I hope this will help to evaluate fit for your organization.

How do you stand out as an engineer?

First, in the breadth of experience I have, which I've found to be fairly uncommon.  I have a wide HW and SW background because I love to learn to use new tools and technologies, enjoy speaking the language of integration, and have a habit of acquiring knowledge from other domains.

I am also passionate about good documentation, training and mentoring, and setting up those who come after for success.  This is an underrated skill, as so often engineers simply leave documentation tasks undone.  Similarly, I enjoy bridging communication gaps between teams and across disciplines within the company, and making the customer/client experience faultless.

How do you stand out as a project lead?

I am by nature a planner and organizer that pays attention to detail, and commits information to paper to help me be a good communicator that transforms the team into a knowledge center.  I am not afraid of intricate spreadsheets and enjoy creating diagrams and slide presentations.

I have a drive to root out inefficiencies of all kinds, including process, and dive deep into the details of tool usage and parts specifications to find the best fit.

I have always appreciated value-conscious development, fiscal responsibility, and maximizing efficient use of company resources, which I treat with care.  I can be a meticulous record keeper.

Have you led a project through a complete development cycle - design, manufacture, and deployment?

Yes.  My startup created two device designs that we built from the ground up.  The first of these we arranged for production with an overseas manufacturer, tested the units, and delivered to our customers along with desktop application software we developed.

I've also led firmware development as part of larger teams through various project phases, including many prototyping efforts.

How wide is your organizational experience in this field?

I entered the field as an intern in 2004 at a large, established electronics company.  Since then, I have been an employee of another massive company, a medium sized company, and run my own startup.  In those roles I have been involved in the supervision of various local and remote contractor efforts, including overseas contractors.  I have also done independent contracting myself for several startups, both on-site and in a 100% remote capacity.  It seems like I've seen it all!

What are your core areas of expertise?

In short, real-time embedded computing platform design and implementation at an infrastructure level primarily (rather than applications software).  I typically work within hardware teams creating new products.  I am well situated for organizing multi-disciplinary projects.

To get a little more specific, I have solid experience in safety-critical C development, ARM and other cross-compile targets and toolchains in a Linux development environment, embedded Linux on target, FPGA logic, device and peripheral drivers for bare-metal applications, and coordination with suppliers for both software tool and hardware component trade studies.

I might describe myself as a versatile "embedded device engineer" with significant breadth in my background, instead of deep or narrow expert knowledge of specific tools or components.  I'm also consistently taking the lead on assembling excellent documentation to enable fantastic customer user experiences, and foster communication and productivity gains in the company.

What are the technical work components you'd look for in your ideal role?

  • Strategic product management
  • Ownership of systems-level design
  • Hardware architecture
  • Board validation and bring-up
  • Firmware architecture
  • Device drivers, bare-metal code, RTOS implementation
  • Hardware and firmware integration and test
  • Customer and supplier coordination

What drives you?

I love to develop best-in-class systems with the highest level of service and quality for customers, and particularly enjoy doing design with sensors and microcontrollers.  I also enjoy mentoring younger engineers, recruiting, and building the most effective team for the job.  I get satisfaction out of  connecting people, directing engagement with experts, and being a force multiplier through the power of communication and the creation of community.

It's a treat when my role permits work with the very best in other fields outside the embedded computing realm - be it legal, HR, marketing, etc. - especially when they have some understanding of what top-notch engineering is and what it takes.

I thrive in a partnership that's more than just a job, and being an integral part of the engine creating something fantastic.  I'm less impressed by companies that waste resources on the latest silly management fads, but love those that focus on winning engineering work above all.

What are your values in leading or managing?

  • Work for the good of the enterprise rather than engage in personal empire-building
  • Drive consensus to get buy-in and unity, and do it with data
  • Value all contributions, and volunteer for the dirty work sometimes
  • Make sure everyone stays on top of clear and concise documentation, including commented code
  • Regular communication is key, but do not slow down work with superfluous status reporting
  • Find a good lightweight process with information-sharing tools like a wiki and drive consistency in the use of it
  • Unify the team by increasing individual investment in the project whenever possible
  • Find or create the environment for each engineer in which he/she is most comfortable and productive
  • As a general rule, do not impose lazy one-size-fits-all policies
  • Create an enriching and educationally oriented community that makes the office a desirable place to be
  • Don't put off reviews: candidate reviews, peer reviews, design reviews, performance reviews, etc.

Traits of leaders I admire are integrity, ability to listen and learn, understanding, calm rationality, and the recognition that actions speak louder than words.  To me leadership means service, and managing means setting the team up for a win.

What are the values held by companies that impress you the most?

  • Independent thinking technically, an appreciation for research, and emphasis on learning and branching into new domains
  • Highest expectations for engineering support with minimal obstructionism among management and support functions (accounting, HR, legal, IT)
  • Low tolerance for belligerence, disrespect, vulgarity, etc
  • Setting sights high and looking beyond the horizon in terms of markets, expansion, and growth
  • Understanding the importance of maximizing productivity and minimizing turnover through customization of engineer roles, work space, and compensation package
  • Minimize transitional barriers between work, home, and life to create a heightened sense of community and increase productivity
  • Finding the strengths of engineers and scientists on an individual level, and putting those to use for the benefit of the company
  • Offering and expecting ownership, leadership, accountability, and representation to/from all employees regardless of seniority

Which is it, are you a software or hardware engineer?

Tough question, with an answer that is not so cut and dry perhaps.  I work with HW on HW teams to bring devices to life, and I believe I think more like a HW engineer.  I'm a device builder at heart, but that includes all aspects of the build - software too.  Both of my degrees involved more work in math, MATLAB, and coding than classical HW studies.  Here's how I'd put it:  I consider myself either a HW engineer that mostly writes SW or a SW engineer that is part of the HW team.  Either one sums me up nicely.

What hardware design can you do?

I do digital hardware architecture, basic interface and sensor/filter circuits, and breadboard prototypes regularly.  I can construct and test FPGA logic, run simple circuit simulations and assemble a system design for a digital board.  However, I'm out of practice with more complex analog design and not yet trained in PCB layout or schematic creation.

Do you have a hardware-friendly home office for remote or after-hours work?

Yes! I have a miniature lab set up in my office.  I do my own soldering/wiring, I am ESD trained and use a static reduction mat/clips, and I use tools like USB logic analyzers, DMMs, and budget oscilloscopes.  I'm a little more lab-savvy than your typical firmware or software engineer.

Can you do DSP work?

I did graduate level coursework in signal processing, digital filters, and image processing and look forward to doing more with it professionally.

Can you write our C++ application for us?

I have done a few professional C++ projects over the years, I use it in hobby programming, and I hope to expand my skills with it.  In my embedded device work I have recently become more familiar with some of the advanced modern features of the language.  I don't claim to be a C++ expert.

But the answer is yes!  For example, I've done a couple years of work on Qt-based GUI applications.

What technical skills are you most looking forward to learning?

I'm anxious to further study, practice, and make myself handy with the following:

  • control systems and applications in robotics, mechatronics
  • motors and advanced power electronics
  • schematic work, PCB layout, and the EDA process
  • sensing technologies like LiDAR, RADAR, cameras, etc.
  • sensor fusion and path planning for autonomous systems
  • machine learning
  • wireless communication protocols

Can you get clearance for government work?

I was previously cleared for Secret and Top Secret work, and I would have no problem picking that up again.

What is your approach to testing?

Testing is a critical part of any engineering project.  I've most often worked on small, inter-disciplinary teams in which thorough unit testing is incumbent upon each development engineer and I believe every engineer ought to own a certain amount of testing.  I understand the value of teamwork in having others besides the primary implementation engineer provide input to a module's test methods.

Big test-specialist groups are useful for systems testing on a larger scale, or safety-critical projects which necessitate a fully staffed systems team and perhaps a sophisticated coverage and validation tool.  Systems and test are closely intertwined in these cases.  Test teams should really be involved with the design from the beginning, gaining essential system understanding.

In what type of office environment do you thrive?

I prefer to split my time between a quiet, private desk space for focus time on technical or business development work, and an open lab in which I can work closely with the hardware if needed and have access to board and mechanical engineering resources.  I do spend much of my time in the lab with the hardware, but an open floor plan mandate with tiny desk space allotments for all workers is a low-productivity environment for me.