Executive Summary

Manohar Srikanth is a deep tech architect and imaging pioneer with over two decades of experience spanning Apple, Meta, Nokia, and multiple startups. He brings together technical depth, product vision, and a refined creative sensibility to build novel platforms at the intersection of perception, computation, and user experience.

He has led the architecture of camera subsystems and AI vision pipelines for flagship products like Apple Vision Pro, is helping shape key capabilities for future AI-first products at Apple, founded a stealth imaging startup from zero to prototype, and authored influential patents adopted across AR, robotics, and autonomous systems. His research has been cited over 1,000 times, underscoring his impact across academic and industrial domains.

Fluent in translating early-stage ideas into scalable technologies, Manohar thrives in cross-disciplinary environments. He bridges research and productization, hardware and software, engineering and design—bringing a globally informed, systems-level approach to innovation.

Creative Technology & Artistic Work

Manohar is an accomplished digital photographer whose visual work is showcased at mit.smugmug.com . His artistic understanding of light, composition, and storytelling directly informs his engineering sensibility.

During his PhD at MIT, he co-developed a pioneering drone-based lighting system for photography. Featured in MIT News , the project enabled autonomous lighting for dynamic scenes, won a Best Paper Award, and became widely cited in both technical and creative communities.

His photographic work has been published in magazines and local newspapers, and he has hosted four solo public exhibitions in Boston. He also taught a non-credit Digital Photography course at MIT and has mentored over three dozen student interns.

Core Competencies

• Imaging Systems Architecture: Depth sensing, computational photography, light field imaging
• AI + Embedded Vision: Low-power processing, sensor fusion, camera-based intelligence
• Product Innovation: Vision-led roadmap creation, feature development, system prototyping
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Hardware-software integration, research-to-product execution
• Technical Strategy: Technology incubation, IP development, platform design

Experience

Apple — AI Vision Architect, Vision Products Group (2022–Present | Cupertino, CA)

• Architected Physical AI features and camera subsystems for Apple Vision Pro
• Defining AI-first imaging features for next-generation products
• Drove multi-disciplinary implementation across hardware, perception, and algorithm teams

Apple — Advanced Camera Architect (2015–2019 | Cupertino, CA)

• Developed imaging prototypes and contributed to early system architecture for advanced camera technologies
• Led evaluation of novel sensors and imaging features within experimental hardware platforms

Meta — Camera & Imaging Expert (2021–2022 | Menlo Park, CA)

• Designed imaging systems for next-generation AR/VR devices
• Led camera module architecture and system-level integration

Founder — Stealth Startup (2020–2022 | Mountain View, CA)

• Launched and led an early-stage venture focused on rethinking imaging with AI and optics

Imaging Lead — Autonomous Vehicle Startup (2017–2020 | Palo Alto, CA)

• Reported to the CEO’s office at a $2B+ self-driving technology company to lead imaging innovation
• Architected next-generation perception hardware for autonomous vehicles

Nokia Technologies — Principal Scientist (2012–2017 | Sunnyvale, CA)

• Developed computational photography features and platform imaging IP

MIT — PhD Researcher & Postdoctoral Associate (2007–2012 | Cambridge, MA)

• Invented drone-based autonomous lighting system featured in MIT News and winner of Best Paper Award
• Published widely cited research and patents in computer vision and optics

Education

• MIT — PhD, Robotics and Computational Imaging (2007–2012)
• IISc — MS, Computer Graphics
• IISc — BS, Electrical Engineering (Signal Processing)

Publications & Patents

Citation Metrics (Google Scholar)
Total citations: 1,103
h-index: 16
i10-index: 21

Top Publications:
- Systems and methods for depth-assisted perspective distortion correction — 183 citations
- 3DOF Input Devices and Interactive Surfaces — 162 citations
- RGB-D Interactive Matting Systems — 139 citations

8 Patents — including light field cameras, embedded sensing, interactive matting.
Full list available at Google Scholar and Justia

Teaching & Mentorship

Taught a Digital Photography course at MIT and mentored over three dozen students across internships and academic roles.