Product Development
Frank Roberts II
Veteran Technical Sales And Development
Littleton,CO
Summary
Technology driven individual with a vast technical background and understanding how to tackle complex problems. I have managed multi-discipline teams ranging from mechanical, electrical, embedded firmware, mobile app development, to back-end clould/database engineers. Also having technical sales experience I have a keen savvy to not only manage teams but also to develop, grow and foster relationships for growing sales and partnerships. To tie everything together to a finished product I also have vast experience in both rapid prototype and high volume off-shore manufacturing and developing test and calibration procedures to ensure products come out of manufacturing in a reliable fashion.
Overview
1
1
Language
5
5
years of post-secondary education
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Technical Officer
Appion Inc
Englewood , CO
07.2017 - Current
- Managed company-level product roadmap and architecture for wireless, Bluetooth Low Energy based precision measurement products.
- Developed unified hardware, firmware, and mobile app architectures
- Provided hands on hardware development utilizing low noise ultra low power electronic design and pcb development techniques.
- Developed and implemented long-term strategic technological blueprint.
- Developed off-shore manufacturing partners for electronics, plastics, metal components and developed factory test routines.
- Conducted research on new product concepts and sensor implementations
- Developed sensor processing algorithms and calibration and verification routines
- Managed product certifications such as FCC/CE, UL
Chief Technical Officer/Owner
Self/Component Distributors Inc
Denver, CO
10.2013 - 07.2016
- Managed all design service projects and led the team by hands on hardware and firmware development. Completed over 18 Design Service Projects.
- Managed a team of up to 6 engineering resources
- Specialized in wireless sensor design and Bluetooth Low Energy Applications for both consumer, wearable, industrial and medical based products.
- Developed Precision 9 DOF wearable IMU with ECG Add-on
- Developed wearable Bio-sensor and heart rate pcba
- Developed suite of Bluetooth Low Energy Connectable Beacon products based on iBeacon and Eddystone protocols
- Developed custom Long Range Bluetooth Low Energy Module
- Developed strategic relationships with semiconductor partners
- Provided front-end sales support to finalize customer design contracts
- Created internal product roadmap for BLE based wireless products
- Created and managed off-shore manufacturing partners for electronics, plastics, batteries, and metal components.
Central Applications Engineer III
Avnet Inc./Broadcom
Littleton, CO
10.2013 - 10.2014
- Provided direct customer support for Broadcom's line of WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy devices in the WICED product line.
- Covered Continental USA to provide on-site customer support pre-sales and post-sales support.
- Provided hands on hardware and firmware design support for the WICED WiFi and BLE products
- Created customer tailored trainings and developed technical collateral
- Responsible for training Avnet FAE staff on WICED product group and supporting Avnet sales personnel across USA.
- 21 confirmed design wins
Sr. Applications Engineer
Infinite Power Solutions Inc.
Littleton, CO
10.2009 - 06.2013
- Provide direct technical and pre-sales interface to prospective customers.
- Define target markets and customers that could utilize emerging thin-film battery technology.
- Manage the World Wide distribution channel, Arrow Semiconductor, from a Technical SalesOpportunity perspective. Provide Channel training in North America, Europe, and Asia.
- Assist in development of Sales Channel and training of Manufacturer Representatives in the North America and China.
- Designed Zigbee based Wireless Sensor Reference Design. The system very accurately measures Humidity, Temperature, Light Intensity and Occupancy. Developed a unique method to dynamically monitor and adjust the energy balance of the system based on light intensity and Tx duty cycle. This design showcases ultra-low power wireless sensor and energy harvesting techniques, for systems that can run perpetually for >15years.
- Designed a Perpetually Powered Wireless Pedometer. The design utilized low cost Piezo disc speakers to both act as the footstep sensor and as the Energy Harvesting device that powered a 2.4GHz ISM radio that communicated with the Chronos Watch. Authored a Technical Paper detailing the design and presented the research and development at numerous conferences.
- Provide technical design expertise based around energy harvesting, perpetual wireless sensor design, and ultra low power analog techniques for customers and Technical Conferences across North America, Europe, and China.
Sr. Field Applications Engineer
Microchip Technology Inc.
Littleton, CO
10.2003 - 10.2009
- Manage ~$20M worth of Technical Sales
- FAE Rookie of the Year 2004
- Responsible for technical sales growth for Fortune 100/500 companies such as HP, Assa Abloy, United Technologies, Oracle/Sun, Echostar/Dishnetwork, and Micron.
- Provide custom firmware and hardware solutions for customers.
- Manage & Provide technical training for Microchip Representative Manufacturers
- Member of 16/32bit MCU and DSP Specialist Team
- Member of Human Interface Group(specialist in Graphics Display and Capacitive Sensing designs)
- Regional Expert on wireless sensor design including Zigbee/802.15.x, 433 & 915MHz ISM band radios
- Assisted customers with utilizing ultra-low power MCU design techniques and algorithms
Education
No Degree - Engineering (Pre-Engineering)
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL 08.1991 - 05.1994
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL 08.1994 - 12.1996
Skills
Strategic Sales Development and Planning
Salesforcecom
Analog and Mixed-Signal Design
Bluetooth Low Energy
Wireless Sensor Design
Ultra Low Power Analog Design
System Architecture
Sensor algorithm development
Low Power, Low Noise Analog Design
Mobile App Architecture
Embedded Firmware
MCU Architecture and Implementation
Battery Management and Charging
Power Management Design
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Interests
Playing and Coaching Hockey
Continual learning new engineering skills
Quote
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma-which is living with the results of other people's thinking."
Steve Jobs
Timeline
Chief Technical Officer
Appion Inc
07.2017 - Current
Chief Technical Officer/Owner
Self/Component Distributors Inc
10.2013 - 07.2016
Central Applications Engineer III
Avnet Inc./Broadcom
10.2013 - 10.2014
Sr. Applications Engineer
Infinite Power Solutions Inc.
10.2009 - 06.2013
Sr. Field Applications Engineer
Microchip Technology Inc.
10.2003 - 10.2009
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
08.1994 - 12.1996
No Degree - Engineering (Pre-Engineering)
Eastern Illinois University
08.1991 - 05.1994