Isaac A. Calvo

1. 2023Dec – PresentNow

   Distinguished Product Engineer

   Verizon

   After over a decade at Verizon, I reached the Distinguished Engineer level — the company's recognition for engineers who shape not just products, but strategy. I now own the Gizmo platform end-to-end: a connected smartwatch built specifically for kids that 627K+ families depend on every day.

   Products shipped

   • Gizmo Watch — product details (opens in a new tab)
   • Gizmo Watch 2 — product details (opens in a new tab)
   • Gizmo Watch 3 — product details (opens in a new tab)
   • Watch 3 Adventure — product details (opens in a new tab)news → launch announcement (opens in a new tab)
   • Disney Edition — product details (opens in a new tab)
   • Smart Locator — product details (opens in a new tab)
   • →Gizmo Watch family covered by Wirecutter (Top Pick), Forbes, CNN Underscored, PCMag, Android Central, XDA Developers, SafeWise, The Every Mom, and Macaroni Kid
   • →$12M+ annual budget owned across all vendor, legal, and product operations
   • →COPPA & child privacy compliance strategy led across every team that touches the product
   • →Platform infrastructure optimized ahead of holiday surge — ~30K new devices added in peak season
   • →Speaker at Mapbox BUILD 2024 "Leaders in Location Spotlights" — co-presented with Mapbox on how Verizon uses location intelligence to power real-time network coverage and Gizmo smartwatch experiences for 627K+ families
2. 2021Sep – Dec 2023

   Principal Product Engineer — Consumer Wearables

   Verizon

   I got the keys to the full product. My job became making Gizmo measurably better — for the parents who rely on it and the kids who wear it. That meant making hard calls: migrating the mapping platform, fixing what was quietly breaking, and turning customer feedback into a roadmap.

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   • →Mapbox migration shipped — 3D city views, improved satellite rendering, smoother parent/caregiver UX
   • →Active user base grew from 589K to 627K YoY through data-driven product decisions
   • →iOS App Store rating held at 4.4★; critical Android feedback pipeline bug identified and resolved
   • →Mapbox migration shipped — 3D city views, improved satellite rendering, smoother parent/caregiver UX
   • →Active user base grew from 589K to 627K YoY through data-driven product decisions
   • →iOS App Store rating held at 4.4★; critical Android feedback pipeline bug identified and resolved
3. 2019Jan – Sep 2021

   Staff Engineer — Software & Product Development

   Verizon

   This was where I learned to speak every language in the building — engineering, design, legal, marketing, and business development. Requirements engineering became my superpower: translating what teams needed into specs that actually got built right.

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   • →Verizon Smart Locator launched — LTE tracker covered by The Verge and Android Central
   • →CareSmart launched — a senior-focused smartwatch built on the Gizmo platform, extending the same IoT infrastructure to a new demographic; covered by PhoneArena and SlashGear
   • →Requirements authored for the next-generation consumer wearables IoT platform
   • →Cross-functional alignment owned across device marketing, UX/UI, security, legal, and privacy
   • →Supplier partnerships developed with external vendors and internal technology groups
   • →Verizon Smart Locator launched — LTE tracker covered by The Verge and Android Central
   • →CareSmart launched — a senior-focused smartwatch built on the Gizmo platform, extending the same IoT infrastructure to a new demographic; covered by PhoneArena and SlashGear
   • →Requirements authored for the next-generation consumer wearables IoT platform
   • →Cross-functional alignment owned across device marketing, UX/UI, security, legal, and privacy
   • →Supplier partnerships developed with external vendors and internal technology groups
4. 2016May – Jan 2019

   Member of Technical Staff IV

   Verizon

   My first taste of building real IoT products at Verizon scale. Multiple device launches happening in parallel, stakeholders pulling in every direction — I was the person who held it all together and made sure nothing shipped broken.

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   • →Original Gizmo Watch launched — product credited with helping a child escape a kidnapper, covered by Fox News and NBC News
   • →Multiple IoT devices and companion apps launched simultaneously as technical SME
   • →$12M+ capital and expense budget managed across SOW, SLA, POs, and vendor partnerships
   • →Original Gizmo Watch launched — product credited with helping a child escape a kidnapper, covered by Fox News and NBC News
   • →Multiple IoT devices and companion apps launched simultaneously as technical SME
   • →$12M+ capital and expense budget managed across SOW, SLA, POs, and vendor partnerships
5. 2014Sep – Apr 2016

   Technical Support Supervisor

   Verizon

   Before I managed products, I managed people. Leading a team of 20 taught me more about what makes software succeed or fail than any spec document ever could — real users, real frustrations, real feedback.

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   • →Team of up to 20 agents led; training programs built that improved performance across the board
   • →Two team members mentored into management roles
   • →Team of up to 20 agents led; training programs built that improved performance across the board
   • →Two team members mentored into management roles
6. 2013Aug – Oct 2014

   Fiber Customer Support Analyst

   Verizon

   Where it all started — front-line support for FiOS fiber services, learning the network from the ground up.

7. 2010Mar – Aug 2013

   Verizon FiOS Retail Manager

   MarketStar

   Ran a retail location, consistently exceeded $270K/month in revenue, and mentored two team members into promotions.

A Few Highlights.

A grab bag of stuff I love working on, talks I’ve given, and projects I’ve been lucky to help with. Less résumé, more “here's what gets me out of bed.”