About Me.
Hi! I'm Xixi Li, a multidisciplinary designer, researcher, engineer and artist, working at the intersection of human-computer interaction, embodied intelligence, and computational design. Currently pursuing a Master in Design Engineering at Harvard University, I explore how emerging technologies can deepen human wellness, creativity, and our relationship with the environment.
My work spans digital media, wearable technologies, textile-based systems, and interactive installations. Through both research and creative practice, I investigate the boundaries between psychological cognition and material experience, exploring how the unconscious, the body, and nature intersect through technology. I create artifacts and experiences that challenge conventional perspectives on identity, perception, and our relationship with the environment.
Before graduate school, I spent four years in the technology industry, leading product strategy at Meta and ads product at TikTok. This experience gave me a deep understanding of how technologies shape human behavior at scale in creativities and emerging interactions interfaces, and continues to inform my systems-oriented approach to design and research.
Through interdisciplinary research and making, I seek to create new forms of interaction that are both technically innovative and deeply human. My technical practice includes digital creative production in 3D, CAD fabrication, e-textile and soft surface, bio-sensing and physiological signal. My artistic practice asks what these technologies feel like from the inside, how machines can become mediums for sensing, memory, emotion, and connection.
Education
Harvard University
Master in Design Engineering
2027
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cross-registered student
2027
Columbia University
M.S. in Strategic Communications
2018
Wuhan University
B.S. in Linguistics and Communications
2017
Professional Experience
Meta — New York
Product Strategy Lead
- Optimized Instagram Creator Monetization product; developed performance-based business models.
- Led product research and design sprints on Instagram interactivity; initiated new gesture interactive formats, increasing engagement efficiency by 4%.
- Conducted growth research and content strategy for Facebook VP Analytics on Social Video and Creator.
- Drove a team of 9 in Meta Hackathon; developed Creator Collaboration Portal and won annual winner.
2022 – 2023
TikTok — New York
Sr. Product Marketing Manager
- Managed Shop Ads growth across 5 internal teams and 3 external channels, capturing a 10× growth rate.
- Developed annual product analysis and led the 2022 roadmap and 4 core experiments programs.
- Led UX research on social commerce; analyzed user behaviors and mental models.
2021 – 2022
TikTok — New York
Product Marketing Manager
- Initiated go-to-market strategies for branding ads, resulting in MoM growth of 45%.
- Managed pricing strategies for premium reservation ads with annual $730M revenue portfolio.
- Synthesized inbounding product strategy with cross-functionals; led analysis of product research.
2019 – 2021
Research & Projects
Harvard · Wearable Systems · Product Design · Speculative Design
SIXTH: Physical Intelligence Wearable for Female Athletes
- Developed full sensing and signal-processing architecture for SpO₂, HRV, core temperature, and sweat sodium channels.
- Designed on-body actuation layer combining haptic actuators, thermal controls, and audio output.
- Fabricated electronic-textile assemblies via laser cutting, digital embroidery, machine-sewing, heat pressing, and precision wiring.
2026
MIT · Physical AI Hackathon — Winner · Textile + Electrical Engineering
ConnectQ: Embodied AI as a Textile Interface
- Developed a knitted conductive wrist wearable capturing continuous physiological signals: temperature, position, and pressure.
- Contributed to LLM-based affective inference pipeline mapping multimodal physiological and gestural inputs to emotional state classification.
- Integrated Arduino Uno Q with touch sensor, IMU, motor, and haptic actuator subsystems.
2026
Harvard · Advised by Patrick Slade, Harvard Slade Lab · Biomechanics · Wearable Systems
Electrical Muscle Stimulation for Lower Limb Coordination
- Designed within-subject dual-task paradigm across four counterbalanced conditions combining cognitive load and calf TENS stimulation.
- Processed bilateral knee and ankle joint angle time-series from OpenCap; computed three coordination metrics normalized to individual baselines.
- Designed modular wearable attachment system addressing inter-participant variability and personalized EMS.
2026
Harvard · Advised by Prof. Yoel Fink · E-Textile · Edge AI · Physical Computing
Tactiq: Pressure Sensing Textile for Healthcare
- Developed woven textile with high-resolution sensing for clinical deployment using ESP32 and EasyEDA circuit schematics.
- Trained a 4-class posture classification neural network achieving 85.7% real-time accuracy, 0.85 weighted F1 score, and ~1 ms on-device inference latency.
- Evaluated silicone formulations, conductive yarn types, velostat geometries for signal quality and fabrication repeatability.
2025
Harvard · Fabrication · Rehabilitation Engineering
Inflatable TPU Footwear for Rehabilitation
- Designed and fabricated a pneumatically actuated insole using flexible TPU filament with a lattice architecture.
- Developed custom G-code scripts to parametrize print geometry per patient morphology.
- Architected full actuation system: pneumatic channel layout, pressure zone mapping, and inflation sequencing logic for gait rehabilitation.
2025
Harvard · Speculative Design · BioDesign · Affective Computing
Algorithmic Morphogenesis
- Acquired and processed 4-channel EEG data via Muse 2; applied denoising, frequency-band isolation, and spectral analysis to derive two composite indices.
- Mapped physiological time-series onto a 2-axis robotic mechanism encoding cognition as a dynamic spatial and luminous signal.
- Fabricated complete robotic plotter with Arduino Uno integrating neural control, servo actuation, and programmable lighting in response to human emotion.
2025
Harvard · Advised by Prof. Rosalind Picard & Prof. Paul Liang · Affective Computing · Multimodal AI
AI-Generated Affective Scent
- Investigated olfaction as an intervention medium for simulated driving scenarios.
- Proposed system where AI infers emotional and cognitive state in real time and generates scent prescriptions to modulate driver affect.
- Designed multimodal reasoning pipeline with VLM and LLM-inspired scent generation.
2025
Skills & Tools
Programming
Python, C, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, Arduino IDE, ESP32, MATLAB
Physiological Signal Processing
EEG, EDA, HRV, SpO₂ — sensing pipelines and affective computing
Physical Computing
Arduino, ESP32, servo actuation, haptics, pneumatics, sensor integration
Fabrication
E-textile, laser cutting/engraving, 3D printing, CNC machining, casting, digital embroidery
3D & Realtime
Blender, Rhino, Fusion 360, Unreal Engine 5, Gaea, Autodesk Maya, TouchDesigner, Processing
AI & Biomechanics
OpenCap, OpenSim, motion capture, neural network training, edge inference, TinyML
Achievements
2026
MIT HARD MODE Physical AI Hackathon — Winner
ConnectQ · Embodied AI as a Textile Interface
2025
Harvard SEAS Wet Lab Collaboration
Algorithmic Morphogenesis · Speculative BioDesign research
2022
Meta Hackathon Annual Winner
Creator Collaboration Portal · Team lead, 9 members
Personal Artworks Awards
2025
ONIROS FILM AWARDS®
Best VFX · New York
2025
Global Shorts
Best VFX Winner
2025
Indie Short Fest
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design · Los Angeles
2025
RED MOVIE AWARDS
Honorable Mention · Best Animation & Experimental
2025
London Director Independent Fest
Best Student Film
2025
Paradise Film Festival
Honorable Mention · Best Animation
2025
Toronto International Women Film Festival
Best Student Film
2025
les percéides Festival International de Cinema et d'Art
Official Selection · Percé | Gaspésie
2025
24FRAME Future Film Fest
Official Selection
2025
13th Parish Festival · Jersey International Film Festival
Official Selection
2025
INNOVART Film Festival
Official Selection
2025
The Bioscope Global Film Festival
Official Selection
2025
Katonah Classic Stage Film Festival
Official Selection
2025
Russian Mental Health Film Festival
Official Selection
2024
Zepstone International Film and Music Festival
Official Selection