicle platforms and hardware products, such as Bolt Cargo, Origin Cargo, Origin Sensors, Sensor Pod Auxiliary Modules. Additionally, I am an active private investor and LP in several robotics and technology startups. ## Work Experience ### Manager - Quality & NPI @ Lambda Jan 2025 – Present | San Jose, CA NPI - Validation, Manufacturing & Supplier Quality, RMA > Manage the team validating networking and compute during NPI and second source > Hiring QA Engineers + Supplier Quality Engineers ### Manufacturing Quality Engineer @ Lambda Jan 2025 – Jan 2025 | San Jose, CA > Manufacturing quality for AI workstations and GPU cloud hardware > Managing RMA process and workflows > Spearheaded the rapid disposition of $12M in stagnant RMA inventory within 3 months, recovering $11M in value through targeted warranty claims and strategic asset scrapping. ### Private Investor / LP @ Unknown Jan 2018 – Present 2023 / Orchard Robotics 2021 / EarthSense 2020 / Sweed 2019 / Fan Controlled Sports League / Football League 2018 / Flower Co Exits / Made In Space | 2019 Investment > Sold to private equity Leaf.Trade | 2020 Investment > Acquired by Leaf Link ### Senior Hardware Engineer, Quality - Autonomous Vehicle Platforms @ Cruise Jan 2019 – Jan 2025 | San Francisco Bay Area [Cruise was fully acquired by General Motors in Feb 2025. GM will use Cruise autonomous vehicle technology and advanced driver assistance systems, for their personal vehicles] - Quality + Manufacturing lead for NPI programs - Driving phase gates to ensure readiness of the supplier’s manufacturing process and quality controls before each build. - Ensuring Cruise hardware meets PPAP requirements, for vehicle builds / integration. - Managing sensor testing, validation and automation processes. - Developed Cruise's EMS / manufacturing strategy to enable new products & technologies for self-driving. - Spin up and transfer quality processes and workflows to Commercial Ops - Cruise's internal technical process auditor, auditing commercial operations processes for process gaps and compliance. (2024) - Collaborating with cross-functional teams, including engineering, supply chain, operations, and legal to identify the right partners for the future product. Providing regular updates to internal stakeholders to ensure alignment. Manufacturing Engineer for: - Bolt Cargo (Shipped) - Origin Cargo Quality Engineer for: - Origin Sensors, Displays, Vehicle Integration, & Consumer facing hardware - Chevy Bolt Cargo Hardware 2023 (Shipped) - Sensor Pod Auxiliary Module v1 (Shipped) - Touch and Collision detection sensors (Shipped) - C6 ADSC (Shipped) - C5 ADSC (Shipped) - Sensor Processing Systems (Shipped) - Data Switches (Shipped) - New Vehicle Introduction of MY22 Autonomous Chevy Bolts (Shipped) ### LAS Board - Alumni Connections & Advocacy Committee Member @ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Jan 2021 – Jan 2021 | Champaign County, Illinois, United States ### Senior Manufacturing Quality Engineer @ Facebook Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Menlo Park • Helped build & grow the iDC MQE team • Designed the FB Datacenter supplier manufacturing quality audit process, tools & dashboards • Oversee manufacturing + automation improvements at supplier facilities • Partnering w/Suppliers for NPI Phase Gates: Factory & product readiness, production ramp ### Manufacturing Quality Engineer @ Facebook Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 | Menlo Park, California, United States Part of the SOE - Operations Engineering team, that worked on the internet.org, connectivity & internal collaboration hardware projects. • Mechanical lead for internet.org hardware: design, reliability & manufacturing quality for OpenCellular and Terragraph • Test fixture development for proof of concept connectivity projects - Portable Network Towers for San Jose deployment, Radio isolation units, automated test setups for internet.org • X-fn work, prototyping AR/VR/MR hardware & software experiences ### Manufacturing Engineer @ Facebook Jan 2015 – Jan 2015 | Mountain View, California • Designed and manufactured mechanical & electrical hardware. • Wrote firmware & software scripts for Raspberry Pi and Arduino for Proof of Concept prototypes. • Led the business review, design & interfacing effort with vendors for a new product under OCP • Supported projects on-site in China, providing solutions to manufacturing quality issues. • Managed & setup EFFA procedures for a connectivity lab product and proposed design changes to decrease failures in the field. Shipped Programs: - Place Tips Beacons - Optical Patch Panel for FB Data Center ### Undergraduate Research Assistant @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 | Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology • Researching methods to improve the wicking properties of the vascular panels. • Optimizing VARTM and manufacturing processes for new proof-of-concept. • Designing test setups to identify ideal parameters for autonomic cooling of composite panels. • Identifying comparable autonomic mechanisms in nature to better understand our results. ### Product Design Engineer @ Apple Inc. Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 | Cupertino, CA • Worked on the next generation of Apple computers, power and battery systems. • Responsible for concept generation, product component integration, enclosure design, prototype creation/demonstration, product analysis and testing through mass production development and manufacturing ramp-up. • Designed mechanical components for high volume manufacturing in areas of injected molded parts, sheet metal components and machined parts. • Supported projects on-site in China for line bring-up and EVT. • Collaborated with industrial designers, product marketing, module and electrical and hardware engineering teams. ### Undergraduate Research Assistant @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology • Manufacturing and testing fiber-reinforced polymer composites with integrated vascular circulatory systems to improve structural performance. • Pioneered the use of lasers to create vascular networks in PLA+metal composites within the group. • Setup and standardized laser cutting guidelines within the research group. ### Illinois Formula Electric - Chassis Team Leader @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 • Designed, Analyzed and Fabricated the Chassis according to stringent competition rules. • Redesigned the break pedal mechanism to minimize space requirements and improve reliability. • Trained new team members in the use of power tools, welding equipment and FEA software. • Implemented the use of Gantt charts at Formula Electric to improve project efficiency. ### Illinois Formula Electric - Chassis Engineer @ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 • Designed the headrest for the 2013 race car, increasing its minimum safety factor to 2.17 from 0.81 of the earlier designs • Building/Designing the Chassis of the race car, and performing Finite Element Analysis on the components. • Designed the support structure of the battery box, that needs to be attached to the Chassis. • Designed an Engine brace, allowing us to attach the engine onto the Chassis. ## Education ### Master of Business Administration - MBA Gies College of Business - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ### Bachelor of Science (B.S.) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ### GCE A Levels in Physics | Chemistry | Biology | Mathematics | Further Mathematics Jerudong International School ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/vigneshvish --- Source: https://flows.cv/vigneshvishwanathan JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/vigneshvishwanathan/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13