{"id":195,"date":"2022-03-07T18:28:06","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T18:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joeblogs.co\/portfolio\/?page_id=195"},"modified":"2024-02-02T14:56:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T14:56:36","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/joeblogs.co\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/JM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-219\" src=\"https:\/\/joeblogs.co\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/JM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/JM.jpg 400w, https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/JM-289x300.jpg 289w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I am a practical and versatile electronics and software engineer with broad experience over many projects, working in many industries from aerospace to oil &amp; gas with engineers worldwide. Through this, I have developed excellent intuition for engineering effective solutions. Understanding how things work has fascinated me since I was a child and I continue to feed that thirst for knowledge in my work and personal life.<\/p>\n<p>My spare time is largely occupied by my Triumph Spitfire restoration. It&#8217;s a complete nut and bolt rebuild in which I have carried out every aspect with the exception of the most critical engine machining operations and chemical dipping of the bodywork. I&#8217;m also converting it to fuel injection using an ECU of my own design. You can read more about this on my <a href=\"https:\/\/joeblogs.co\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">personal blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Key skills:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Leadership &amp; people management<\/li>\n<li>Project management<\/li>\n<li>Supplier management<\/li>\n<li>Broad technical knowledge of both hardware and software<\/li>\n<li>Time-served problem solving skills<\/li>\n<li>Highly organised and delivery focussed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Professional Experience<\/h3>\n<h4>ELECTRONIC ENGINEER<\/h4>\n<h5>Contrel Ltd. | 2023 &#8211; Present<\/h5>\n<p>At Contrel, I design and program control systems for various OEMs. Duties include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Product development from concept to production<\/li>\n<li>Circuit design &amp; schematic capture<\/li>\n<li>PCB layout<\/li>\n<li>Broad range of sensor measurement interfaces, HMIs, mains and battery powered<\/li>\n<li>Design for Manufacture<\/li>\n<li>CAD\/enclosure design<\/li>\n<li>PIC &amp; AVR microcontroller programming in C &amp; C++<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>LEAD ENGINEER &#8211; ELECTRICAL ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS<\/h4>\n<h5>Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. | 2022 &#8211; 2023<\/h5>\n<p>At Triumph, I design, specify, influence, verify and validate a broad range of electronic and electrical components across a range of motorcycles.<\/p>\n<p>I manage a small team that look after rider information components including instrument clusters &amp; Bluetooth modules.<\/p>\n<h4>ELECTRICAL ENGINEER<\/h4>\n<h5>Gallay Ltd. | 2021 &#8211; 2022<\/h5>\n<p>I served as an Electrical Engineer for Gallay who specialise in heating, ventilation, and cooling systems, primarily for military applications.<\/p>\n<p>I have performed schematic capture and mixed-signal PCB layout for HVAC control ECUs to military standards, meeting strict requirements for quality such as EMC and broad operating temperatures.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>PCB layout using a broad range of package sizes, mechanical designs and space constraints up to four layers using EasyEDA and KiCad<\/li>\n<li>Wiring harness design and specification to military standards and MIL-spec connectors<\/li>\n<li>Analogue and digital signal circuit design<\/li>\n<li>AVR microcontroller programming<\/li>\n<li>Use of the CAN and RS485 protocols<\/li>\n<li>Design office procedures<\/li>\n<li>Proficient with Siemens Solid Edge CAD having received formal training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>ELECTRONICS\/SOFTWARE ENGINEER<\/h4>\n<h5>Surface Generation Ltd | 2015\u20132021<\/h5>\n<p>I gained over six years of experience for this world-leading composites tooling &amp; control system manufacturer.<\/p>\n<p>I had a lead role in developing a multi-channel thermocouple data logger for use with Surface Generation&#8217;s existing control system. The data logger is still being sold by Surface Generation today and I still work with them on a consultancy basis.<\/p>\n<p>I independently designed and produced a modular controller for an industrial heating and cooling system and subsequently worked in a team to integrate this into the wider system. From concept to the finished product, I was responsible for the electronics, firmware, and packaging. The project sought to reduce the carbon footprint and cost of compression moulding. The controller was a fundamental part of the grant-funded project which ultimately led to its success.<\/p>\n<p>Designing the system, I was able to perform:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Schematic capture<\/li>\n<li>Four-layer PCB layout including mains AC, digital and thermocouple signals with galvanic isolation<\/li>\n<li>Firmware development of AVR microcontrollers in C\/C++<\/li>\n<li>Testing and validation with the customer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wider experience in this role:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Development of Allen Bradley PLC-based control logic for a 150-tonne clamping fixture and compression moulding system for a US defence research contract. I supported the installation and running of the compression moulding set at the US facility which also made use of the data logger previously mentioned for capturing thermal performance data.<\/li>\n<li>Working closely with a highly-regarded Rockwell engineer for a number of weeks, I helped develop the control system for equipment developed by Surface Generation deployed at an offshore oil pipeline manufacturer. The equipment was designed to perform non-destructive fault detection and repair of composite pipe on the production line.<\/li>\n<li>Thermal testing and closed-loop control tuning of new equipment installations with written reports of key performance characteristics.<\/li>\n<li>Support for existing systems, often requiring analysis of composite processing data from remote sites.<\/li>\n<li>Training and mentoring staff on the use of control systems and often supporting them on remote installations.<\/li>\n<li>Windows desktop application development in C#.NET<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>IT MANAGER<\/h4>\n<h5>Trinity Event Solutions Ltd. | 2012\u20132014<\/h5>\n<p>IT Manager for a conference and events company, solely responsible for all IT systems.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Contract and supplier management<\/li>\n<li>Won the \u201cPersonal Achievement Award\u201d for implementing the company website and gained CSS, HTML and \u201cExpressionEngine\u201d CMS knowledge throughout the process<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>IT ENGINEER<\/h4>\n<h5>Millennium Computer Services Ltd. | 2006\u20132012<\/h5>\n<p>Field support engineer for an IT services company, serving customers nationally.<\/p>\n<h4>IT TECHNICIAN<\/h4>\n<h5>Lands&#8217; End Direct Merchants Ltd. | 2002\u20132005<\/h5>\n<p>Front line support engineer for a large clothing company and European distributor. First point of contact for over 200 users and remote sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am a practical and versatile electronics and software engineer with broad experience over many projects, working in many industries from aerospace to oil &amp; gas with engineers worldwide. Through this, I have developed excellent intuition for engineering effective solutions. Understanding how things work has fascinated me since I was a child and I continue &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/about\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;About Me&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inspiro_hide_title":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-195","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/195\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joeblogs.uk\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}