Manoj Venkatesun

Product Designer · Chennai

I design things, then I build them.

Most of my work sits where design meets engineering: accessible platforms, AI products, internal tools. Currently at Our Ability, building AI systems for disability employment.

About

I grew up in Palani, a small town in Tamil Nadu. The plan was to become a doctor. That didn't work out, and I ended up in computer science, which honestly wasn't my first choice. For a long time, coding felt like something I was stuck with.

I did my master's at Syracuse University and found UI/UX there. First time something in tech actually made sense to me. I volunteered, took unpaid work, did a co-op, built up experience the slow way.

Startups pulled me back into engineering. When there are only three people on the team, you do what needs doing. I kept picking up technical work until I got good at it. Now I can take something from idea to working product without handing it off, and that part I genuinely enjoy.

Outside work I've been getting into Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton is my driver. What I like about him isn't the titles, it's what he does when things aren't going his way.