Aaron Curtis Email & Phone Number

Rancho Cordova, California, United States

After a flattening of the Engineering Department's structure, I am now focused solely on Product Management functions of my previous role. Afforded more focus on these responsibilities, I now run a newly developed PDLC process and associated documentation, more closely coordinate sales, engineering, production and marketing activities around product development. I perform market research, develop business case and scope documents used to green-light new development efforts, develop project… Show more After a flattening of the Engineering Department's structure, I am now focused solely on Product Management functions of my previous role. Afforded more focus on these responsibilities, I now run a newly developed PDLC process and associated documentation, more closely coordinate sales, engineering, production and marketing activities around product development. I perform market research, develop business case and scope documents used to green-light new development efforts, develop project plans and perform high-level project management. I work closely with members of corporate senior leadership to align product to company goals/initiatives. Show less

Rancho Cordova, California, United States

As Director of Product Development I have multiple roles, but my mandate is to grow sales of Tri Tool's standard (non-custom) products, primarily through ensuring our products solve problems and address pain points of our customers. In this position I am involved in customer outreach, product management, marketing and project management, while supervising an engineering and technical writing staff dedicated to standard product. Daily tasks can include conducting market research, leading… Show more As Director of Product Development I have multiple roles, but my mandate is to grow sales of Tri Tool's standard (non-custom) products, primarily through ensuring our products solve problems and address pain points of our customers. In this position I am involved in customer outreach, product management, marketing and project management, while supervising an engineering and technical writing staff dedicated to standard product. Daily tasks can include conducting market research, leading product design/research activities, developing technical documentation, reviewing product compliance, coordinating marketing materials, establishing departmental procedures, ensuring production support, evaluating current product for cost reduction, etc. Show less

Rancho Cordova, Ca

As part of considerable leadership/departmental restructuring, my department was eliminated. Now reporting directly to the newly appointed VP of Engineering, my role of Principal Electrical Engineer was to advise on, oversee and implement electrical and software aspects of new product designs.Projects/achievements:- Redesigned previous work on Tri Tool's unreleased AdaptArc welding wire preheat system (Hotwire). Previously designed circuitry and firmware was set aside and a… Show more As part of considerable leadership/departmental restructuring, my department was eliminated. Now reporting directly to the newly appointed VP of Engineering, my role of Principal Electrical Engineer was to advise on, oversee and implement electrical and software aspects of new product designs.Projects/achievements:- Redesigned previous work on Tri Tool's unreleased AdaptArc welding wire preheat system (Hotwire). Previously designed circuitry and firmware was set aside and a method was devised to utilize a revised version of existing hardware to significantly reduce development time and production expenses. New firmware was written from scratch on this platform with added features while better integrating with standard system design structure/framework for better design cohesion/easier maintenance.- Designed electrical system, electronics and firmware (in tandem with our Staff Software Engineer) for a single point counter-bore system prototype for a customer in Japan. The electrical system consisted of a compact handheld operator pendant with color LCD display interfaced to an integrated stepper motor/controller and inductive proximity switch for RPM sensing.- Developed general purpose compact industrial control board (used in above project) and MQX RTOS board support package (BSP) for use on custom machining equipment.- Began work on a Weld Program Editor, to be used for customers to edit and create new weld programs used on the AdaptArc OrbitMaster product, utilizing C# (more specifically Windows Presentation Foundation [WPF]).- Miscellaneous complete custom machinery control systems were developed, including system schematics, harness drawings and software. Show less

Rancho Cordova

Additional responsibilities were added under the AdaptArc Technical Manager title. These responsibilities included managing/coordinating technical support, application engineering and demonstration activities for Tri Tool's AdaptArc mechanized orbital welding system product line.Projects/achievements:- Developed a multi-tiered orbital welding training program for internal/external customers.- Developed a weld time estimation worksheet good for all weld preps and processes.

Rancho Cordova, Ca

I managed and oversaw electrical/software engineering efforts on Tri Tool's AdaptArc product line. I was responsible for hiring/firing, employee development, process development and adherence, project management, etc... Obstacle removal, team member empowerment and high standards were key to what I did as a manager. Great improvements were made to software stability and development velocity by implementing clear software development procedures and documentation standards. Electrical… Show more I managed and oversaw electrical/software engineering efforts on Tri Tool's AdaptArc product line. I was responsible for hiring/firing, employee development, process development and adherence, project management, etc... Obstacle removal, team member empowerment and high standards were key to what I did as a manager. Great improvements were made to software stability and development velocity by implementing clear software development procedures and documentation standards. Electrical design/production documentation were standardized and associated development tools updated.I was a hands-on manager, utilizing my software and electrical engineering skills to assist with and review work of my employees as well as regularly working in a technical capacity on design and implementation of both hardware (PCBs, system design, wiring harnesses, etc...) and firmware/software (Real-Time firmware in C/C++ & .NET applications in C#).Projects/achievements:- Pushed the AdaptArc welding system into production.- Implemented regular one-on-one meetings and periodic department meetings with team members.- Implemented new issue tracking system (Jira) and created policy and associated documentation.- Implemented revision control policy (Git) and associated documentation.- Member of new company-wide ERP system implementation core team.- Participated in company-wide strategic planning off-site meetings.- Designed and personally fully implemented complete redesign of GTAW hotwire control.- Designed and supervised implementation of automatic heat input calculation feature of welding system.- Designed and supervised/participated in implementation of automatic MIG torch height feature of welding system.- Supervised and participated in design of Pipe End Matching software.- Supervised and participated in design and implementation of Laser Dimensioning System.- Designed and supervised proof-of-concept implementation of next generation welding control system. Show less

Rancho Cordova, Ca

As part of Tri Tool’s AdaptArc development team, my responsibilities included schematic capture and PCB design, wiring harness and PCB assembly drawings and software/firmware development. Hired on after the departure of the previous EE at the time of a massive push for product release, it was my immediate responsibility to troubleshoot EMC issues of the product as well as piece together, organize and create documentation pertaining to the electrical hardware of the product.Due to my… Show more As part of Tri Tool’s AdaptArc development team, my responsibilities included schematic capture and PCB design, wiring harness and PCB assembly drawings and software/firmware development. Hired on after the departure of the previous EE at the time of a massive push for product release, it was my immediate responsibility to troubleshoot EMC issues of the product as well as piece together, organize and create documentation pertaining to the electrical hardware of the product.Due to my diverse experience and expertise, and the large number of software issues looming, I was moved to work on software bugs and feature development, helping to interview for an additional Senior Electrical Engineer dedicated solely to electrical tasks.In summer of 2010 I moved to Atlanta to attain my Master's in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, I continued to work on Tri Tool software development part-time under my own supervision with minimal direction from the main office.Projects/achievements:- Resolved numerous EMC issues with the AdaptArc OrbitMaster orbital welding control system.- Revised PCBs to incorporate desired modifications/fixes.- Overhauled/corrected all PCB documentation formatting and content.- Corrected numerous critical firmware issues.- Proactively rewrote all motion control routines after extensive requirements gathering and documentation. Resulted in enhanced system stability and dramatic reduction in bug reports.- Implemented a complete 'resume' feature, allowing system to be halted mid weld and restarted.- Performed extensive diagnostics, bug fixes and minor redesign of existing, but unreleased GTAW hotwire (filler wire preheating) system.- Completed implementation of GMAW and GMAW-P processes for the welding controller.- Performed tuning of PI loops for motor controllers. Show less

Sacramento, Ca

My primary role at the company was to work with company officers and management to help determine requirements and specifications that I then utilized to develop circuit board and associated firmware for new projects. Working with minimal supervision I met strict deadlines with high quality products following their release and integration into the company's existing product line with engineering, production and field support where necessary. Projects/achievements:- Principal… Show more My primary role at the company was to work with company officers and management to help determine requirements and specifications that I then utilized to develop circuit board and associated firmware for new projects. Working with minimal supervision I met strict deadlines with high quality products following their release and integration into the company's existing product line with engineering, production and field support where necessary. Projects/achievements:- Principal designer/developer the EZ-Link control system. System consisted of 4 circuit boards, each with unique firmware running on a 16 bit Microchip PIC microcontroller.- Principal designer/developer of the Super-Group, a multi-bank elevator coordinating system.- Redesign of the "SDI" PVF controller, utilizing CPLD to reduce stacked dual PCB design to one single sided PCB without increasing footprint.- Principal designer/developer of the "Groupless Group" a decentralized, distributed dispatching elevator controller.- Initial hardware design/development of the Pixel controller utilizing NXP ARM7 microcontroller and uC/OS-II RTOS with LCD display (left the company before project completion).- Maintained code of the "P8" controller (Zilog Z182 assembly) for elevator and group controller products. Show less

Rohnert Park, Ca

Masterwork Electronics is a contract electronics manufacturer that offered design assistance and review to its customers. My primary role at the company was to utilize specifications developed through consultation with customers and company officers to develop products typically geared towards, but not limited to, the vending machine industry. Projects/achievements:- Developed text and graphical versions of a Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) module. I designed a novel SoC… Show more Masterwork Electronics is a contract electronics manufacturer that offered design assistance and review to its customers. My primary role at the company was to utilize specifications developed through consultation with customers and company officers to develop products typically geared towards, but not limited to, the vending machine industry. Projects/achievements:- Developed text and graphical versions of a Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) module. I designed a novel SoC contolled switching power supply design, leveraging analog blocks in the SoC to reduce parts count.- Developed PCB, firmware and enclosure of a proprietary electronic cooler thermostat for a major soft drink company, meeting strict price and performance criteria.- Developed a new vending machine 'drop sensor' system utilizing IR LEDs.- Developed a novel metal detecting sensor for detection of retracted hose nozzle in unique vacuum operated vending machine.- Redesigned a vending machine controller for a customer based on provided crude initial design and requirements.- Maintained software for miscellaneous vending machine software, both RTOS and cyclic executive based. Show less

Msece, Electrical And Computer Engineering

Bs, Computer Engineering

Activities and Societies: Tau Beta Pi, Upsilon Pi Epsilon