About me
I'm Jinyao — a PM and builder at the intersection of AI, product, and engineering.
I don't hand things off. I design it, build it, and ship it — from system architecture to the final pixel. Currently, I'm the sole PM and Design Engineer at FLEXI-CASA, a multi-channel DTC brand spanning a headless Shopify/Next.js storefront, Amazon, and Etsy. I own the full stack: product strategy, conversion funnel, experimentation, and the code that makes it run.
Outside of work, I build things because the problem is worth solving. Trail, an AI-powered job search copilot, went from idea to live product in ~4 days — designed, built, and shipped solo. That's how I work.
What I'm looking for
I'm actively exploring PM and Design Engineer roles at AI-native companies — teams that value judgment over process, ship fast, and treat AI as a core product discipline, not a feature checkbox.
I'm especially drawn to growth, tooling, and consumer AI problems.
Based in Grand Rapids, MI.(willing to relocate) H-1B transfer-ready.
Beyond the work
- MS in Technology Innovation (HCI) from the University of Washington
- Originally from China — fluent in Mandarin and English
- I write on Medium about AI-native development
- Microsoft Imagine Cup 2022 Americas Regional Champion
When I'm not building, I'm strength training, watching chipmunks in my backyard, or eating my way through whatever cuisine I haven't tried yet.
Skills & Tools
Design
- Product Design
- UX Research
- Interaction Design
- Design Systems
- Prototyping
Tools
- Figma
- Framer
- Windsurf
- Notion
- HTML / CSS / JS
- React / TypeScript
- Next.js
- Supabase
- Cursor / Claude
Connect
Open to PM and Design Engineer conversations at AI-native teams. Say hi.