Peter So Mechanical Engineer, Roboticist, Developer
I'm a seasoned engineer who has cut my teeth designing automation equipment for prominent companies in Silicon Valley. I received my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and spend my time inventing innovative applications for robots. My professional focuses are product design, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing technologies like 3D printing. I have spent the last 5 years building automation equipment for Apple, Tesla, and others to pursue these interests. and I have had internships at Tesla Motors and Apple to pursue these interests. In my spare time I enjoy tinkering with electronics, going to the gym, listening to music, and occasionally scuba diving.
Experience
I've designed automation equipment from the ground up starting with early stage ideation and specification generation through detailing, machining, and, assembly up to installing, demonstrating, and qualifying the final tool in production environments in the US and China. I've led numerous design teams at a variety of companies as a technical consultant and am very hands-on with developing both the mechanical and software systems. I am currently developing new libraries and curriculum for the open source robot operating system, ROS, and consulting through Modular Motions LLC.
I joined as the first engineer to build out the companies robot and machine vision capabilities. Here I received extensive training on vision guided robot systems. The team has grown from the initial 3 to more than 20 and the company is now one of the leading robot system integrators in the San Francisco Bay Area and the first RIA Certified robot provider in California.
Lead Engineer CKC Engineering, LLC
Specialized in developing custom automated process equipment for the medical and pharmaceutical industry, I acted as a lead mechanical engineer developing mechanisms and fixtures. I also received my first exposure to programming PLCs and HMIs. In addition, I gained hands-on experience with precision machining and troubleshooting equipment in the field.
Manufacturing Engineer Solyndra Inc.
Charged with leading the continuous improvement of the routine maintenance of high vacuum deposition equipment, I worked with a engineering team to reduce the turnover time between runs to a single 12-hour shift and saved the company an estimated $500,000 in daily operating costs in machine downtime.