CV

Work Experience

Simurghnameh

Simurghnameh is a platform for the arts and culture of Iran.

Product Manager | May 2023 – Present

  • Led the product team, stakeholders, and art researchers to co-develop shared goals, understand users, define strategy, launch and measure
  • Managed product discovery and delivery of a user facing online museum and an archive content administration panel including design, wireframing, user research and usability tests
  • Initiated and led community development of the platform to work with local museums, art organizations, art collectors, researchers, and volunteers

Balad Maps & Navigation, Tehran, Iran

Balad is a local Iranian maps and navigation website and mobile app with 15 million monthly active users.

Product Manager | May 2020 – Sep 2022

  • Led product discovery, user-centered design, and agile product development with cross-functional teams of engineers, data scientists, designers, researchers, and operators
  • Conducted hundreds of user interviews, assumption tests and prototyping to identify opportunities and user problems

  • Launched products such as Medicine Finder Personal Assistant (NPS Growth to 30), COVID-19 Vaccination Center Search (increased daily active users by 18% in two months), Location-based Q&A, Restaurants’ User Generated Reviews Feed, Public Transportation Interactive Map, Air Quality Monitor (increased from 0 to 10K requests per city)
  • Developed products such as Public Transportation Navigation

  • Participated in strategy development, team arrangements, tribes’ goals, and OKR settings from 500K to 10M [Monthly Active] Users
  • Participated in hiring product managers by conducting more than 100 interviews and task reviews

Garage Team Lead | Dec 2019 – Jul 2020

  • Founded the company’s first interdisciplinary team consisting of a full stack developer, data analyst, electronics engineer, and a mechanical prototype engineer
  • Spearheaded R&D initiatives, including the creation of an air quality portable kit, a 360° urban photography backpack, and a wayfinding urban pod, driving innovation and addressing key urban challenges

Product Researcher | May 2019 – Apr 2020

  • Analyzed future trends and researched in areas such as community development, gamification, aerial mapping, driving safety assistant, travel, indoor navigation, and monetization
  • Evaluated and formed external innovative collaborations with universities, municipalities, and startups
  • Collaborated with the CEO to inform strategic decision-making processes, providing valuable insights and analysis to support informed choices

UNSense, Amsterdam, Netherlands

UNSense is an urban technology design strategy startup.

Design & Technology Intern | Feb 2018 – Jun 2018

  • Contributed to multi-stakeholder human-centered workshops for urban projects
  • Researched and developed urban projects focused on sensor-based large-scale interaction and data-oriented design for the cities of Amsterdam and Den Haag

UNStudio, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Research and Innovation Intern, UNSX | Jan 2018 – Jun 2018

  • Developed concepts for future of different building components such as lighting, future of playground, circular economy, and sensor technologies in buildings
  • Developed proposals and conducted ideation sessions for product collaboration with internal departments and external companies

  • Co-developed light interaction concepts for “18 Septemberplein” building facade, Eindhoven  
  • Designed versions of a solar panel product called “Solar Visual” using generative algorithms

  • Co-designed an international workshop proposal titled “Future Playgrounds: Experiential Learning in Mediated Spaces” at Media Architecture Biennale 2018, which took place in Beijing, China
  • Conducted research for the ACM paper “Ben van Berkel, Filippo Lodi, Wael Sami Batal, Responsive Technologies of Social Health, 2018, Pages 45–54″

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY

Design Research and Fabrication Assistant for On-site Construction Robotics, Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotics Technologies (SMART) Community of Excellence, Prof. Michael Silver | Aug 2015 – Feb 2016

  • Researched robotics in construction automation
  • Aided in 3D modeling and drafting of a humanoid robot‘s (OSCR-5) physical parts
  • Coordinated the collaboration meetings between the designers and developers
  • Produced the robot’s test pieces with 3D-printed plastic

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Prof. Mark Shepard | Aug 2015 – Dec 2015

  • Assisted student projects on physical computing with Arduino and Processing, the course title: “Code & Space”

Independent Works

Digital Product Consultant | Sep 2022 – Present

  • Advised small teams and startups on product discovery, strategy, and evaluation | Sep 2022 – Present

Co-director, “Workshop on Regeneration – Project Taar” | Tehran and Taar Village, Iran, Jul-Sep 2018 & Sep 2019

  • Co-directed “Workshop on Regeneration”, a two-week hands-on participatory workshop on vernacular architecture techniques hosted by University of Tehran and INTBAU
  • Co-curated a two-day multidisciplinary international lecture series with lecturers such as Terrachidia team, and the final exhibition of the 1st year at University of Tehran
  • Facilitated project delivery, team arrangement, and local participation

Hackathon Organizer, CafeBazaar | Jan 2018 – March 2018

  • Designed, organized, and executed the company’s largest hackathon with more than 300 developers, designers, researchers, and leaders
  • Conducted interviews and co-design with employees to identify cultural traits, determine necessary shifts on the innovation path, set goals, and establish an executive team
  • Evaluated the event by collecting feedback from participants
  • Documented the design process to create a flexible blueprint for the future

Education

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY

MFA, Media Arts, Department of Media Study | 2014 – 2018

MArch, Architecture & Situated Technologies (NAAB-Accredited), Department of Architecture | 2014 – 2018

  • Chair’s Scholarship
  • Dual master’s thesis entitled ‘A Self-expressive Transit Hub,’ a series of design fiction artifacts reflecting on the social implications of urban technologies, chaired by Prof. Mark Shepard and co-supervised by Prof. Marc Bölen
  • Cumulative Dual Masters GPA: 3.73

Bauhaus-Universität, Weimar, Germany

Master’s Exchange, MediaArchitecture, Interface Design Group, Faculty of Media Art and Design | 2016

IKIU, Qazvin, Iran

Bachelor of Architecture, Department of Architecture | 2009 – 2013

Certifications

Architectural Association (AA) Tehran Visiting School | 2013

  • Project: “Edge-monster”, An urban installation questioning Sadr Bridge edge condition

IAAC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) Global Summer School | 2013

  • Team Project: “Fading Tehran”, Sky view data visualization concerning urban gentrification

Mesocity Workshop, Organized by Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture at University of Tehran | 2012

  • Team Project: “Oudlajan double-deck water canal”, a human-centered urban proposal