Author: Alan Le & Jahaan Saini  |  August 28, 2024  |  Time to read: 10 min

Hello, I’m Jahaan! As a Product Design Engineer at Our Place, I evaluate and advise on the functional and technical aspects of new product designs throughout the entire product life cycle, from concept to mass production. Leveraging 3D modeling, thorough research, creative thinking, and a deep understanding of material science and manufacturing processes, I plan prototypes, review designs, and validate concepts, all while adhering to rigorous engineering standards. Collaborating closely with manufacturing partners, I work to elevate product quality and functionality, with a significant focus on developing comprehensive product testing protocols centered on safety and usability. My journey as a product design engineer is driven by a desire to intersect design, human factors, and food justice, supported by my background in Industrial Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and a Masters in Human Factors Engineering. This mission aligns seamlessly with Our Place’s commitment to enhancing home cooking experiences and bringing people together. 

My connection to Our Place is deeply rooted in my South Asian heritage and Caribbean upbringing, where food has been a vital means of cultural preservation and resilience. I am inspired by how Our Place celebrates these values, fostering conversations about culture, food justice, equity, and the narratives food conveys, especially from often silenced communities. I truly believe in the power of sharing meals and creating communal spaces as a way to heal and connect people, which is why Our Place’s mission resonates so deeply with me.

My design thinking philosophy centers on integrating ergonomics and ethics into the product development process, particularly in kitchenware, with a focus on addressing diverse user needs to create empowering products that push industry boundaries. During my MS in Human Factors, I explored the intersection of equity, product development, and technological ethics by creating an interactive journal for small to medium-sized startups to promote a more equitable product development process. The journal investigates the role of empathy in design, methods to enhance employee participation and idea generation, and strategies to reduce bias through the use of storytelling and illustrations. By actively identifying and mitigating biases at every stage - from creation and data sampling to collection and testing, I prioritize peer reviews and interactive user testing to deconstruct biases, ensure safety, and provide ergonomic comfort, ultimately considering and uplifting outliers who fall outside the average one-size-fits-all approach. At Our Place, this philosophy has driven innovative solutions that empower users by addressing key customer pain points, meeting high functional design standards, and fostering a more inclusive and thoughtful approach to product development.

At Our Place, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide range of products belonging to different categories, including the Better Bowl Set, an innovative modular system. This set, made from over 60% certified post-consumer recycled plastic, includes three bowls, each with a unique add-on: a salad spinner for the largest, a grater for the medium, and a juicer for the smallest. The salad spinner’s patent-pending 2-in-1 mechanism combines a lock lever with a tactile brake button, making it more ergonomic and user-friendly. The grater, featuring a stainless steel body and silicone-overmolded nylon, is designed for both comfort and versatility, suitable for a variety of tasks in the kitchen.

This system tackled several key obstacles: decluttering the kitchen by creating a multipurpose tool for food preparation, serving, and storage. By developing a modular solution, our motivation was to transform the kitchen experience from stressful to seamless. The Better Bowl Set empowers users to enjoy a more streamlined kitchen experience, where they can truly embrace the art of cooking without distraction in a safe fashion.

At Our Place, I initiated a pioneering program focused on user research and in-home usage testing (iHUT), with an emphasis on usability and interaction design. This process is essential for developing user-centered products through continuous feedback and real user insights. The kitchen, often cluttered with open flames and sharp objects, presents significant risks and potential for user errors. While recognizing these challenges, I leverage my specialized skills to offer a holistic and intersectional approach to kitchen innovation. My philosophy centers on empowering users by incorporating the latest advancements in human factors and ergonomics. This approach is exemplified in our Traditionware collection, which honours diverse traditions by celebrating occasions like Diwali, Eid, Nowruz, and Shabbat. It’s designed to support and elevate traditional cooking methods while ensuring optimal performance and an enjoyable cooking experience.

Leading engineering projects across various categories has been instrumental in my professional growth and in advancing our product development process. This role allows me to maintain a curious mindset, embrace interdisciplinary collaboration, and stay agile in my engineering practices, ensuring our products meet the highest standards of quality and usability. Overall, it has sharpened my human-centered design skills and empowered me to drive excellence at Our Place.

I initiated and now lead our in-home usage testing (iHUT) and usability testing (UT) programs, employing methods like focus groups, benchmark testing, and A/B testing to gather comprehensive user feedback.