The Quality Makers: Jahaan Saini of Our Place

Tell me a bit about yourself.

I grew up in New Delhi, India, and then I moved to the Dominican Republic. After that, I came to Boston to do my Bachelor's in Industrial Engineering, followed by my master's in Human Factors Engineering. I'm now based in LA. I've been all over the place, but a few common denominators have always been: amazing food, very rich culture, innovative thinking, and new ways of cooking and perceiving, which has helped me develop a very unique perspective. My upbringing has definitely molded who I am today, as well as what my interests and values are. Some of my previous work includes the toy industry, the flower business, where I worked as an industrial engineer, and eventually I landed at Our Place as a product design engineer. 

I’d love to hear about your position as a product design engineer at Our Place.

My role involves evaluating and advising on functional as well as technical aspects of new product designs. My contributions start all the way from concept, a sketch or even just an idea, to mass production. I have to leverage a lot of my 3D modeling skills to plan prototypes and do design reviews. I also validate concepts to see if they're manufacturable, while also maintaining engineering restrictions and the internal standards. I'm very much the middle person between the product developers, who act as product managers, and our factories / manufacturing partners, to make sure that we have elevated product quality as well as functionality. A big part of my work includes developing and driving comprehensive product testing protocols, making sure that we're focusing on safety and usability, and also creating something that is beautiful and provides a pleasant user experience. 

Empathetic and human-centered design is central to my work. I’ve been able to shape my methodologies through the experience of being guided by the principles of human factors and ergonomics, leading to more product safety and efficiency. Since I’m working on a portfolio of a lot of different types of products, every product has different needs, different types of research and different development processes. 

As an engineer, I try not to center myself in conversations around the creativity that goes into product design, because that lane is led by the industrial designers and product developers. But people in my position tend to check and review their designs to see whether or not something is feasible. A lot of it is about making their art into a more robust idea, and then doing that iteratively, while also going back and forth in terms of market research that can validate our decisions. It’s a lot of cross functional, collaborative work. 

Tell me more about your passion for and approach to innovation and design.

As creators, innovative thinking keeps us at the forefront of our fields. As soon as you slip up, start following the status quo and stop questioning your work, you start to lose that sense of innovation. It’s a slippery slope because innovation challenges a lot of our existing knowledge, creating space for newer insights. As an engineer, I try to be very multidisciplinary, understanding user psychology and ergonomics to create a solution while making sure that it is performing in the best way possible. There are a lot of insights from different fields that I personally have to make sure I’m learning about, otherwise I will fall behind in incorporating innovative methodologies.

During my studies, I was very interested in learning more about the kitchen. I recognized the critical need for efficiency in kitchen systems. The kitchen is often cluttered, filled with open flames and sharp objects. These high risk factors create a lot of opportunities for user errors, which can obviously lead to very serious consequences. A holistic and intersectional approach to kitchen innovation is very important, because we want to make the kitchen is a seamless space to be in, where the person using those systems is not feeling overwhelmed, stressed or unsafe. Our products must be a reflection of all the components of user interaction, which includes the user itself, the tools that they're using, and then the environment that they're working in. As global lifestyles are evolving, the systems that we use to nourish ourselves need to evolve as well. Each community has its own unique cooking techniques, and my goal at Our Place is to create cookware that supports these traditional methods while enhancing performance and ensuring a pleasurable and beautiful cooking experience.

What does your personal process look like when creating & designing different products? 

I aim to challenge biases and promote human-centered design by addressing diverse needs of users and ensuring that the products empower everyone. With the rise of new technologies, many often marginalize communities due to poor design and lack of research, creating barriers for success and entry. To counter this, I knew I wanted to engage with startups because I could infuse that empathy mentality into my design process. I always strive to create a system that works with the user, not against them. I must always question data choices, revisit design goals and incorporate features that allow for a customizable experience, thus designing for a bigger audience.

I've had the privilege of working across a diverse range of products at Our Place, including kitchenware, cookware, and appliances. One of my initial major projects was leading the development of our innovative Better Bowl Set ($115). This system features three bowls, each with a unique, complementary add-on: the largest bowl comes with a salad spinner, the medium bowl includes a grater, and the smallest bowl has a juicer. This modular, space-saving system helps users reduce kitchen clutter and enhance space efficiency, all while being sustainably crafted from over 60% certified post-consumer recycled plastic.

Beyond the bowl set, I've also contributed to our cookware line, including some of my most used products like the Spruce Steamer ($30), the Tajine, and the Egg Poacher ($45). These cookware items are designed with inherent versatility, seamlessly complementing our core offerings such as the Always Pan ($150), the Cast Iron Always Pan ($155), and the Perfect Pot ($165). As living spaces become smaller and kitchen trends evolve, I continuously seek ways to enhance the modularity, multifunctionality, and cross-compatibility of our products.

‍How has your personal journey led you to joining Our Place?

Even as someone that started as a consumer, I felt naturally attracted to Our Place, and I would say that is because of my South Asian background and Caribbean upbringing. I grew up in a household where food is something so crucial. It's a means of cultural preservation as well as a sign of resilience. I feel very inspired by how Our Place takes a notion like that and celebrates it. On a more personal note, conversations about culture, food justice, equity and immigration, and also the narratives that food conveys about communities, are profoundly important to me. As more people are embracing conscious food consumption, as well as striving to decolonize their diet and moving away from Western ideas of what it means to be healthy, it’s spaces like Our Place that embrace that way of thinking. It definitely feels like a safe coalition of all of these ideas, working in a company that honors global cultures and aligns with my professional as well as my personal goals. When I was exploring opportunities after college, I needed my ethics and values to be at the forefront of the decision, and it feels like a privilege to have found Our Place. 

What are your thoughts on Our Place's mission statement: “We believe in the power of home cooking to bring people together. It's why we create products that make cooking and sharing a meal easier and more joyful.”?

The Our Place store on Melrose has an infinity mirror in front of a table, and I’m just thinking now about how symbolic that is. The table is essentially infinitely extending, meaning there's space for everyone at the table. The mission statement definitely represents the power of food, how it has the ability to transform our connections and interactions with one another, but also how food is so much more than just nourishment. It's a reflection of politics, culture, shared experiences and humanity. Food helps us understand not only our land, but also how to respect our cultural heritage. The more you learn about food, the more you see all the commonalities that bridge us together. Taking it back to the infinity mirror, it symbolizes that equity can be shared, and that there’s so much more that brings us together than things that keep us apart. 

How does your ethnic/cultural background influence and inform your design and innovation work?

The Hindi word ‘jugaad’ is untranslatable and difficult to explain when taken out of cultural and social context. It basically means ‘resourceful and frugal problem solving’. I grew up in a culture where everything is ‘jugaad’ - you don’t have many resources, but you still have to be innovative. There's a lot of competition, so you have to somehow make yourself stand out. That mindset influences how I develop practical and efficient designs. 

My cultural experience has given me a deep understanding of how diverse the needs and preferences of users can be. India is a melting pot of different cultures. Every state is different in terms of food, cooking methods, language, ethnic groups and also thought. That awareness enables me to create very user-centered products that are sensitive to various cultural contexts, but also adaptable by different user requirements. It’s hard to create for a big user pool, while also being niche and making sure you're addressing all the requirements. By integrating all of these insights, that mindset helps me create products that are more inclusive, and that inclusivity is definitely a vehicle for innovation. It bridges the gap between traditional and modern, East and West. I'm never someone to shy away from expressing how I feel about something. Even if I'm not on a project, I will still do my part in evaluating how certain decisions could impact or be perceived by different communities. 

Do you believe that uplifting the differences in how/why people cook through product design has the transformative power to bring the disparate edges of our world closer together? If so, tell me more.  

Yes, definitely. For example, our rounded-bottom cooking pan, originally designed as a wok for Lunar New Year ($250), beautifully illustrates this principle. While the wok has traditional uses in Chinese cuisine, its versatility extends to other culinary traditions, including Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi/Bengali, Afghan, and Caribbean cuisines, where similar cooking vessels like the karahi/ kadai are popular.

Another example is our Flip Platter ($50), the industry’s first platter designed specifically for flipping dishes like tahdig, maqluba, and concón—delicious recipes that require a precise 180° flip. Engineered for ease of use, this platter allows users to comfortably and securely flip ceramic plates, adapting to different cooking methods and traditions. This design not only meets the needs of various cuisines that feature upside down - often rice dishes, but also emphasizes the shared culinary practices across cultures.

I had the privilege of being the Product Engineer on both the above-mentioned products. These examples highlight how designing with intent and incorporating diverse cooking techniques into our products can bridge cultural differences and foster a greater sense of unity. By creating versatile tools that cater to a wide range of culinary practices, we celebrate the richness of different traditions and enhance the connection between people from various backgrounds.

What are your hopes and visions for your future and growth at Our Place?

My hope is to keep growing and molding my methodologies as newer innovation and learnings come my way. This will not only create a ripple effect amongst other engineers that I work with, but also hopefully influence others in my field. The shift towards a more user-centered approach is especially significant in an industry where traditional methods are more dominating. By prioritizing ethical considerations, my goal is to set up a new standard that encourages competitors to adopt better practices. My dream for Our Place is that we continue to flourish and encourage people to cook and bring people together in a way in which everyone feels celebrated.

Check out more of Jahaan’s talented work here.