Professional Experience

SparkFun Electronics, Boulder, CO
SparkX R&D Engineer, Jan 2018 - Present
Develop new, innovative products at SparkX. Works closely with other SparkX employees to collaboratively formulate, vet, prioritize, and help successfully execute on product ideas. Ideate and develop original products in a heavily self-directed environment incorporating aspects of circuit design, circuit layout, parts sourcing, assembly, firmware, and software development.

• Design and capture circuit layouts using both EAGLE and KiCAD.
• Design and prototype mechanical components using a variety of tools and processes including modeling in Fusion360, laser cutting, CNC milling and 3D printing.
• Develop firmware and software libraries to support new hardware devices.
• Source and vet electrical components from foreign and domestic vendors.
• Build devices using tools and techniques including automated pick-and-place, solder stenciling, hand placement and hand soldering.
• Test and package new devices, including the development of test software and procedures.
• Create and maintain documentation and resources pertaining to new devices.
• Full Stack Development of Web-Based Products using JS/JQuery, CSS, HTML5, NodeJS, MongoDB, Nginx, express, and other modern web technologies.
• Develop mobile software products using frameworks such as Xamarin.
• Develop desktop and kiosk software products using frameworks such as NWJS, Electron, and BenjaOS.

SparkFun Electronics, Boulder, CO
Creative Technologist, April 2013 - Jan 2018
A key member of the Marketing Communications team responsible for creating and documenting original electronic projects that highlight key products and foundational concepts, as well as developing useful how-to and promotional content in a variety of media.

• Created original demo projects on a weekly release schedule.
• Scripted and performed video content.
• Developed and Fabricated large demo projects for collaborations and special events.
• Represented SparkFun at events and speaking engagements.
• Informed marketing strategy as a technical ambassador and customer advocate.

SparkFun Electronics, Boulder, CO
Catalog Assistant, March 2011 - April 2013
Prepare web catalog entries for up to a dozen or more new product releases per week including original product descriptions and tutorials as well as compiled support documents such as datasheets, schematics, and manufacturer resources. Assist with pricing and purchasing decisions. Sunset catalog entries for retired and end-of-life products.

• Composed over 700 unique product descriptions over 2 years.
• Designed and built product demonstrations for photo and video.
• Hepled to create the position of Creative Technologist.

Skills

Fabrication

I’ve spent most of my life learning how to take the things in my head and make them real and tangible. I’m proud of the wide range of fabrication techniques that I’ve learned and that I’m able to regularly exercise in materials including woods, metals, resins and plastics, composites — such as fiberglass and carbon fiber — concrete, glass, and fabrics. My personal tool collection rivals many makerspaces and includes basic power tools, woodworking tools — such as my ShopSmith combination tool — metal fabrication tools — such as grinders, benders, shears, torches, and welders — rapid prototyping equipment including a large 80W CO2 Laser Cutter, a desktop CNC router and a 3D Printer, as well as tools for electronic assembly — like my Manncorp automated pick-and-place machine and my 5 zone solder reflow oven. This extensive (and growing) tool collection gives me the ability to very quickly and easily realize the objects and machines that I design.

• Woodworking including carving, carpentry, framing, lathe turning and furniture construction
• Metal Fabrication including casting, bending, soldering/brazing, MIG welding and CNC machining
• Sewing including flat pattern making, draping, garment construction, furniture and auto upholstery
• Basic concrete casting
• CAD/CAM for Laser Cutters, 3D Printers and CNC Mills
• Resin and rubber casting, moldmaking and composite material lamination with fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber
• Acrylic and Polycarbonate cutting and bending
• Vacuum Forming and Heat Draping in Polystyrene and HIPS
• Basic Construction including framing, drywall, putty, doors and windows
• Leatherwork including pattern making, punching, embossing, stitching and dyeing
• Electronic fabrication from chemical etching of copper clad board and hand soldering to paste stenciling and operation of automated pick-and-place equipment

Design

While I don’t have any formal training in graphic or web design, I’ve often been left to generate graphics, lettering, and illustrations for various projects. I follow industry publications for product and industrial design which are often the inspiration to learn new skills. I enjoy recognizing and emulating design aesthetics in my projects, especially when I get to design new elements within an existing motif. I am by no means a draftsman, but I can usually sketch well enough to illustrate my ideas.

• Proficient in design and illustration software including SketchUp, Fusion360, Inkscape, GIMP and Sculptris
• Working understanding of design principles such as color theory, alignment, balance and negative space
• Familiarity and Experience with a wide range art media and processes
• Ability to quickly capture hand-drawn designs in software for CAM
• Experience in logo and wordmark design/treatment
• Experience designing and delivering products with both hardware and software components complete with packaging, messaging, branding, and documentation.

Electronics Engineering

I am well versed in digital circuit design, schematic capture, and board layout of both 2- and 4-layer designs. I also have experience routing RF signals and implementing trace antenna designs. I have a working understanding of analog design theory although I work almost entirely in the digital domain. I have designed and implemented systems that control power loads from 3.3V logic to several amps of mains current. A large aspect of my career has been designing development boards and breakouts for digital devices with poor documentation from the vendor. I am comfortable with microcontroller programming and debugging hardware comm buses such as SPI and I2C.

• Proficient in schematic capture and layout using both Autodesk EAGLE and KiCAD
• Comfortable creating and maintaining device footprints and libraries
• Specialize in rapid hardware development and informal design review
• Circuit debugging using standard diagnostic tools such as logic analyzers, oscilloscopes and DMMs

Content Creation and Delivery

Documenting and sharing is second only to actually making a thing. During the course of my career I’ve written technical guides and tutorials, editorial and persuasive blog posts, and scripts for speaking engagements and video content. I love presenting to an audience whether live or recorded. I’ve featured in hours of YouTube content for SparkFun during my career but I also shoot and edit my own video content. I’m still working to improve my photography but I do own all of the basic equipment required to produce my own videos. I shoot with a combination of my smartphone camera and a Panasonic Lumix DSLR, capturing audio using a Zoom H1 field recorder and editing in DaVinci Resolve.

• Very experienced working under a tight production schedule
• Large portfolio of writing about technical subjects and maker culture
• Hours of pre-recorded and live video content
• Click here for a playlist of my SparkFun videos
• Click here for my personal YouTube channel
• Click here for a sample of my technical writing
• Click here for a sample of my editorial writing on tech issues
• Click here for a sample of my editorial writing on social issues in tech

Programming

My professional experience has necessitated that I acquire a wide swath of programming experience including embedded firmware and library development, as well as both desktop and mobile app development and full stack web development. I’ve also designed and implemented systems with both embedded and web components. Most of my software experience has been as a single, self-directed developer so my code collaboration and review experience is limited but it has forced me to find solutions to problems in a wide variety of domains. I’ve published dozens of open source code repositories for web, embedded and mobile projects.

• Firmware development in C++, C# and Arduino for AVR and ARM platforms
• Desktop software development in JS using frameworks including NWJS and Electron
• Very comfortable in JS and Python, happy with C++, working familiarity with Visual Basic and C#
• Mobile development in C# and AXML using the Xamarin framework
• Full stack web development with client side solutions in JS/JQuery/CSS/HTML5 and NodeJS/Express/MongoDB/Nginx backend
• Unconventional solutions - I once implemented serial over PCM using WebAudio to configure hardware from a mobile web app using the headphone jack

Interpersonal Skills and Experience

Working in a growing small company for over a decade — many years of which were spent in a fast-paced video production environment — has given me the opportunity to meet interpersonal challenges in a way that’s professional without being bureaucratic. I’ve also been an active moderator in the comments section of SparkFun’s blog and YouTube videos. Throughout my career I’ve been considered a sort of cultural touchstone, not in a gatekeeping capacity but as a cheerleader for the best parts of maker/hacker culture. To that end, I’ve also had the chance to teach classes to groups of all ages and give talks at all kinds of events about the importance of making things. When appropriate, my career has also given me a platform to advocate for political and social causes that I think are important such as data privacy, right to repair and acceptance of women and queers in tech. Finally, it’s been my privilege to help mentor several engineering interns during my time as a developer and I enjoy being able to share what I’ve learned both technically and culturally.

• Public Speaking and Instruction
• Conflict Mediation and Resolution
• Comment Moderation and Community Management
• Political and Social Advocacy
• Mentorship

Events and Outreach

Hackaday Superconference 2022
Speaker, “DIY Vacuum Tubes: How Hard Could It Be?​”

On the main stage at Superconference 2022, I demonstrated a working handmade vacuum diode and discussed the processes and tooling that I developed in the process.

A recording of my session can be found here

Open Metrology 2022
Speaker, “MEMS Measurements for the Masses”

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to speak during the first Open Metrology conference hosted at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms with support from NIST. My talk touched on basic MEMS construction and theory of operation while focusing on the current retail offerings in the MEMS component market.

A recording of my session can be found here

Hackaday Superconference 2019
Speaker, “Boggling the Boardhouse​ - Designing 3D Structures […] from PCBs​”

At Superconference 2019 I shared some techniques for making backlit button pads and even rotary encoders from FR4 as well as tips for panelizing model-building kits and the finer points of PCB joinery.

A recording of my session can be found here

SXSW 2018
Speaker, “Skimmer Scammer - Reverse Engineering Credit Theft”

After we were approached by local law enforcement to help reverse engineer gas pump credit card skimmers, I was given the opportunity to attend SXSW and discuss how we forensically tore down a handful of skimmers, what we learned, and how to prevent future skimmers from functioning.

A recording of my session can be found here.

SXSW 2015
Game Organizer

I designed and ran an interactive scavenger hunt game using custom badge hardware in the maker tent at SXSW Create in 2015. Visitors were encouraged to solder their own hardware badge and then visit our partners at the festival and pair the badges with each partner’s “badge station” to collect points which they could exchange for SparkFun credit.

Maker Faire

Maker Faire is my favorite annual event and I always look forward to seeing what people have been working on. I’ve traveled to several of the larger Maker Faires with SparkFun as both an instructor and a brand ambassador. For the last two years, I’ve been attending the Bay Area Maker Faire representing my personal brand.

• Bay Area 2012
• Bay Area 2013
• New York 2014
• NoCo Mini 2015
• Denver 2017
• Bay Area 2018
• Bay Area 2019

Automated Vehicle Competition, annual from 2011 to 2018

Every year until 2019, SparkFun invited everyone to their Colorado headquarters to attend a robotics competition that became a hardcore nerd tradition for many brilliant hobbyists. I worked for the event in various capacities over the years — including one year when I competed with my own robot.

SparkFun National Education Tour, Midwestern Leg
Roaming Instructor, 2013

In the summer of 2013, I lived in an RV for a few weeks with three of my coworkers and drove across the midwest visiting schools, community centers, libraries and makerspaces to teach a variety of electronics workshops.

Media

Skimmer Scanner Android App

Alvarez, Eric. “Watch out for Bluetooth Credit Card Skimmers This Holiday Season.”
WZTV, fox17.com/news/local/watch-out-for-bluetooth-credit-card-skimmers-this-holiday-season

“Colorado Company Creates App That Will Detect Credit Card Skimmers.”
PHL17.Com, 18 Mar. 2019, phl17.com/2019/03/18/colorado-company-creates-app-that-will-detect-credit-card-skimmers/

Conger, Joe. “Gas Pump Skimming.”
WOAI, news4sanantonio.com/news/local/gas-pump-skimming

Greene. “Someone Finally Made an App to Detect Credit Card Skimmers at the Gas Pump.”
The Next Web, 22 Sept. 2017, thenextweb.com/apps/2017/09/20/heres-how-to-stop-criminals-from-stealing-your-credit-card-info-at-the-gas-pump/

“Technology Aims to Reduce Card Skimming at Gas Pumps.”
Spectrumlocalnews.com, spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2017/11/01/developing-technology-to-reduce-credit-card-skimming-at-gas-pumps

Whittaker, Zack. “This New App Can Protect You from Credit Card Skimmers.”
ZDNet, 22 Sept. 2017, www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-app-can-detect-wireless-credit-card-skimmers-at-gas-pumps/

3D Printed Pokédex smartphone case

Cranz, Alex. “This DIY Pokedex Battery Case Is the Pokémon Go Accessory You Have Been Waiting For.”
Gizmodo, 18 July 2016, gizmodo.com/this-diy-pokedex-battery-case-is-the-pokemon-go-accesso-1783844928

Lee, Dami. “This Pokédex Battery Case Will Help You Become the Pokémon Master You Were Born to Be.”
The Verge, 18 July 2016, www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/7/18/12217116/pokemon-go-pokedex-diy-battery-case

Miller, Marissa. “There’s Already a Battery-Charging Pokédex Phone Case.”
Teen Vogue, 26 May 2017, www.teenvogue.com/story/pokedex-phone-case-pokemon-go-diy-battery-charging

Morby, Alice. “Five Products Already Designed for PokémonGO.”
Dezeen, 21 Nov. 2017, www.dezeen.com/2016/07/19/five-products-design-pokemon-go-roundup-technology-accessories/

Plunkett, Luke. “Pokédex Battery Case Is The Most Authentic Way To Play Pokémon Go.”
Kotaku, 19 July 2016, kotaku.com/pokedex-battery-case-is-the-most-authentic-way-to-play-1783827362

Wong, Raymond. “3D-Printed Pokédex for Playing ‘Pokémon Go’ Has Built-in Battery.”
Mashable, 18 July 2016, mashable.com/2016/07/18/3d-printed-pokedex-pokemon-go/

Other Media Mentions

“The Inventern Spotlight: Nick Poole’s Rad Robotic Spider.” Tested,
www.tested.com/inventern/458649-inventern-spotlight-nick-pooles-rad-robotic-spider/

Giancaspro, Dave. “5 Questions for SparkFun’s Engineering Roundtable.”
Wired, Conde Nast, 15 Jan. 2018, www.wired.com/2012/08/sparkfun-engineering-roundtable/

Watkin , Hanna. “3D Printed Tattoo Machine: Don’t Try This at Home?”
All3DP, 18 Aug. 2016, all3dp.com/3d-printed-tattoo-machine/

“Incourage Sparks Teens’ Interest in Technology.”
Incourage, 1 Sept. 2015, incouragecf.org/news-media/press-releases/incourage-sparks-teens-interest-in-technology/

“Logic Gates Modeled With Dominos | Make:”
Make, 13 Dec. 2012, makezine.com/2012/12/12/logic-gates-modeled-with-dominos/