EsmaeilSafaee

Product leader and 2x founder with deep experience building AI-native platforms across energy, media, robotics and spatial computing. Led the design and execution of AI infrastructure and real-time systems that scaled to + 100K users. Builder at heart with a track record of going from 0 → 1 and driving measurable business outcomes in regulated and frontier technology domains.

Professional Experience/ 01

Co-Founder

Oct 2023 - Present

Melo

San Francisco, CA

Built an AI-first video podcast platform leveraging cutting-edge LLMs and real-time processing to transform content creation and discovery.

Key Achievements:
  • Architected a full-stack AI ecosystem integrating GPT-4, Claude, LangChain, and ElevenLabs, creating a content intelligence layer that achieved 85% accuracy in semantic understanding and recommendation relevance.
  • Engineered real-time transcript and tagging infrastructure with <100ms latency at scale, processing 10,000+ hours of content monthly while enabling personalized discovery that increased user session time by 47%.
  • Designed comprehensive growth loops and analytics dashboards tracking 12+ key metrics; implemented A/B testing framework that boosted conversion by 65% and reduced content production time by 35%.
  • Led cross-functional agile team of 7 (engineers, ML specialists, designers, content ops); shipped MVP in just 7 weeks and scaled to v1 in 3 months with 99.8% uptime and industry-leading sub-$0.03/min processing cost.
  • Developed and optimized user acquisition strategies through product-led growth initiatives that reduced CAC by 42% while maintaining high-quality user cohorts with 22% higher LTV than industry average.
  • Leveraged SQL, Python, and Amplitude to build robust data analytics pipelines that provided actionable insights into user behavior, content performance, and monetization opportunities.
GPT-4ClaudeLangChainElevenLabsNext.jsReactTypeScriptNode.jsMongoDBAWSVercelSQLPythonAmplitudeProductboard

Senior Product Manager, Energy Software Platforms

Sep 2022 - Oct 2023

Omnidian

San Francisco, CA

Led product strategy for Tesla Energy's energy optimization platform serving 300K+ homes and businesses across North America, managing a complex distributed system processing 1.2B+ data points daily.

Key Achievements:
  • Designed and shipped ML-powered energy optimization features leveraging reinforcement learning and time-series forecasting, reducing grid demand by 20% during peak hours and generating $18M/year in customer savings.
  • Executed comprehensive competitive analysis, market discovery research across 5 key segments, and NPS redesign initiative that grew user retention by 15 percentage points and drove 32% increase in net new installations.
  • Directed cross-functional collaboration between data science, engineering, and UX teams to implement predictive energy management features that reduced implementation complexity by 40% while improving system reliability.
  • Established data-driven product roadmap processes that increased delivery velocity by 35% and aligned engineering execution with business-critical KPIs.
  • Conducted rigorous user research and persona development that informed monetization strategy, resulting in 28% higher ARPU and improved subscription renewal rates across both consumer and enterprise segments.
  • Utilized SQL, Python, and Tableau to analyze large-scale energy usage datasets, creating interactive dashboards that identified optimization opportunities and guided feature prioritization across the product portfolio.
Machine LearningEnergy SoftwarePredictive AnalyticsTime-series ForecastingData Pipeline ArchitectureProduct StrategySQLPythonTableauBigQuery

Product Manager, AI & IoT Systems

Jun 2020 - Sep 2022

Omnidian

San Francisco, CA

Spearheaded the product vision and execution for Tesla Energy's core software platform, transforming IoT data streams into actionable intelligence and automated optimization.

Key Achievements:
  • Led development of ML-driven optimization suite that improved energy efficiency by 25%, generating $18M in annual customer savings through smart load balancing and predictive energy management.
  • Pioneered IoT data integration architecture handling 500M+ daily signals with 99.99% reliability, enabling real-time decision making and anomaly detection that reduced system failures by 32%.
  • Aligned cross-functional teams of 25+ across engineering, data science, design, and business units to advance Tesla's energy autonomy vision and long-term product roadmap.
  • Implemented agile product development methodology that reduced time-to-market by 40% and improved feature quality metrics across the platform.
  • Created and governed KPI framework for measuring product success, with balanced metrics covering user acquisition, retention, feature adoption, and customer satisfaction that guided prioritization decisions.
  • Utilized Productboard to manage complex product roadmaps across multiple teams, while leveraging Altair for advanced data visualization and simulation of energy usage patterns.
AI/MLIoT ArchitectureEnergy Management SystemsPredictive AnalyticsTime-series ForecastingProduct StrategyProductboardAltair

Product Manager, XR Interfaces & Spatial Computing

Mar 2019 - Jun 2020

Oculus VR

San Francisco, CA

Led the product strategy and execution for next-generation spatial computing interfaces on Oculus Quest, pioneering new interaction paradigms that shaped the future of VR/AR experiences.

Key Achievements:
  • Directed cross-functional teams to deliver revolutionary ML-powered computer vision features for hand tracking and gesture recognition, boosting user engagement by 40% and establishing new benchmarks for natural interaction in VR.
  • Developed spatial computing frameworks that reduced latency by 30% and increased tracking accuracy by 45%, leading to significant improvements in user comfort and immersion metrics.
  • Drove product vision that directly influenced Meta's long-term spatial computing roadmap, with 3 patented innovations that became core to Quest platform capabilities.
  • Led user research and iterative prototyping processes that identified critical UX improvements, resulting in 25% higher completion rates for first-time VR users and establishing design patterns still used across the industry.
  • Balanced rapid iteration with ethical considerations and safety requirements through structured frameworks that ensured inclusive design while maintaining aggressive growth targets.
VR/ARComputer VisionMachine LearningSpatial ComputingGesture RecognitionUX ResearchProduct Strategy3D Interaction Design

Education/ 02

Master of Science - MS in International Business

Jan 2018 - Jan 2019

Hult International Business School

Grade: 4.0. Activities and societies: Future Leader Scholar, Global Strategy Club, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Club. Specialized in the business and commercialization of robotics, focusing on global market expansion, fundraising, and scaling deep-tech ventures. Developed go-to-market strategies for humanoid robotics and automation startups, leveraging financial modeling and strategic partnerships. Led consulting projects on AI-driven robotics adoption across industries and engaged with investors and industry leaders on the future of robotics and automation.

Relevant Courses:
MBA 1010: Financial Reporting and ControlMBA 1020: Leadership and Organizational BehaviorMBA 1700: FIELD Global ImmersionMBA 2065: Managing International Trade and InvestmentMBA 2195: Entrepreneurial FinanceMBA 1275: Corporate StrategyMBA 1560: Digital Marketing StrategyMBA 2060: Managing Sustainable Business SolutionsMBA 1446: Founders' Journey: Start-ups and FailuresMBA 2139: Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

Bachelor's in Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering

Sep 2013 - Aug 2016

Sharif University of Technology

Grade: Magna Cum Laude. Activities and societies: Robotics Research Lab, AI & Machine Learning Club, IEEE Robotics & Automation Society. Specialized in robotics, AI-driven automation, and control systems. Conducted research on machine learning for predictive modeling, neural networks, and energy-efficient automation. Published "Small-Scale Building Load Forecast based on Hybrid Forecast Engine" in Springer, focusing on AI-driven load prediction for smart infrastructure. Designed and developed autonomous robotic systems, worked on bipedal locomotion, and competed in international robotics challenges.

Relevant Courses:
2.12: Introduction to Robotics2.120: Robotic Manipulation6.141/16.405: Robotics: Science and Systems6.801/6.866: Machine Vision2.165: Robotics2.168: Learning for Control6.832: Underactuated Robotics16.30: Feedback Control Systems2.171: Analysis and Design of Digital Control Systems6.834J: Cognitive Robotics

Skills & Competencies/ 03

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