Yedi Technologies

Role: Technical Product Manager
Responsibilities: Product Design / Field Engineering / Systems Feedback
Timeline: 2024–Present
Context: Early-stage hardware startup, NYC deployment
Tools: JAVA, Xcode, RTT Viewer, Terminal, Figma, Solidworks, hand tools

Overview

Yedi Technologies operates a network of connected smart locks that provide public access to private restrooms in cafés and businesses across NYC. The system combines custom hardware, embedded firmware, mobile software, and physical signage.

I work directly in the field, getting my hands dirty installing, repairing, and maintaining deployed units. I turn insights from the field and my workshop into product design, manufacturing, consumer UX, and software development.

My Role

Deploying hardware in uncontrolled public environments surfaces issues that never appear in lab testing (and New Yorker’s are angry and strong). I operate as a bridge between public consumer, partner locations, hardware teams, and software teams. As the only team member located in New York, it is my responsibility to communicate the base reality of how our product works, communicate and elevate issues, and turn issues into actionable design changes, guiding product development. To do this, I perform:

Analysis of mechanical failures and root-cause identification with Taiwan manufacturers
Debugging and documentation of firmware failures with the embedded engineering team
Software feature development with the backend and mobile software team
Signage design and physical UX refinement with graphic design team
Partner (store managers) onboarding, management, and feedback collection

Contributions

1. Mechanical & Manufacturing Design

While servicing units, I disassembled locks to diagnose repeat mechanical failures.

Example:

Identified a recurring fracture in a clutch ball-and-socket joint
Traced failure to a single post experiencing repeated shear stress
Documented findings and reported directly to the Taiwanese manufacturing team
Contributed to redesign of part and tooling process
Managed replacement part timeline and instillation

2. Firmware Improvements

I worked closely with the firmware engineer to diagnose failure states caused by real user behavior.

Example:

Users pulling the handle prematurely during code entry caused the lock to fail to open
Observed and reproduced the issue during field visits
Helped define firmware logic changes to handle partial or mistimed interactions
Improved reliability without changing the external hardware.

3. New Software Features

I collaborated with the software engineering team, and coded myself, new features for our partner app

example:

Store managers needed clearer visibility into lock status in order to successfully operate the lock.
Developed new icons to display
- Battery level
- Master code
- Firmware
Improved digital lock management at high traffic locations
- Allowed managers across different shifts to view current code
- Notified managers of low battery to minimize and avoiddowntime

4. Signage, and Physical UX

Beyond the lock itself, I worked on the entire system experience.

example:

Consumers were failing to understand bathroom was occupied, lock was in process of opening, and that they needed to lock the door behind them
- Created a sign with the graphic designer that
  - caught consumer’s attention
  - explained clearly and briefly the lock states
  - emphasized proper interaction
- This ensured the system worked not just technically, but with real people.

5. Operational Systems & Inventory

I also supported scaling operations by:

Managing hardware inventory
Tracking failure rates and recurring issues
Standardizing installation and repair procedures