Over thirty years of experience bringing complex products to the international marketplace. Strengths encompass analyzing complex ideas and breaking them down into attainable and implementable components. Experience includes implementing both hardware and software, developing Web based UIs, creating and maintaining specifications and schedules, establishing product pricing, product positioning, launch support and managing a products life cycles from conception to market acceptance. Additional skills include:
My role covered both Product Development and Product Management responsibilities; primarily I set the direction for the geographically disbursed development team, balancing the development of new technologies with the sustaining of existing products. Worked closely with our partners and customers to determine the future roadmap for the standard suite of products and defining custom solutions when they were required. I was solely responsible for maintaining and extending FMAudit's patented data collection technology, this included reverse engineering 3rd party devices to understand how data was being stored and then determining the most efficient way to retrieve and utilize the data. Another accomplishment was reimagining the look and feel of our User Interfaces as well as overseeing its development while at the same time both transitioning from a legacy WebForms application to a modern MVC based architecture and moving from a waterfall to an Agile development philosophy.
Managed the rollout of multiple software solutions products; this included evaluation, justification, product training & launch. Another important responsibility was the development of several business critical workflows. Won runner-up in a Toshiba Worldwide Six Sigma program for analyzing and developing a process for automating the collection of device usage information saving the company nearly two million dollars in the first two years. Developed an e-Commerce workflow based on the data collection process that allowed printers to receive supplies when they were required without the need for a person to place an order each time. One final responsibility was working with major accounts to address any issues and concerns that arise with the hardware or the software that is offered.
Program Support Manager
2004 to 2006
Implemented a support process to allow a small team to efficiently support fifteen third party software solutions.
Director of Product Management and Systems Engineering
2001 to 2004
Supervised a staff of four in the Systems Engineers and Technical Support areas. Responsible for all programs and product releases. Worked directly with our largest OEM ($4M/Year) at multiple levels (Product Planning, Purchasing and Engineering) to have our standard products incorporated into their Electronic Voting Unit. The relationship that was created earned us the design win for their second version of the product that required customization of the control board. Successfully launched our first wireless products, a handheld receipt printer with both IrDa and Bluetooth interfaces. Implemented a web based technical support program to help better serve our customers with access to our most commonly requested information and to allow the support staff to concentrate on the more involved support requests and to develop a Field Engineer style of operation.
Responsible for worldwide marketing of several Printer and Document Management products. Responsibilities included product pricing and positioning, supporting the field with product knowledge, and managing customer problems. Successfully handled a management directed product launch despite significant quality issues. Developed a configuration tool that improved accuracy of orders by 100%. Maintained a positive sales trend (16% gain per month) even when sales force was focused on other segments of the product line. Launched complex document server, allowing the company to provide a full-featured Print on Demand solution. Provided concise and informational reports to management for compensation, sales trends and inventory status. Chaired weekly team meetings that facilitated communication between multiple functional groups.
Staff Engineer / Program Manager
1997-1999
Responsible for both development and sustaining projects, comprised of creating and maintaining schedules and products structures, and coordinating activities between Engineering, Operations, Quality Assurance & Product Management. Traveled to Europe, Australia and the Far East to support product launch and provide training to ensuring a smooth worldwide rollout. Streamlined uncontrolled translation project, significantly reducing costs. Managed relationship with multiple vendors.
Staff Engineer / Liaison
1996-1997
Stationed in Hitachi-naka Japan serving as liaison between Japanese and American design groups, providing insight into the Japanese engineering, quality assurance and manufacturing activities. Worked with engineers to determine project status and to identify potential issues. Held periodic teleconferences with the Japanese and American design teams. Collaborated with other companies in a strategic planning role to review plans for future products.
Senior Engineer
1993-1996
Based on requirement specifications redesigned a reference controller, reducing size by 40%, reducing manufacturing costs and increasing its reliability. Implemented hardware allowing a 300 DPI printer to reach 600 DPI print quality. Created simulation models for controller components and peripherals to allow a new ASIC design to be simulated prior to manufacturing, enabling it to achieve full functionality on the first pass. Coordinated the efforts of several Engineering groups including Technical Publications, Drivers & Network.
Design Engineer II
1990-1993
Represented Engineering in product meetings, including the team that created an OEM version of a printer for Apple Computer. Member of the task-force that choose new electrical CAD system for engineering; the new systems dramatically improved our ability to create ASICs, and to simulate designs prior to committing the design to manufacturing reducing time to market and development costs. Designed an ASIC that controlled a printhead that printed three lines of text in one pass, the ASIC replaced an entire 80 square inch circuit board. Assignments included cost reductions, design enhancements, timing analysis, board layout and hardware debugging.
Design Engineer I
1987-1990
Troubleshot customer reported problems, designing interfaces and options to specific customer requirements, and cost reduced existing printer designs. Also preformed Quality Assurance on new printer designs using several different test suites.
Assisted in research, development and testing of hot melt ink jet print heads. Tested numerous designs and monitored flow rates and overall performance. Designed, developed and implemented a device to help diagnose inherent design problems in prototype print heads. Improved upon the design as part of senior design project improving the speed and simplifying the test procedure.