Michael OConnor
Engineering Technician
Sterling,Virginia
Summary
Engineering Technician
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
3
3
Certificates
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Engineer
TeleSystems International Corp.
Gaithersburg, Maryland
07.1992 - 08.2003
- Planning, acquisition, fabrication, integration, and test on RF/IF equipment and digital encoder/decoder (MPEG 1 and 2) systems on console and vertical racks, including NOC stations. System integration, on-site installation, and component/system performance tests for implementation of satellite-based TV program and data relay and distribution networks, including base stations, receive stations, and SNG vehicles. Write test reports, test plans, test procedures, user manuals, technical manuals and technical drawings (AutoCAD and other drawing software) for satellite communications products and cable TV systems including installation, operation, maintenance, and network management. Perform hardware/software configurations, functional and performance tests of RF/IF uplink/downlink and digital video compression equipment. After all tests are completed, break equipment down for overseas shipment for turnkey delivery upon completion of on-site installation and acceptance test. Supervise one or two employees.
- Network administration of Novell and Windows NT LAN and perform hardware/software configurations on computers and all peripherals and networking equipment, including software installations.
- Wrote and maintained a program (C++) to implement a new test method that automates long-term testing without user intervention, thus saving time and money while making test results more accurate.
- Worked as a contractor representing TeleSystems International for Orbital Sciences Corporation (located in Dulles, Virginia) on a 5-month assignment to provide technical support for the Indostar project in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1998. The statement of work included: CAKRAWARTA-1 (satellite) TTC&M system maintenance, logistics, and other tasks related to installation and maintenance of systems including the Master Central Station, a TV programs broadcasting uplink/downlink facility.
- Company moved to Milpitas, CA
Electronics Technician
Aerotek
Baltimore, Maryland
11.1992 - 04.1993
- Technical support for SFA, Inc., in Landover, Maryland, on a long-term temporary contractual assignment for R&D on a prototype product which locates vehicles by radio to a geographical location within 5 to 20 feet. Construction techniques in RF circuits with surface-mount components employed.
- 6-month short term assignment
Senior Development Technician
Fairchild Space Company
Germantown, Maryland
02.1984 - 01.1992
- Aide to the Engineering Department to build, integrate, test, and document test results of prototype breadboard circuits for development and eventual deployment in satellites. Build, integrate and test various test equipment including equipment racks for use in testing satellites and prototypes. Troubleshoot to component level during the testing process. Area of development: power converters, special power systems designed to improve satellite power efficiency, and other various circuits. Integration, acceptance test, and troubleshooting to discrete component level all satellite ground support equipment. Supervise temporary technical workers.
- Write and maintain specialized accounting software for Engineering Development Lab to keep track of all expenditures of parts, tools, equipment acquisition and services from vendors.
- Company acquired by Orbital Sciences, Dulles, VA; no longer exists
Electronics Technician
Eurotherm Corp.
Reston, Virginia
08.1981 - 12.1983
- Calibrate and repair as necessary electronic temperature controllers/programmers, modify to non-standard specifications, build test sets.
- Occasionally worked in the Repair Department.
Education
Associate of Arts - Computer Science
Montgomery Community College
Germantown, MD 08.1985 - 05.1988
Associate of Arts - Basic Electronics
Vocational Rehabilitation Center
Baltimore, MD 08.1981 - 06.1982
Skills
Pascal, C/C, Assembler, C Sharp, ADA, HTML, HP-IB language (Agilent/Hewlett-Packard equipment)
Proficiency in doubly-linked lists using pointers, circular or end to end
VAX/VMS and tape backup, PC/MS-DOS/UNIX/Red Hat Linux/All Windows OS versions including Windows 10, full suite of Microsoft Office software, AutoCAD, Orcad, LAN maintenance and administration, LAN and workstation hardware/software installation (both automatic and manual) and setup configuration, Ethernet wiring with switches and routers, wireless routers, network address assignment with subnet masks, equipment monitor and control using RS232 and RS485 interfaces, servers, print servers, computers, LANs, peripheral equipment, discrete computer components such as hard drives and video adapters
Experienced in troubleshooting systems and circuits
Strong technical writing skills
Technically oriented, electro-mechanically inclined
Accomplishments
- Used Microsoft Excel to easily plot test performance charts
- Wrote and maintained a program (C++) to implement a new test method that automates long-term testing without user intervention, thus saving time and money while making test results more accurate
- Wrote and maintained specialized accounting software (Pascal) for the Engineering Development Lab to keep track of all expenditures of parts, tools, equipment acquisition, and services from vendors
- Improved a circuit design that was failing a performance specification during equipment rack certification (specifically, squelched the ringing in the one-shot pulse signal)
- Supervised team of two staff members and temporary workers
- Author of “Let Your Finger Do The Flying” article, published in the Star-Dot-Star column of the PC World Magazine in December, 1990, issue
Certification
Fairchild Certificate of Training, IPC-S-815, superseded by IPC J-STD-001, 2/10/1989
Timeline
Certified Forklift Training - 3 years
03-2026
Electronics Technician
Aerotek
11.1992 - 04.1993
Engineer
TeleSystems International Corp.
07.1992 - 08.2003
Fairchild Certificate of Training, ESD Awareness, 5/12/1989
05-1989
Fairchild Certificate of Training, IPC-S-815, superseded by IPC J-STD-001, 2/10/1989
02-1989
Associate of Arts - Computer Science
Montgomery Community College
08.1985 - 05.1988
Senior Development Technician
Fairchild Space Company
02.1984 - 01.1992
Electronics Technician
Eurotherm Corp.
08.1981 - 12.1983
Associate of Arts - Basic Electronics
Vocational Rehabilitation Center
08.1981 - 06.1982
Past Experience Summary
- Technical Writer/Technical Specialist/Senior Electronics Technician/Engineering Technician with experience in multi-faceted system integration, test and installation of RF/IF uplink/downlink satellite and/or broadcasting station equipment and spacecraft ground support equipment (GSE) and related components, including test results documentation with charts, test procedures, and technical manuals with drawings/images, and software/hardware configuration of equipment in telecommunications and electronics industries. AutoCAD/OrCAD. Windows NT LAN administrator. Programmer using Pascal, C++, and Assembler. Twenty-two years aggregate experience.
- Technically oriented, electro-mechanically inclined, strong writing skills and experienced in troubleshooting systems and circuits. Demonstrated potential to create and implement technical solutions to problems.
Test Equipment
All test equipment including but not limited to:
- Spectrum Analyzers (including Group Delay measurement software)
- Network Analyzers
- Logic Analyzers
- Transmission Test Set
- Video Measurement Set (Tektronix VM700)
- Network Probe 7050
- BERT equipment
- EPROM programming equipment
- Thermotron environmental test chambers.
Satellite transmission equipment and other equipment include:
- Up/Downconverters
- LNAs and LNBs
- Frequency Translators
- Multiplexers
- TWTAs
- Modulators (QPSK and BPSK)
- Digital Video/Audio/Data Encoders
- integrated Receiver Decoders (IRD and PIRD)
- Telemetry Receivers
- Bit Sync Generators and Receivers
- Video A/D and D/A Converters (D1 and D2)
- Audio A/D and D/A Converters (AES/EBU)
- GPS Receivers
- Single-board CDMA Modems
- Redundancy Switches for LNAs, Modulators, Up/Downconverters and TWTAs
- Motorized Parabolic Antenna Feed Systems
- Antenna Controllers
- Satellite Beacon Tracking Receivers
- Uplink Power Control Systems
- Dual IF Attenuators
- Dual IF Equalizers
- Monitor and Control Systems
- VDAs and ADAs
- Various video/audio/spectrum monitoring equipment
- Sony BetaCam tape player/recorder
- Computers, LANs, hubs, and peripheral equipment.
Specialized Training
Satellite Communications Technology
Digital Video Compression Training
Spectrum Analyzer Basics Seminar
Software Configuration and Programming
Basic Electronics and Advanced Troubleshooting
Soldering Techniques Training per military specification
ESD Training
Awards
Fairchild Five Year Service Recognition Award, 2/02/1989
Fairchild Publication Award, December 1990
NASA Group Achievement Award, 3/27/1992