- Cooking
- Electronics and Circuit Building
- Tech enthusiast, passionate about exploring the latest advancements and innovations
- Animal Care
- Outdoor Recreation
- Geocaching
- Camping
- Music
Ken Wing
Alpine,CA
Summary
With over 50 years of experience in electronic product design engineering, engineering management, and manufacturing, I have excelled in various roles including engineering, management, sales, and customer interface. I thrive on challenges and take pride in achieving successful product realization with a goal-oriented technical team. My expertise spans designing commercial, industrial, medical, airborne, and shipborne equipment, with a focus on high voltage power conversion systems and military communication devices. I have been recognized as an inventor or co-inventor of patented innovations in high voltage power supply circuit design and green energy generation.
Knowledgeable Electronics Engineer with solid foundation in power and analog electronics engineering, recognized for developing innovative solutions to complex technical challenges. Successfully designed and implemented crucial circuitry for high-performance systems, enhancing overall functionality. Demonstrated proficiency in problem-solving and teamwork, driving projects to successful completion.
Overview
52
52
years of professional experience
Work History
Electronics design engineer consultant
The Engineering Shop
10.2024 - Current
- Responsible for design and test of power electronics systems up to 500kW using state of the art Silicon Carbide technology and embedded system controllers.
Sr. Principal Engineer
Rhombus Energy Solutions
03.2015 - 10.2024
- Update: Rhombus Energy Solutions was acquired by Borg Warner, Morse Systems Div in August of 2022, and subsequently closed all EV charger operations worldwide in October 2024 and January 2025.
- For the last 4 years I have been responsible for the hardware design of the Rhombus next generation EV charging systems, designing 60+kW modules; AC/DC and DC/DC for use in 120kW, 180kW, and higher power DC fast chargers. I have done the system architecture, SiC half bridge modules, magnetics, control, input and output boards and filters, etc. for these modules. The Rushmore 120kW will be in production by 2Q24, and the bidirectional version by end of 24.
- Rhombus has two main facets; the San Diego group designs power conversion equipment for customers in the solar, lighting, home micro grid, vehicle charging, and various other industrial and commercial applications space, from low power to ~10kW. The Dearborn MI division of Rhombus, previously EDA and others, was purchased by Rhombus in 2015, designs, builds and fields larger power converters, from 60kW to multi megawatt converters for EV charging, energy storage, energy regeneration/testing, etc.
- My design experience prior to the EV fast charger equipment over the last 10 years has been quite interesting, including product design for many areas of energy conversion and digital control thereof; these are some of the highlights:
- A 100A 300VDC Solar DCDC MPPT PV to 48VDC battery charger with DSP control.
- A 67A 24VDC out 380VDC bus in isolated DCDC converter for lighting; LCC resonant design, passively cooled, with DSP control.
- 5kW home microgrid system, including 48VDC battery port, split phase AC load support port, generator input port, PV MPPT input port, and DSP control of all converters with remote communications and control; this system is now being sold by a major solar equipment mfg.
- Another 5kW home microgrid system with all as above but with a 250-450VDC battery port, and an EV charging port, designed for an EPRI/DoE/Oak Ridge Labs/FCA funded demonstration project. Up to 6 of these systems can be paralleled.
- A 5kW on line UPS system with 3 ports for line, load, and 48VDC battery; hot pluggable module for up to 100 modules per system; utilized 3 DSP devices for control and communications.
- A forensic project to analyze and correct high failure rate deficiencies in a commercial airliner 8kW Vienna converter used to power an inverter / motor for waste evacuation.
- Portable line or generator operated HV supply for ship deck use to power a tethered undersea robot; 3kW, 250-750VDC out, universal input, DSP controlled; this system had no fan for silent operation, was watertight, and had to operate without any cooling other than convection in direct sun.
- A control and communications system board for EV charging, which was mated to a 60kW PCS from Dearborn; this product is now fielded for a major EV bus manufacturer.
- A 56kW bidirectional PFC for 480VAC / 800VDC bus test regenerative test load system, DSP controlled, with a heat pipe cooling system.
- A 7kVA inverter for shipboard use, and a 6kW PFC sister product, with 750VDC / 440VAC 3phase ins/outs, with DSP controls meets MIL C 1399 requirements.
- My current project is a 60kW/90kVA 3 stage (AFE, DC DDC HF isolator, Buck/Boost) EV charger with bidirectional and grid frequency / phase correction UL1741SA and now SB capabilities. This will be a modular product, so that 60kW building blocks can be used to build 120/180/240kW and up chargers. This product family is intended to eventually replace the older and expensive “Detroit iron” low switching speed/AC iron line isolated products now produced at Dearborn for EV charging applications, where cost down design is critical. These modules were designed for nominal 60kW operation; but they are easily capable of up to 90kW operation for grid correction purposes.
- All above products have had to meet various manufacturer and/or UL/CSA/CE requirements, including the latest grid interactive UL 1741SA and SB. We have worked with minimal to robust product specifications.
- The latest projects have all utilized SiC fets – over the last few years, working closely with device manufacturer’s technical personnel, we have developed the control, drive circuitry, layout, and SOA protection technology to fully utilize these amazing devices; switching losses are minimal with typical rise and fall times in the 10-20nS region, even with hard switching. The above shipboard inverter and PFC projects have yielded stage efficiencies in the 99% region; others were close.
- Projects in general have been about half and half air and conduction cooled, with either active, air or liquid, or passive convection cooling. I have guided our external mechanical engineering team in CFD analysis and loss optimization for active and magnetics devices.
- I have designed the above and guided a small team of engineers (including several PhDs), layout specialists (both in house and contract), mechanical design teams (external), and technicians to realize these designs, including using tools such as Orcad and Altium for capture and layout, and various simulation systems including TINA, PSpice, LTSpice, PSIM, Plecs, and others.
- I have considerable magnetics design experience and work with several suppliers to create the optimum performance magnetic components required.
- All above systems utilize single or multiple DSP devices for digital switching control and analog sensor inputs using TI devices including the TMS320F28035, ‘069, ‘335, and now a new kid on the block the ‘0040. While I am not a coder or control system designer per se, I understand and can guide and work with these individuals to create the computing hardware and sensors needed for these various systems.
Director of Engineering
LHV Power Corp.
02.1999 - 02.2015
- LHV Power designs and manufactures a wide range of high (up to 50kV) and low voltage power conversion devices and systems for medical, scientific, industrial, commercial, automotive, and home applications.
- My product engineering and engineering design management experience (hardware, packaging, thermal design, firmware/software design and test) includes high and low voltage power conversion equipment for:
- Medical power supplies and instruments for applications such as radiological cancer ablation, laser hair removal and skin rejuvenation, laser eye surgery, PET scanners, industrial and food industry x-ray systems, electrostatic inhalation therapy (involving a disposable high voltage drug atomization inhaler device and the phases of FDA trials), and other general medical and scientific imaging systems (photomultiplier tube power)
- Electrostatic air purification systems for home, industrial, automotive, and agricultural purposes (including a built-in process limit controller and display); including both ionization and precipitation technologies, and electrostatic oil and water purification equipment
- Printing systems – thermal, laser, ink-jet, and continuous inkjet
- Nuclear power generation system controls, nuclear leak detection, x-ray inspection systems, etc.
- High and low voltage power supplies for EV automotive, auto body, and automotive test equipment use, including a high voltage 3-kilowatt microprocessor controlled battery charger for EV use, and current project DSP controlled 6.6kW high voltage EV charger
- High power high voltage amplifiers for use in piezo-electric milling head drivers used in the creation of aspherical contact lenses
- My last project at LHV was to write the proposal to Harley Davidson to design and build the on-board charger for their new EV motorcycle “Livewire”; LHV was subsequently awarded the project
- Many of the above products were required to be high up time, high reliability, and high safety designs. My experience includes distilling marketing data and working with the customer to write the hardware and software requirements; defining the program’s various budgets, projects and team activities; actual design, prototyping, including management and guidance of the design team; design validation definition of requirements and execution; writing user manuals and other user documentation; and lastly taking products through rigorous production qualification processes for certification into these applications (PPAP); and if required the internal and external safety agency certification activities utilizing various UL, CSA, ISO, SAE, and EN specifications.
- I was part of the company quality team to draft, implement and maintain an ISO9001:2000 quality system and its upgrade to ISO9001:2008.
- I have invented a number of innovative techniques and circuits for low-cost high voltage power generation, control, and “green” energy distribution, and have written and defended several patents and patents pending.
- My direct engineering and design team management experience includes the use of computer aided software for circuit synthesis and schematic capture, electrical and thermal simulation, 3D modeling, microprocessor hardware and software design and code preservation, documentation for manufacturing and end user instruction, and design control and preservation.
- Engineering productivity and design preservation tools I use or managed team members use of for these projects include Orcad, PSpice, Psim/SimCoupler, Matlab/Simulink/Plecs/Embedded Coder, SolidWorks, CFDDesign, PADS Power PCB, Code Composer Studio, CVS, Bugzilla, Fourth Shift MRP, Basecamp, and others.
- My previous experience contributed to my expertise in component and vendor selection, materials, and joining technologies used in our products.
- In addition to my engineering and management capacities, I am directly involved with frequent communications with important clients, both engineering and business related, in the maintenance of our business relationships with those customers.
Director of Engineering
Pacifitek Systems
01.1998 - 01.1999
- Pacifitek’s high voltage entity was acquired by what is now LHV Power in 1999. At Pacifitek, I designed and manufactured high voltage power conversion equipment and high reliability video transmission and reception equipment such as:
- Four channel diversity reception video receiver for on location broadcast applications
- High voltage 150-watt 30kV very low noise and ripple power supply for very large screen display projectors used in large hall presentations, movie theaters, situation or mission control rooms, meeting rooms, etc.
- High voltage low power DCDC converters for scientific instrument and radiation hardened satellite applications
Sr. Systems Engineer
US Navy at SPAWAR
01.1993 - 01.1998
- I was a contracted employee working for the Tactical Advanced Computer Group (TAC) where I utilized my direct (internal) selling, contracting, and engineering experience. I designed computer systems and consoles using HP’s UNIX based workstations (Apollo) that took the place of very expensive military computers for tactical and operational applications aboard Navy ships and submarines.
- My experience aided the third and fourth phases of the TAC Project to be very successful, with our project placing nearly a billion dollars’ worth of ruggedized COTS computing equipment at shoreside locations and aboard vessels. The savings to taxpayers was nearly 10-fold, and Vice President Al Gore awarded our project with the prestigious “Re-Inventing Government” recognition award.
- I was responsible for the design of the system configurations implemented, working with the various operating commands, and the creation of the contract language for placing delivery orders for non-standard system designs to the system suppliers. I was involved with aspects of the ruggedization and performance validation work for the systems at NCCOSC Topside in Point Loma. I worked directly for the Contracting Officer’s Tech Rep and with several contracting officers in the Pentagon and the Washington Navy Yard. I held a security clearance during my tenure, and the project ended for me when it was moved to another location in 1998.
Electronics Engineer
Genisco / Solaris Systems, Inc.
01.1991 - 01.1993
- While at Genisco, I was involved with the design team for high resolution military CRT monitor systems. These monitors were designed for both shipboard and airborne use; they were extremely rugged and reliable. Using the highest resolution cathode ray tubes then available, these monitors were invaluable for use in applications like missile targeting consoles, radar consoles, fire control consoles, and the like.
- I performed design and validation on a number of the subsystems in the monitors, like the high and low voltage power supplies, high bandwidth video amplifiers, multipoint pincushion correction processors for screen linearization, degaussing systems, and user interfaces.
Vice President / Senior Sales Engineer
Bestronics of San Diego
01.1982 - 01.1990
- At Bestronics, in my sales duties I was elevated from “sales rookie” to part owner (VP) and Senior Sales Engineer, where I was responsible for a senior sales territory including customers such as HP, NCR, TRW, GD, Hughes, SAIC and the like.
- I provided applications assistance to engineering customers during the design phase of a sale utilizing my own technical knowledge and that of my supporting manufacturer’s application engineers
- I negotiated major purchase agreements between customer’s contracting management and our represented manufacturers
- I sought out and acquired new representation agreements with component and system manufacturers for the firm
- I designed and maintained internal computer systems and software for our sales and marketing support
- I was corporate Vice President / Secretary and co-owner of the firm
Electronics Engineer
Cubic Communications
01.1978 - 01.1982
- At Cubic, I designed, prototyped, and validated communications subsystems for HF and VHF/UHF radio communications receivers, transmitters, power amplifiers, and power supplies
- I developed a microprocessor-based controller for the world’s first binary weighted lumped element automatic HF antenna tuner for vehicle and shipboard use.
- I designed high power tube and solid-state RF linear amplifiers
- I designed conventional linear and switch mode power supplies with RF friendly noise suppression for use with communications equipment
Electronics Engineer
Coded Communications
01.1978
- At Coded, I designed custom automatic production test equipment for a high volume consumer alarm product, commercial communications equipment accessories, and I maintained the production continuity of the Pride product line after Coded acquired Pride
Engineering Director
Pride Electronics
01.1976 - 01.1978
- At Pride, I designed high power solid state and tube type power amplifiers for RF and audio applications, RF frequency counters, and other communications accessories.
Shop Manager
Gary Radio
01.1974 - 01.1976
- I repaired and managed other repair technicians for communications equipment repair services and handled customer relations related to those services.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA05-1995
undefined
Mesa College
01.1978
Skills
- Embedded systems design
- Skilled in using simulation applications
- Digital signal processing
- Technical documentation expertise
- Electronic circuit design
- RF system design
- Analog circuit design
- Root-cause analysis
- Innovative equipment design
- Electrical safety compliance
- Sensors and actuators
- Digital circuit design
- Battery management
- Schematic design
- Lab testing
- Test equipment operation
- Troubleshooting
- Design implementation
- Component selection
- Electromagnetic compatibility
- System testing
- Hardware debugging
- Power electronics
- Schematics and drawings
- Product development
- Prototyping
- Problem-solving abilities
- Excellent communication
- Decision-making
- Self motivation
- Interpersonal skills
- Power distribution
- Risk assessment
- Written communication
- Regulatory compliance
- Hardware development
Affiliations
IEEE member
Interests
Timeline
Electronics design engineer consultant
The Engineering Shop
10.2024 - Current
Sr. Principal Engineer
Rhombus Energy Solutions
03.2015 - 10.2024
Director of Engineering
LHV Power Corp.
02.1999 - 02.2015
Director of Engineering
Pacifitek Systems
01.1998 - 01.1999
Sr. Systems Engineer
US Navy at SPAWAR
01.1993 - 01.1998
Electronics Engineer
Genisco / Solaris Systems, Inc.
01.1991 - 01.1993
Vice President / Senior Sales Engineer
Bestronics of San Diego
01.1982 - 01.1990
Electronics Engineer
Cubic Communications
01.1978 - 01.1982
Electronics Engineer
Coded Communications
01.1978
Engineering Director
Pride Electronics
01.1976 - 01.1978
Shop Manager
Gary Radio
01.1974 - 01.1976
undefined
Mesa College
Bachelor of Science - Electrical Engineering
San Diego State University
Hobbies and Interests
My interests include amateur radio (licensed 55 years now, >38yrs licensed as Extra Class), motorhome camping, dachshunds and other 4-legged creatures, gardening, and desert riding.
PATENTS
I am author or co-author on several patents applied for and granted. Published applications include 20080303505, Self-Tuning High Voltage Power Supply; 20080248669, High Voltage Electrical Connectors; 20080074904, Bipolar Power Supply System (granted US 7710745); and 20070298129, Selective Encapsulation of Electronic Components. Other patents granted include D495,586 and D492,575, both titled Printed Circuit Board Daughter Board Support. A number of other provisional patent applications are pending publication.
Licensed over 50 years for professional and amateur radio by the FCC
Have held First Class Radio FCC certification
Have been licensed over 50 years as Amateur Extra Class radio amateur
Similar Profiles
Cris DadisCris Dadis
Manager of operations at A1 Engineering Centre Machine ShopManager of operations at A1 Engineering Centre Machine Shop
Wenjia LiuWenjia Liu
Brand Development Manager&Live Stream Host at Shop ShopBrand Development Manager&Live Stream Host at Shop Shop
Arnel UmaliArnel Umali
Online Seller at AE Musical Instruments Shop And EA Toys ShopOnline Seller at AE Musical Instruments Shop And EA Toys Shop
Rubi TorresRubi Torres
Bottle Server at BAD Brunch After DarkBottle Server at BAD Brunch After Dark
Ahmed Al HadeethiAhmed Al Hadeethi
Change Oil Service at Technician, Network ServicesChange Oil Service at Technician, Network Services