σ · DPMO · Cp/Cpk
Quality & Six Sigma
Lean Six Sigma certified, with graduate coursework in quality management. I use regression, forecasting, and control charts to find where a process drifts and what to change.
About
A builder who learned to explain things first.
I'm a graduate student in Technology Management at North Carolina A&T State University, focused on Six Sigma and quality systems. My day-to-day tools are process data, regression and forecasting models, and the people who run the machines.
I came to engineering through communication. I spent six years after my undergraduate degree leading communication and stakeholder engagement for a nonprofit in Abuja that built digital platforms against gender-based violence, police brutality, and poverty. A stint as a product manager at a fintech company showed me how much I liked building the product itself.
Since then I've earned the ACE CNC certificate and gone on to train others in CNC machining and metrology. I also build AI-powered web apps: a job search assistant, a volunteer coordination platform, and a lab operations system for the Applied Engineering Department at NC A&T State University.
Get in touch →150+students recruited as a BVCC campus ambassador
2ACE CNC bootcamps trained, Summer 2026
3AI-powered platforms built
What I do
Process, machines, and the software around them.
G-code · ±0.001 in
CNC & Metrology Training
ACE CNC certified (online and in-person bootcamp), then hired to train two ACE CNC bootcamps. I lead metrology lectures and hands-on training for college and high school students with Dr. David Chamblee at NC A&T.
LLMs · Automation
AI-Powered Web Apps
I design and build full web platforms that use AI to triage, rank, and draft, with people approving the decisions that matter.
Discovery → Delivery
Product Management
Product manager at a fintech company. Certified in Product Management through the Black Venture Capital Consortium and in Design Thinking through StacStart.
Lectures · Media · Outreach
Technical Communication
MS in Communication from NC State, where I taught COM 110 Public Speaking for three semesters. I turn complex work into talks, campaigns, and films people act on.
GIS · Mapping
Geospatial Analysis
Graduate Certificate in GIS from NC State. I used mapping to build Holocaust education resources as a Schnog Fellow.
Builds
Software I've designed and built.
Each one started with a real operational problem: a job search, a volunteer roster, a machine shop.
A web platform for running the department's CNC, automotive, and fabrication labs. Students scan a machine's QR code to book time, check out tools, and report problems. Anyone without current safety training is blocked.
- QR booking and checkout for every machine and tool
- Problem reports with photo or video from the floor
- Safety-training gate enforced at booking
- AI-triaged repair tickets for the lab manager
- Preventive maintenance schedules and digital 5S audits
- Chair dashboard with machine uptime, open issues, and 5S scores
Finds well-matched roles every day and sends them at the time you choose, ranked by fit with a short summary of each. For the jobs you pick, it drafts a tailored, ATS-ready CV, cover letter, and application answers using only facts you've confirmed.
- Daily ranked matches delivered on your schedule
- Tailored documents built only from confirmed facts
- Submits on approval, or hands you everything to apply yourself
- Saved job descriptions for every application
- Follow-ups and interview prep
- Weekly insights on what's earning callbacks
Gets the right people to show up and takes the paperwork off coordinators' plates. Volunteers sign up, confirm, swap, and check in by text, with no account or app.
- Text-based sign-up, confirmation, and shift swaps
- Automatic reminders and waitlist backfill
- QR check-in that logs volunteer hours
- Live event view for coordinators
- One-click verification letters for volunteer hours
- Funder-ready reports on impact and in-kind match
Path
From the newsroom to the machine shop.
Most recent first.
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Summer 2026
ACE CNC Bootcamp TrainerACE CNC · NC A&T
Trained participants across two CNC machining bootcamps after completing the certificate program myself. Led metrology lectures and training for college and high school students with Dr. David Chamblee.
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Jan – Apr 2026
BVCC Campus AmbassadorBlack Venture Capital Consortium · NC A&T
Recruited 150+ students into BVCC's free curriculum track. Gave on-campus talks, ran tabling events, and led media and recruitment.
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Aug 2025 – now
MS Technology ManagementNorth Carolina A&T State University
Six Sigma and quality focus, with data analysis including regression and forecasting.
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Apr 2025 – Jan 2026
Communication & Marketing FellowCyber Alliance
Nine-month fellowship in communication and marketing.
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2023 – 2025
MS Communication & Graduate Certificate in GISNC State University · Full scholarship
Taught COM 110 Public Speaking for three semesters as a teaching assistant while taking about four graduate courses a semester across two programs. Schnog Fellow and ISAC member.
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Before 2023
Product ManagerFintech company, Nigeria
Moved from communication into product, working on a financial technology platform.
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2015 – 2022
Communication & Stakeholder Engagement LeadNonprofit, Abuja
Six years across digital marketing and communication leadership, ending as lead at a nonprofit building digital platforms on gender-based violence, police brutality, and poverty.
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2015
BSc Mass CommunicationNigeria
Where it started.
Education & credentials
Degrees and certifications.
Degrees
- MS Technology ManagementNC A&T State University · in progress
- MS CommunicationNC State University · 2025
- Graduate Certificate, GISNC State University
- BSc Mass CommunicationNigeria · 2015
Certifications
- ACE CNC CertificateOnline program and in-person bootcamp
- Product ManagementBlack Venture Capital Consortium · 2025
- Design ThinkingStacStart · 2025
- Lean Six Sigma CertificateQuality and process improvement
Honors
- Schnog FellowshipAlfred and Anita Schnog Foundation
- Full graduate scholarshipNC State University
- Teaching assistantship offer, GISNC State University · 2025
Giving back
Service and community.
Documentary for NCCADV · 2025 – 2026
Lights Still On
Shot, produced, directed, and edited a volunteer documentary for the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence on its affiliate agencies and the effect of funding cuts on their work. Member since 2023.
Research · Schnog Fellow
Holocaust Education Resources
With Prof. Roy Schwartzman at NC State, built a website, map, videos, and teaching materials for students and Holocaust educators.
Board member
Empowered Africa
Scholarships and support for promising high school students in Africa, starting with Nigeria.
Advisory council
ISAC, NC State
Gave feedback and recommendations to the Office of International Services on programs and policies for international students.
Volunteer
ISSERV, NC State
Volunteered with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, Raleigh BugFest, and other food banks.
Contact
Let's build something that runs better.
I'm open to roles and projects in quality engineering, operations, technical training, and product. Reach out about work, collaboration, or a lab that needs better tools.
- linkedin.com/in/richard-abiona
- Based in
- Raleigh, North Carolina
© 2026 Richard Abiona