Amichai Amar, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

San Francisco , Ca, Us

Volunteer counselor for suicide prevention and other mental health crises.

Us

Completion of Level 1 training program in Internal Family Systems Therapy. Clinical hours for certification in progress.

Palo Alto, California, Us

Customer discovery / business development in a semiconductor technology startup. Community engagement with companies developing hardware applications / consumer electronics and semiconductors (IoT, Edge AI, medical devices, custom SoCs etc)

Aura is a line of illuminated jewelry I created. Instagram: @aurajewel.coWith this product, I wanted to realize a beautiful fashion accessory that integrated art, design and technology in a balanced way. Why a fashion accessory? Specifically because it calls for a combination of conflicting constraints. The deeply multi and interdisciplinary nature of designing, developing and then producing such an object is a non-trivial challenge. It demands deep expertise in a number of disciplines and requires them to all be integrated in a balanced manner. The integration is as much of a challenge as the creation of any single element. I conceived of this idea, did the industrial design, hardware design, firmware development (using pollen, the programming language I created in a previous endeavor), the physical prototyping using 3d printing and metal casting techniques, and the design for manufacturing. I did the art direction for the website graphics, I implemented the website (front and backend), I worked with mold makers, goldsmiths, component distributors, circuit board fabricators, assemblers and other vendors to build the supply chain and get production up and running.

San Francisco, California, Us

I was in charge of and realized a smart speaker for a Fortune 50 company. I also ran hardware product development programs - experimental to mass-produced IoT / wearable / consumer electronics - in value of $100K - $5M. Led cross-disciplinary teams of up to 15 engineers to realize complex hardware applications. Primary interface to client teams and subject matter expert in internal business development efforts.

I was responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations and for manifesting the founder's vision to provide people with hearing disabilities a richer, more customizable listening experience. The company's lead investor brought me in to interface with a technical founder and to transition management responsibilities. I quickly and efficiently executed on cutting costs, streamlining processes (engineering, sales, operations), manage challenging personnel, cash flow, finances and to build projections. I learned an enormous amount about how to truly gauge and understand the health of a startup - its business opportunity, technology, personnel and operations.

San Francisco, Ca, Us

I was brought in to teach the unique design & technology program at the International High School for about three months. I taught design thinking, the design process, empathizing, need finding, ideation / creative thinking, defining ideas & rapid prototyping. I helped senior design students with various facets of their senior projects, specifically bridging the gap between abstract idea and physical reality. I taught modeling and rapid prototyping techniques to about 50 sophomores and juniors. I helped about 120 freshmen students understand how to model their physical reality in the digital world.

Designed and developed the initial product strategy and offering for an early stage startup. Helped founders understand their needs, their customer's needs and then balance constraints. Guided the product experience. Designed and developed the hardware, firmware, industrial design and software architecture (mobile & cloud) of product. Managed decision and cost analysis for manufacturing and development.

I provide an interdisciplinary approach to helping companies design and develop IoT / Wearable / embedded systems products. I often have hands-on responsibilities for the design and manufacturing of hardware, the architecture and development of software from the firmware layer up to the mobile and cloud layers, as well as the industrial design of the product itself. I also conduct research on various aspects of design and development feasibility, component selection, effective manufacturing processes and cost analysis. I add value to companies that are new to the hardware development process as well as to companies with several generations of product on the market. I report to and communicate effectively with decision makers at all levels from executive to creative to engineering. My creativity allows me to balance user-centered thinking in the development process with real-world engineering and manufacturing constraints. I help companies realize product. Clients included Fuseproject, Stanford Medical School, early stage start-ups, fashion designers, semiconductor manufacturers & others.

At Amaret I pursued an entrepreneurial vision I had during my Ph.D. The vision entailed making the development of wearable / IoT applications more accessible to product developers that do not have deep engineering skills. I went through the full experience of the early stage start-up in Silicon Valley, from developing the vision into a business plan, going through an accelerator, pitching early stage venture capitalists and angels of all kind, fundraising, product development, legal, hiring, and management. In addition to many stimulating projects and collaborations - some shown below - I developed numerous business-oriented skills that were complementary to my existing creative product design and development abilities.

Master Of Arts - Ma, Integral Counseling Psychology

Phd, Media, Arts And Technology

Technology Management Practice, Innovation & Technology Management

Masters Of Professional Studies, Interactive Telecommunications Program (Itp)

B.Sc., Computer Science, Creative Studies