Nicholas George

Mechanical Product Design Engineer

Led mechanical design on products shipped to millions at Block, Apple, and Magic Leap. At Block, I led Bitkey, a self-custodial Bitcoin wallet recognized as one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2024, and Proto Rig, an industrial mining platform designed for thermal efficiency at scale. At Apple, I was module lead for iPhone 13 & 14 Face ID, driving precision optical-mechanical assemblies from concept through mass production. At Magic Leap, I engineered optical assemblies for both generations of AR headsets, developing sub-arcminute precision alignment systems. I bring deep expertise in DFM, GD&T, tolerance analysis, reliability engineering, and cross-functional leadership across ID, EE, FW, GSM, Product teams and beyond. I also hold a Data Science certification and placed 8th out of 150 in a Bitcoin Lightning hackathon.

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Experience

Lead Mechanical Product Designer Oct 2022 – Present

Block · Oakland, CA

Lead mechanical design for Bitkey v2, Proto Rig (industrial Bitcoin mining platform), and Bitkey v1 across sheet metal, injection molding, CNC, and custom heatsink architectures
Own full product lifecycle from concept through mass production, including DFM reviews, SPC/FAI specs, thermal analysis, and cross-functional collaboration with ID, EE, and Product teams
Created and managed reliability test suites for all products; gathered data and presented results to upper management at key milestones
Bitkey recognized as one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2024

Hardware Design Engineer Nov 2020 – 2022

Apple · Cupertino, CA

Module Lead for iPhone 13 & 14 Face ID, shipping on millions of units; defined product goals with EE, ID, and Product teams
Drove DFM reviews, FEA validation, SPC/FAI specs, and reliability fixture design for drop and shock testing
Triaged build issues with failure analysis and root cause documentation; implemented corrective actions with CMs

Mechanical Engineer Sep 2018 – Nov 2020

Magic Leap · Plantation, FL

Designed optical light-field display assemblies for Magic Leap 2, including high-precision fixtures, measurement stations, and a sub-arcminute deformation sensor
Managed international supplier relationships for DFM, cost, and scheduling; led autonomous proof-of-concept builds to guide product direction

Associate Mechanical Engineer Jan 2017 – Sep 2018

Magic Leap · Plantation, FL

Supported Magic Leap One launch through design and qualification of the vision optics assembly
Developed fixtures, measurement procedures, and failure mode analysis using CMMs, profilometers, shock tables, and thermal chambers

Associate Mechanical Engineer Jan 2016 – Dec 2016

Vecenergy · Fort Lauderdale, FL

Maintained pressure regulating and vapor recovery systems; performed procedural testing for fuel offloading operations

Education

Data Science, Machine Learning & A.I. Mar 2021

Lambda School (now BloomTech) · San Francisco, CA

Core Competencies: Python, SQL, Statistics & Modeling, Machine Learning, Linear Algebra, Databases, Big Data, and Visualization
Intensive training in predictive modeling, data engineering, machine learning & A.I.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Mathematics Dec 2015

Maine Maritime Academy · Castine, ME

An ABET accredited degree focused around the design of mechanical and electrical systems for maritime applications
Completed 60-day summer training cruise on the 500-foot Training Ship State of Maine vessel from Puerto Rico to Quebec

Certifications

Bitcoin BOLTFUN Hackathon Mar 2022

Placed 8th out of 150 competitors in a Bitcoin Lightning Hackathon

Chaincode Labs Lightning Protocol Development Apr 2022

5 week online course studying the Lightning Network

Fundamentals of Reliability Statistics Jun 2019

The Continuous Improvement Institute

Skills & Interests

Technical: NX, PTC Creo, SolidWorks, JMP, Excel/VBA, Python, Heroku/Dash/Flask, MATLAB
Core Competencies: Design for Manufacturing, Data Analysis, GD&T, Tolerance Analysis, Project Management
Bitcoin Hardware Projects: FOSH SeedSigner 3D-printed case, Umbrel full node, Lightning POS device, refurbished miner