Picnic

Picnic’s Pizza Station is a machine that automates the assembly of pizzas improving consistency, quality, and cost for the customer.

As a member of Picnic’s founding team and Director of Design, I managed three designers and led complex cross-functional programs.

In addition to leading UX and ID, I contributed heavily to the design, prototyping, and production of complex electromechanical systems and became an expert in rapid prototyping and DFM. For my engineering work I was awarded two patents: Food Preparation Apparatus and Method for Use #11202533, and Distributed Machine Cooperation in Assembly #10437220

From our humble beginnings in a tiny office above a machine shop, we raised $50M+ in VC funding and grew headcount to ~100 before my departure.

For this early R&D prototype, I designed the pump and motion system for the sauce module and validated the sauce ‘striping’ approach using G-code. This prototype laid the foundation for our production architecture, enabling continuous first-in, first-out operation.

Early sauce module prototype, capable of handling up to six different sauces.

I redesigned the sheet metal upper chassis for our base stations, achieving reductions in cost and weight while enhancing rigidity and manufacturability. By replacing the fully welded tube chassis with a riveted and tack-welded assembly, I eliminated warpage issues. Additionally, the new design improved cooling efficiency and insulation for our refrigerated cabinets.

Securing a contract with a Tier 1 manufacturer capable of producing thousands of units per year was a significant achievement for our relatively small startup. Designed for scalable manufacturing, we limited tooling costs by relying heavily on machined and sheet metal parts in addition to our injection molded components.

Pizza Station V2: Ginger

Code named ‘Ginger,’ our next-generation system responded directly to customer feedback by repackaging our core technology into a counter-height form factor and incorporating buffering technology that drastically improved labor efficiency

Concepts were generated and evaluated based on customer feedback and business objectives.

Interaction design and usability refinement

Given the system’s technical complexity and the critical importance of ergonomics, rapid 1:1 scale iterative testing was invaluable. This process provided key insights into the functionality of our dough racking system and the optimal placement and presentation of information.

First functional prototype with working dough racks and pizza topping mechanisms.

Our final design offered exceptional flexibility for operator workflows—whether a single person ran the restaurant or multiple staff members handled different stages of pizza-making. Ginger’s design ensured seamless integration between manual work and Picnic’s automation.

An accessory bar offered further customizability to suit any restaurant’s needs.

A gliding counter allows operators to reload ingredient hoppers easily without disrupting their work.

Similar to the original Pizza Station, computer vision located and categorized each dough and provided QC for finished pizzas.

Unfortunately, this project was postponed due to fundraising challenges during COVID, a time of immense uncertainty for the restaurant industry. While our solution effectively addressed a massive need, the global pandemic created insurmountable challenges for us to continue on our anticipated growth trajectory, hampering fundraising efforts and tabling any future product development.