About me
JN TATA Scholar | Senior Mechanical Engineer | SOLIDWORKS Expert (CSWE)
I'm a mechanical engineer who builds hardware that changes how people move. At Shift Robotics, I lead the mechanical development of Moonwalkers — the world's fastest shoes and a TIME Best Invention of 2023 — owning every step from first-principles concept to mass production across four product generations. That means gearbox architecture, electromechanical subsystem design, sensor integration, PCBA packaging, and months on factory floors in China turning prototypes into products.
I got here by building things early: at 19 I founded Ekka 3D Printing and constructed my own fabrication machines — a CNC router, filament extruder, and injection molder — from scratch. I went on to earn a Master of Engineering in Robotics from UC Berkeley (GPA 3.93), becoming a JN TATA Scholar, Sigma Xi Full Member, and SOLIDWORKS Certified Expert along the way, with 5 peer-reviewed publications and 4 patents. The throughline in all of it: I build things that work — from bench prototype to volume production.
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TIMEBest Invention of 2023
Named one of the year's best inventions — before our first retail unit had even shipped.
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~4,000Pairs shipped worldwide
Every pair runs a drivetrain I architected — including fleets in IKEA, Kroger & Maersk warehouses.
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3Gearbox architectures failed first
Belt, chain, planetary — all failed. The compound gearbox that worked powers every generation since.
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19When I founded my first company
Ekka 3D Printing — I built the CNC router and injection molder myself, because buying them wasn't an option.
What I Do
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CAD Designing
End-to-end mechanical design from concept sketches to production-ready assemblies in SolidWorks and Fusion 360.
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FEA & CFD Simulation
Validating structural and thermal performance in ANSYS and SolidWorks Simulation before a single part is machined.
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Rapid Prototyping
Iterating fast from bench prototype to field-validated hardware across FDM, SLA, injection molding, and die casting.
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DFMA and GD&T
Designing for injection molding and die casting to hit mass, cost, and performance targets — with tolerances that actually hold in production.
Testimonials
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Jones Appiah
Pawandeep is a rising star whom I came to know through our collaboration on several projects for my company. We worked together for several months completing designs and animations for products we intend to bring to market. In the months we have worked together, Mr. Dhall has expressed a hunger for knowledge I have rarely seen in a young man of his age.
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Dr. Vijaykumar Jatti
Pawandeep distinguished himself by submitting exceptionally well-researched and enthralling projects in the mechanical field. From the very beginning, he has shown strong leadership along with extraordinary communication skills and a good example of that was when he voluntarily formed an interdisciplinary technical committee of 60 students at the college. His intellectual creativity, curiosity, and real-world problem-solving ability have also led him to file 4 patents at such a young age. He exuberates great teamwork and critical thinking qualities which are reflected in 6 national competitions that he won for our college. His overall intelligence is also evident in his grades for the course, which is by far the best in the class. At a personal level, Pawandeep is a well-disciplined, diligent student with an amiable personality. He went well beyond the course requirements in the quantity and quality of his projects, putting in a lot of extra research and attending college hours every day. I would rank him among the top students that I have taught in the past five years in respect of innovation and research skills.
Resume
Education
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Master of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (Robotics)
University of California, Berkeley
GPA: 3.93/4.00
Aug 2022 – May 2023 -
Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Savitribai Phule Pune University, Maharashtra, India
GPA: 3.84/4.00
Aug 2018 – Jun 2022
Experience
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Senior Mechanical Engineer, Shift Robotics Inc.
Aug 2023 – Present- Drove end-to-end mechanical development of Moonwalkers — a TIME Best Invention of 2023 wheeled lower-limb exoskeleton — across 3 products; owned design, prototyping, manufacturing, and validation from initial concept through mass production.
- Designed and iterated electromechanical subsystems including planetary and compound gearboxes, power transmission mechanisms, actuation systems, and structural frames; managed tolerance stack-ups and bearing selection for high-torque wheel joints under repetitive impact loading.
- Integrated load cell arrays and FSR sensors into the exoskeleton footbed to detect heel strike and push-off events; iterated sensor packaging and structural interface across prototype cycles to meet biomechanical fidelity and durability targets.
- Led 11-month on-site manufacturing collaboration with vendors in China; drove DFMA across injection-molded and die-cast structural components, achieving 28% mass reduction while meeting structural performance goals.
- Owned PCBA and battery pack packaging, IP54 electronics enclosure design, and wire harness routing; led UL2272 certification and full mechanical validation including FEA, fatigue testing, and instrumented gait rigs achieving 90% biomechanical fidelity (7× over prior rigs).
- Collaborated with industrial designers on soft goods integration and exterior form; translated aesthetic and ergonomic requirements into manufacturable mechanical interfaces.
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Robotics Engineer Intern, Tech Services
Feb 2022 – May 2022- Performed qualification and validation testing of ABB 5400 S4 industrial robots; characterized joint kinematics, developed test protocols and traceability matrices, achieving 8% improvement in joint response speed and acceleration.
- Designed and documented operational test procedures and failure analysis reports to support regulatory compliance; findings directly informed maintenance and calibration schedules.
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Founder & Mechanical Design Engineer, Ekka 3D Printing
Aug 2019 – Feb 2021- Designed, prototyped, and delivered hardware across 40+ engineering projects with a 1-week average lead time; iterated across FDM, SLA, and hybrid processes to meet functional and tolerance requirements.
- Built custom fabrication equipment from scratch — CNC router, filament extruder, injection molding machine, and wire bending machine — owning mechanical design, component selection, and physical build end-to-end.
Skills
Design & CAD
Simulation & Analysis
Manufacturing
Robotics & Controls
Certifications
Projects
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Research Papers
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Prediction of Surface Roughness Using Desirability Concept and Support Vector Machine for FDM Part
This research investigates how different settings on a 3D printer (FDM) affect the smoothness of the printed object (surface roughness). We used a special method to try out a bunch of different settings quickly and then figure out the best setting to get the smoothest possible print. Finally, we check findings with a machine learning and achieved impressive results.
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Investigating the effect of cryogenic treatment of workpieces and tools on EDM performance
Investigated the effect of cryogenically treated work pieces and tools, gap currents, gap voltages, pulse on time and pulse off time on the material removal rate and tool wear rate during EDM of Nitinol (NiTi) alloy, Monel (NiCu) alloy and beryllium copper (BeCu) alloy.
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Weight Reduction of Airfoil using Generative Design
An exploratory study of the impact of the symbiotic relation between topology optimization using generative design and strength analysis on wing ribs in weight reduction and amplified efficiency of the aircraft.
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Electrical Discharge Machining Process Optimization During Machining En19 Alloy Steel Using Desirability Concept
Response surface methodology was employed to design experimental layout and the observed responses in this study are MRR, TWR and Ra.
Patents
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The Planaca
A smart bumper system that will be installed on the roads at appropriate distances to slow down the traffic and also to regulate the flow of traffic in one direction preventing wrong side driving.
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The Velocidad
Designed smart bumper mechanism that can be installed on any road to regulate the speed of the traffic flow. It slows down the speed of the vehicle by changing its height.
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The Detener
Designed a special bumper that will be installed at the signals to ensure the proper flow of the traffic at red lights. Designed to lift the zebra crossing when the signal was red up to an optimum level and it would go back once the signal turns green.
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Smart Valve system
Created a smart valve integrated with artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure proper and constant distribution of water in tanks.
Stories
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How I became a TATA Scholar
The journey to one of India's most competitive graduate scholarships — and how it helped fund my MEng at UC Berkeley.
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Arranged Biggest Technical fest with zero budget
How a 60-student volunteer committee pulled off our college's biggest technical fest — with zero budget.
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What led me file 4 Patents
The everyday traffic problems that turned into four patent filings during my undergraduate years.
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Setting up smart manufacturing lab
Helping set up a smart manufacturing lab so the students after me could build, break, and learn hands-on.
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Winning 6 national competitions and 1 international competition
What it took to win six national competitions and one international competition as a student team.
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Last day of College
A look back at four years that began with curiosity and ended with a company, four patents, and lifelong friends.
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How I started my own company in second year of Engineering
Founding Ekka 3D Printing at 19 — building custom fabrication machines and a client base from scratch.
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Solidworks Student Leader
Representing SOLIDWORKS as a student leader and growing the CAD community on campus.