SUMMARY:

• Firmware Engineer - Architect - with nearly 30 years of experience
• Senior Firmware Engineer with 28 years experience in embedded microprocessor-based real-time applications with a specific focus on reliability, product lifetime and high profitability. Specific skills include:
• Architecture and system design.
• Assembly and C language coding; re-entrant code and concurrent processes; master/slave processor arrangements; shared RAM; noisy signal environments; small micros; analog and digital circuitry and interfaces.
• Embedded software design and coding for I2C, 1-wire, PCI, PCI bridges, battery gas gauges, charger control, NiMH, LiON, graphical LCDs, RF communications, rotary encoders and other devices.
• Low-level coding for microprocessors and micro-controllers, multiprocessor systems and inter-processor communications. . Bare metal and small-OS designs.
• Debugging using in-circuit emulators, PCI analyzers, logic analyzers, target debuggers, simulation, in-line prints, blinking lights, home-grown remote consoles and external analysis devices.
• Experience with analog effects on digital systems including digital over RF communications, directional antennas, multipath, latency, transient and noisy data signals.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Director of Firmware Engineering

Confidential, RTP

Responsibilities:

• I was charged with redesigning the pilot version of the product and to convert it to an enterprise level scalable wireless sensor network.
• This modification required new processors in three wholly new products but limited by cost, battery life, existing housings and antennas.
• My new design system uses a fully scheduled channel with time synchronized (by radio) masters distributed throughout a hospital.
• 2 years of research and development, and after shipping two versions of the Tag to support the legacy system I hired three engineers to finish the system.
• We implemented my synchronous radio communications system using FHSS & MIMO with deterministic time-domain management through a repeating timing-wheel.
• Created battery operated Tag design using synchronized receivers (under 1mS time deviation throughout a hospital) and slotted-Aloha transmitters providing high levels of command and control of the Tags and over-the-air bootloading in a fully operational system with no impact on the 8 year battery life of the low-cost Tags.
• Job descriptions; interviewing; hiring; firing; specify priorities for my department including milestones; performance reviews; training; code reviews; coding standards; release testing; management of code and document archival; technical specification of firmware products; vendor selection for tools; creation and maintainance of documentation for BOD and CFO regarding hardware and firmware products, upcoming resource requirements, delivery schedules; release schedules, backward and forward compatibility with SW, HW, QA and implementations. invention and specification of new hardware designs; evaluation of new components for future designs and for multi-source availability; design test scenarios for firmware products; design and/or specify test fixtures for hardware products which are based on firmware; specify use and installation scenarios; orchestrate simulations, beta tests, field testing, and adaptations for unusual or unexpected customer situations; prove hardware and component suitability; coordinate priorities, schedules, functionality, with software, hardware, QA, production and field operations; system design; architectural specifications; communications protocol specification; digital component specification; schematic review and sign-off; PC layout review and sign-off; QA/test supervision; sign-off of FW releases; negotiate, participate and frequently lead integration efforts with software department; generate or review test code to support FCC and U/L testing; design test fixtures or participate with other groups and contractors in test fixture design; yield tracking and failure analysis at point of manufacture and in the field; field support including site visits.

Firmware Consultant and Architect

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• I was hired to do low level system coding for an alarm system using multiple ARM CPUs, a BlackFin DSP, and using single chip Ethernet MAC devices.
• I wrote communications specifications for all on-board SPI and board to board Ethernet communications, then designed and implemented a debugging methodology for the main control board.
• I also designed and implemented an ARM7 to ARM7 SPI interface and implemented several different RFID pass card readers.
• When I left the company after 3 months, all of my projects had been completed nicely.

Firmware Engineering Consultant

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Part time contractor to create a battery powered Confidential and Confidential based Real Time Location System Tag.
• The Tag would have to have extreme battery life while chirping on a 900Mhz frequency to allow fixed stations to locate the Tag inside a hospital.
• I created the firmware participated in integration and system debugging, and produced high quality documentation to the satisfaction of the employer in exchange for minor compensation and shares in the company.

Software Engineer

Confidential

Responsibilities:

• Maintained and enhanced legacy low-level firmware in several different models of RAID controllers.
• Projects include PPC824x, Strong Arm, Confidential, and i960-based RAID controller subsystems, connecting to host CPU via PCI. RAID subsystems were semi-custom.
• Worked as member of 10 to 40 person team, depending on project.
• Worked mostly in a firmware group and worked closely with QA, Drivers, API for Windows, and hardware design.
• Used Clearcase tools, stream management and build management.
• Concurrently, worked on the following subsystems at various times during my employment:
• Coding and support of RAID cpu side of i2c interface including protocol conversion, interrupt-based and polled i2c communications, master and slave interfaces on Confidential, Intel and Confidential devices. Supporting multiple vendors of SES and SAF-TE backplanes including board bring-up and integration with five different new OEMs/vendors.
• Supported LiON and NiMH chemistries including gas gauge calibration (reconditioning) and failure detection.
• Used Dallas, Max and Benchmarq components with i2c and 1-wire interfaces.
• Coded for Confidential PIC and DS2438 from board bring-up to completion.
• Communications with PIC using I2C, PSP, 1-wire and asynchronous serial.
• Coded for POST, UARTs, PCI init using i960 bridge.
• Supported card side of host I/O control interface, queue and buffer management, address translation.
• Worked with PC motherboard schematics, PCI bus analyzer, firmware to diagnose driver-related memory corruption and control issues.
• Wrote firmware for battery charger subsystem including Max and Benchmarq parts.
• Wrote charger and calibration state machine under Nucleus as part of legacy Nucleus firmware.
• Created documentation to support legacy firmware and diagnostic methods.
• Diagnosed PCI communications issues in a multi-bridge environment including ATU issues with 21554 bridge.
• Wrote assembly language code to debug and exercise new boards during board bringup including CPU initialization, DRAM controller, booting over PCI bus from PC memory.
• Debugged changes necessary to migrate from 8240 to 8245 PPC.
• Wrote error detecting and correcting parallel bus communications protocol for inter-processor communications to support existing hardware around implementation errors.