Katy O’Leary
Denver,CO
Summary
Passionate design engineer committed to innovative excellence, rapid design evolution, and bringing the most creative, solutions-focused antenna designs through the cradle-to-grave design process, directly into our customer's hands. Proven expertise in both independent and collaborative environments, as evidenced by years of working as a low-observable antenna design engineer and functioning as an integral part of a multidisciplinary high-temperature design team including thermal, structural, materials, radio frequency, and mechanical engineering disciplines, as well as working intimately with the highly-specialized technicians who build our one-of-a-kind antenna solutions. Recognized for rapidly leveraging unconventional solutions into exceptional, deliverable results that benefit BAE Systems and the customers who depend on us to deliver the most essential, innovative technology in the industry.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Radio Frequency Design Engineer
Bae Systems Inc.
02.2015 - Current
- TACMAN: Optimized a legacy L-Band antenna to fit two new platform locations on the LM F22 Raptor. Received promotion for performance through CDR. Continued to support program through the following six years of production.
- Mt. Culebra: Brought in as a replacement design engineer on a large, furiously-paced, system-level munitions program. Carried a three-aperture design successfully through PDR. The entire design team was given SPOT awards and recognized Ball executive leadership.
- Mt. Hopkins: Brought in as a hail-mary engineer to carry a baseline design through to fully optimized, validated, ready-to-ship hardware state in less than six weeks. The effort was successful; I received a SPOT award and promotion for my performance on this program.
- Anaconda: Leveraged a broadband, low-band antenna that I designed under IRAD into a high-temperature, low-observable array for this large, system-level weapons program. Carried the array through PDR to the end of the program. The entire team was recognized by executive management for exemplary performance and for consistently capturing the trust and interest of one of the company's most valued customers.
- LRASM Common Tail: Lead design engineer for a three-band antenna system covering Link-16, BLOS, and LOS frequency bands. Leveraged 15 years of design experience to develop a novel falsely arrayed Vivaldi with an embedded slot antenna which serves as a low-observable, dual-pol, stabilizer-friendly antenna that is not only unique to the industry, but can be used as a baseline design in any relevant future programs. I supported this program in the face of many technical challenges, staffing challenges, and personal challenges. I set my personal and professional interests aside to bring the team through CDR. I continue to serve as the program's unrecognized lead design engineer and have committed to continue supporting the program's acting lead design engineer through current and future design challenges. This commitment to support the program includes but is not limited to supporting any technical needs or requests that the customer might have, as well as serving as a mentor and technical support system for the program's acting lead design engineer.
- IRAD: Served as a lead IRAD design engineer for the weapons team, focusing on both organic and high-temperature antenna designs that cover Link-16, GPS, and S-Band. I focus primarily on bringing low-observable, high-temperature designs as close as possible to a program-ready state. I have supported IRAD in this manner for the last seven years.
Electromagnetic Design Engineer
Boulder Wind Power
07.2012 - 01.2014
- Electromagnetic design, optimization, and production of multi-megawatt axial flux permanent magnet machines for use in direct-drive wind turbine architectures.
- Electromagnetic finite element analysis (Vector Fields 3D) of machine subassemblies, magnetic bearing control systems, transformers, reactors, magnetizers, and machine assembly tooling.
- Design, finite element modeling, and assembly of sub-scale proof-of-concept components through full-scale validation prototypes.
- Analytical model validation correlating predicted results to prototype measurements.
- Permanent magnet design and sourcing.
- Machine assembly/disassembly, rebuilding, troubleshooting, testing, and verification of operational capabilities.
Electrical Design Engineer – Propulsion and Power Generation
Northrop Grumman Corporation – Electronic Systems/Marine Systems
06.2010 - 07.2012
- Dynamic mathematical model development and simulation of magnetic bearing control systems for Virginia Class Submarine Turbine Generator, Ohio Class Submarine Turbine Generator, and the Gerald R. Ford Class Aircraft Carrier.
- Electrical design, implementation, and testing of advanced state-space control system prototype demonstrating unparalleled performance improvements and significant cost reduction for existing and future production units.
- Provision of trade studies, internal research, and technical solutions for various Northrop Grumman programs including Virginia Class Submarine, Ohio Class Submarine, and the Gerald R. Ford Class Aircraft Carrier.
- Support of machine assembly, troubleshooting, and repair of Virginia Class Submarine Turbine Generator through production and supplier non-conformances, ensuring program requirements were met or exceeded.
- Implementation of design and drafting updates, support of factory acceptance testing, review and approval of remote electronic controls team updates to various control systems.
Research Assistant
University of Colorado Superconducting Electronics and Low-Temperature Physics Laboratory
01.2008 - 06.2010
- Development of a prototype low-noise analog interface control unit for education-based testing and analysis of thin-film Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs).
- Investigation of the linearity of thin-film resistors using Third Harmonic Analysis (head of research team).
- Device characterization of DC SQUIDs, including cryogenic measurements of critical current, resistance, gain, frequency response, and noise levels for the multi-institutional Cryogenic Dark Matter Search.
- Analog circuit design and analysis, impedance matching, filter design, signal interference mitigation, soldering fine pitch components, testing, and debugging of electrical circuits.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
University of Colorado
Denver, COBachelor of Arts - Philosophy
The College of St. Benedict/ St. John’s University
St. Joseph, MNSkills
- Low-observable organic antenna design, low-observable ceramic antenna design, rapid prototyping, ANSYS HFSS, Vector Fields (EMFMEA), MATLAB, Simulink, PSpice, DyRoBeS, MacCAD, OrCAD, GerbTool, AutoCAD
Certification
Radio Frequency Safety, OSHA 10-Hour General Industry Safety and Health, Electrical Safe Work Practices including requirements for National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E-2012 Edition
Timeline
Radio Frequency Design Engineer
Bae Systems Inc.
02.2015 - Current
Electromagnetic Design Engineer
Boulder Wind Power
07.2012 - 01.2014
Electrical Design Engineer – Propulsion and Power Generation
Northrop Grumman Corporation – Electronic Systems/Marine Systems
06.2010 - 07.2012
Research Assistant
University of Colorado Superconducting Electronics and Low-Temperature Physics Laboratory
01.2008 - 06.2010
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
University of Colorado
Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy
The College of St. Benedict/ St. John’s University
Clearances
SECURITY CLEARANCE - SECRET - SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAMS
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