Apple
Mechanical Engineering Intern
Hardware Engineer working on the iPhone & Apple WATCH product lines
Tags: Hardware Design, Product Design, iOS
🔧 Bridging Form and Function
As a Mechanical Design Engineering Intern on Apple’s hardware team, I worked on the iPhone X and Apple Watch Series 4, developing 3D models, FPC/PCB layouts, and design prototypes using Siemens NX. I focused on optimizing sensor areas through geometry refinement and wafer dicing process experimentation—ultimately reducing silicon waste and improving product performance.
I collaborated closely with UX Designers and Product Designers, ensuring our hardware seamlessly supported the digital experiences users expected. This convergence of physical and digital design challenged me to think holistically about the user journey—from the device’s feel in-hand to its interface responsiveness.
Fig 1. An iPhone X being held
Fig 2. A few color variations and models of the WATCH: Series 4
Fig 3. A comparison between Apple WATCH Series 3 (light silver) models and Series 4 (black) models. The main difference is that the Apple WATCH Series 4 has more photodiodes (the small rectangles) which allows for more accurate health readings
🧠 How This Shaped Me as a Product Designer
Trained my thinking to balance technical constraints with user experience goals.
Reinforced the importance of design-system-level thinking, where each component supports broader interaction design.
Gained hands-on exposure to cross-disciplinary design collaboration, building the foundation for my future product design partnerships.
At Apple, I learned that hardware and software must co-evolve, and good design lies in the details you don’t even notice—until they’re missing.
