Hi, I’m Chaoyi Zhu. I think like a microscopist and build like a systems engineer.

By day, I work as a Hardware Reliability Engineer at Apple, where I lead cross-functional collaboration to improve reliability in next-generation Apple products, with a focus on Home and Audio. I enjoy connecting materials behavior, metrology data, and system-level constraints to improve product robustness from concept to mass production.

Before Apple, I worked as a Senior Metrology Systems Engineer in Tesla’s 4680 Cell Engineering team, where I developed high-precision metrology solutions for process control and defect inspection. I partnered across engineering and manufacturing teams to turn complex characterization data into practical decisions that improved quality, reliability, and scale-up readiness.

Before moving into industry, I trained and worked in research across UC San Diego, Carnegie Mellon, and UC Berkeley, at the intersection of materials science, electron microscopy, and machine learning. My research explored multiscale characterization with electron microscopy and computer-vision-driven analysis to understand how microstructure controls material performance.

Across both research and product engineering, the same theme keeps me motivated: using rigorous measurement, smart modeling, and practical engineering judgment to solve real problems. Outside work, I enjoy playing guitar, photography, cooking, and playing tennis and basketball with friends.

Research interests

• defect characterization for failure analysis and quality control
• automation and machine learning for electron microscopy
• materials informatics for sustainable materials development