"I didn't learn product in a classroom. I learned it by surviving systems that weren't designed for me.
I came to the United States as an African refugee. No network, no playbook, no safety net. Just a sharp awareness that the systems around me — immigration, healthcare, education — were built by people who never had to use them.
That awareness became a compass. I started in security engineering at Ameriprise Financial and AWS, where I learned how systems break before I ever tried to build one. Threat models. Infrastructure. The anatomy of failure.
But securing systems wasn't enough. I wanted to design ones that actually worked for people. So I deliberately built a second skillset: UX through Prime Digital Academy, product management through the University of Washington's Accelerator.
Now, as a Growth Engineer at Overlap AI (YC S24), I sit at the intersection where most people pick a side: technical rigor and human empathy. I chose both.
The Path
Four case studies in designing for people who need it most.
Entry Point
Refugees and immigrants face significant challenges during US resettlement — navigating complex legal pathways, managing extensive documentation, and accessing essential resources like employment, healthcare, and education. Despite receiving a lot of information, many refugees struggle to understand and apply it in their daily lives.
Return Pro
30% of all online purchases are returned. 6 out of 10 shoppers forget their return windows. Managing returns across multiple retailers is fragmented, manual, and stressful.
NEAT-O
Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring mental health issues need clinically effective, FDA-cleared digital therapeutics that feel human — not clinical. NeuroType NEAT-O is a prescription-only mHealth app. The challenge: design an onboarding experience and learning module system that supports treatment engagement without adding cognitive burden.
Contractor Pro
Contractor Pro is a web app for contractors managing teams of 1–5 workers. Originally desktop-only, they needed a mobile-first transition and new features — but their users are time-constrained tradespeople who are hesitant to learn new software. Every feature had to justify its existence.
Experience
Growth Engineer
Overlap AI (YC S24)
Building growth systems at a YC-backed AI startup. Full-stack product engineering with real users, real stakes.
UX Design & Research
Prime Digital Academy
Intensive apprenticeship: user interviews, usability testing, prototyping, design systems. Four shipped case studies.
Product Management Accelerator
University of Washington
Intensive product training: roadmapping, prioritization frameworks, stakeholder alignment, PRDs, and Kano analysis.
Security Engineer
Amazon Web Services
Threat modeling, infrastructure security, incident response. Learned how systems break before building them.
InfoSec Analyst
Ameriprise Financial
Security operations, SIEM management, vulnerability assessment. Where the systems thinking started.
Education
Product Management Accelerator
University of Washington
UX Design & Research Certification
Prime Digital Academy
B.S.B. Management of Information Systems
University of Minnesota
Skills
Security taught me how systems break. Design taught me how people think. Product taught me where those two meet.
Design & Research
Engineering & AI
Product
Security & Systems
Where I operate
The intersection most people avoid.
Let's build something
that matters.
I'm looking for product and design roles where I can bring the full weight of my background — security, design, engineering — to products that serve real people. I've navigated systems that weren't built for me my entire life. Now I build the ones that are.
If your team values builders who've lived the problems they solve, I'd love to hear from you.