Nikki Mukkala
About Nikki Mukkala
Nikki Mukkala is a Senior Engineering Program Manager at Skydio, where she has worked since 2022. She has a background in mechanical engineering and has held various engineering roles at companies such as Samsara, Tesla, and Cornelius.
Work at Skydio
Nikki Mukkala serves as a Senior Engineering Program Manager at Skydio, a position she has held since 2022. Based in San Mateo, California, she is involved in managing engineering programs that contribute to the development of advanced drone technology. Her role encompasses overseeing project timelines, coordinating cross-functional teams, and ensuring the successful delivery of engineering initiatives.
Previous Experience at Samsara
Before joining Skydio, Nikki Mukkala worked at Samsara in various capacities. She initially served as a New Product Introduction Engineer from 2019 to 2020. Following this role, she advanced to the position of Senior Engineering Program Manager, where she worked from 2020 to 2022. In these roles, she focused on the introduction and management of new products, contributing to the company's growth in the IoT sector.
Experience at Tesla
Nikki Mukkala held the position of Technical Program Manager at Tesla from 2017 to 2018. During her tenure at Tesla in Fremont, California, she was responsible for managing technical programs that supported the company's innovative automotive projects. Her work involved coordinating engineering efforts and ensuring alignment with project goals.
Educational Background
Nikki Mukkala completed her Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at Osmania University and Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2011. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Science (MS) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago, where she studied from 2011 to 2012. This educational foundation has equipped her with the technical skills necessary for her engineering roles.
Career Path and Early Roles
Nikki Mukkala began her career as a Mechanical Design Engineer at MSP Inc. from 2013 to 2014. She then transitioned to Cornelius, where she worked as a Project Engineer from 2014 to 2017. These early roles provided her with valuable experience in mechanical design and project management, laying the groundwork for her subsequent positions in engineering program management.