Eric Wilhelm

About Eric Wilhelm

Eric Wilhelm is Chief Technology Officer at Copper. Location: San Francisco, California, United States.

I’m a builder who happens to be a pretty good engineer -- but my superpower is helping teams do the best work of their lives. I have operational experience leading teams ranging from a dozen in a startup to several-hundred-person organizations in a large corporation. I create the conditions for learning, clear thinking, and ownership: grow people’s skills and context, then push authority to those with the information. That’s how you get speed, quality, and fun. I’ll play any role that makes the team and mission successful -- leader, IC, recruiter, product editor, test engineer, therapist (my daughter's observation of what I do...) -- whatever it takes. I thrive in ambiguity and help organizations expand their “range” so more people can make good calls without waiting for permission. I love watching people grow into new responsibilities (especially ones that used to be mine). What I’ve built / led: Co-founded the project-sharing community Instructables (acquired by Autodesk), high-altitude wind power company Makani Power (acquired by Google), the innovation and design partnership Squid Labs, and started companies in portable energy and healthcare. At Autodesk, I led the team that built the Pier 9 Technology Center, created the hardware group, and led Fusion 360, building premier design and manufacturing software. Co-founded Copper (battery-integrated induction ranges), where I'm doing whatever it takes to help the team succeed. Recognition & background MIT SB/SM/PhD (MechE). TR35/Popular Mechanics innovator, Wired Rave (Industrial Design), National Inventors Hall of Fame Collegiate Award. Board: Datatrak (DTRK).

Additional experience

• Chief of Staff

  Copper

  November 2023 – November 2025

Education

• Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology