Andrew Katon Email & Phone Number

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

I transitioned into this dynamic role following the completion of a 1-year startup accelerator program. Tapping into my personal entrepreneurial experience, I assist others in building and growing their companies and collaborate on wide range of engineering projects, introducing new initiatives, assisting with product challenges, and streamlining program structures. KEY HIGHLIGHTS* Drafted the playbook for initial project initiation, prototyped service offerings, and disseminated startup knowledge through weekly workshops on manifold topics such as product engineering, manufacturing, and financial modeling. * Saved $400K while elevating brand awareness by building and negotiating strategic partnerships based on prior connections and alliances with preeminent multinational corporations like Dassault Systems and Markforged.

Here, I excelled at providing hands-on operational support and guidance to hardware and robotics clients at all stages of innovation and reinvention across diverse sectors, including aerospace, telecommunications, medical device, and consumer products. I bridged skill gaps, expedited progress, and scaled businesses with front-end and back-end programming, testing, debugging, low-to-mid-volume manufacturing, controls, and systems design / source / build. KEY HIGHLIGHTS* Managed 12 projects simultaneously, propelling sole proprietorship from 0 to $100K+ run rate within only 6 months.* Designed, manufactured, and launched 100+ new products, including avant-garde semiconductor technology.

As principal of this organization I founded, I negotiated partnerships with Fortune 500 vendors and early adopters. I also recruited staff, leading a cross-functional team comprised of 4 engineers and 3 contractors through commercial development program, and communicated with investors, managing a multimillion-dollar budget. KEY HIGHLIGHTS* Built advanced, large-format 3D printer with embedded Al prototype for viscous thermoplastics voxel deposition, potentially saving footwear industry 90% time by printing shoes in hours compared to 24-month manufacturing process. * Proved product market fit, achieving greater than $5M revenue pipeline from committed clients. * Drafted federal grant proposals with $300K+ in awarded contracts from 3 federal agencies. * Pitched and marketed at VC events, such as the Rapid + TCT Additive Manufacturing Conference in Orlando, FL, and West Coast Venture Summit in San Francisco, CA. * Raised $1M capital based on strategic, significant, and lasting alliances established throughout tenure of career.* Manufactured closed-loop MI-IAI control in Python and C++ within Linux and Windows environments.* Slashed product development time by 50% with enterprise-wide project management system.* Celebrated early revenue of more than $250K in year 1 with global IP portfolio spanning US, Europe, and China.

Here, I designed technology for the aerospace company, developing solutions to increase process efficiency and troubleshooting issues in production. I performed manufacturing process optimization utilizing root cause analysis and feedback sensors to reduce variability to modify existing programmable logic controllers (PLC). Additionally, I quantified durability and verified compliance. KEY HIGHLIGHTS* Catapulted profit margins by 30% with streamlined solution to reduce human hours required to build and manufacture high-gas turbine jet engines. * Achieved 99% time saved by detecting and analyzing inconsistencies in manual labor processes, leading to automation of defect-prone tasks and significantly increasing production capacity.

In this role, I conducted extensive research and development (R&D) of rotational molding processes and component designs for canoes and kayaks. KEY HIGHLIGHTS* Executed material and component testing in accordance with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and company standards. * Leveraged statistical results to optimize process recipes and refine all PLC controls.