Walu
Internal Product Lifecycle Management & Operations Platform

Role
Head of Product,
2021-2026

Focus Areas
Product Strategy • UX/UI Design • Information Architecture • Product Lifecycle Management • Engineering Systems

Overview

Walu is Freefly Systems' internal operating platform, connecting engineering, manufacturing, sales, support, and company operations within a single system. Designed to replace fragmented workflows spread across spreadsheets, email, chat, and disconnected software, Walu became the central hub for managing products, projects, information, and operational processes.

Over several years, Walu evolved from a collection of operational tools into a company-wide platform supporting product development, manufacturing, operations, and organizational planning.

As the company grew, information became increasingly fragmented across spreadsheets, disconnected tools, email threads, chat channels, and tribal knowledge. Teams needed a centralized system capable of managing products, projects, communication, documentation, inventory, objectives, and operational processes within a single environment.

I helped lead the strategy, product direction, user experience, and feature development of Walu, working closely with stakeholders across the organization to identify pain points, prioritize opportunities, and create systems that reduced operational friction.

Designing an Internal Operating System

Defined product strategy and platform direction across multiple business functions
Designed information architecture spanning engineering, operations, manufacturing, and company communications
Partnered with stakeholders across departments to identify operational bottlenecks and prioritize opportunities
Established reusable design systems and interaction patterns to support platform growth
Helped translate organizational processes into scalable software workflows

The challenge extended beyond software design. Walu required creating a shared operational framework that connected people, processes, and information across the organization.

Key Areas

Product Lifecycle Management

Developed tools for managing products, assemblies, engineering documentation, revisions, and cross-functional collaboration throughout the product lifecycle.

Company Operations

Built systems supporting company objectives, project management, internal communications, team coordination, and operational visibility.

Knowledge Management

Centralized documentation, institutional knowledge, and search to improve information discovery and reduce reliance on tribal knowledge.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Designed workflows connecting engineering, manufacturing, operations, sales, support, and leadership teams within a shared operational platform.

Outcomes

Walu became a company-wide operating system connecting product development, manufacturing, operations, and internal communication within a single platform.

The work focused on reducing operational friction, improving visibility across teams, and creating scalable systems that could grow alongside the organization.

As the platform expanded, it evolved beyond traditional PLM functionality into a broader operational tool supporting projects, objectives, documentation, knowledge sharing, and cross-functional collaboration.