Rejoining some ex-Google colleagues to take another stab at long-distance laser communications, this time with even faster data rates and more advanced technology.

Freelance consulting on embedded systems, and working on independent projects in the smart-device space.

Apollo Fusion, now acquired by Astra Space, makes Hall-effect thrusters (ion engines) for satellites, and I'm their primary firmware engineer, writing embedded code to run on a special radiation-hardened processor. Several ASE thrusters are already running in orbit, with hundreds more in the pipeline for multiple high-profile aerospace customers.

Design work on an inter-satellite laser communication terminal for Hedron's planned low-latency orbital backhaul service, with a focus on the precision beam-tracking system.

I just can't get away from high-altitude balloons. Delivered a proof-of-concept prototype for a new project they were considering.

Assisted my former team at Loon with some of their advanced R&D projects, such as building a thermal camera system for in-flight temperature measurements across the balloon envelope.

I worked on Project Loon in Google X, which aims to bring the internet to underserved populations via a fleet of high-altitude balloons. In addition to contributing to some of the more experimental efforts on the project, I was the Tech Lead for the free-space optical communications team, building a high-speed network in the stratosphere with laser beams.Our successful test flights have been covered by Wired: http://www.wired.com/2016/02/google-shot-laser-60-miles-just-send-copy-real-genius/And we're also featured in a recent Loon marketing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEC0G2HbuiE

Worked on Project Loon in Google X as the Tech Lead of the laser communications team.

During this period my roles included:* Tech Lead for a carrier-syndicated search project in the mobile division, managing a microcosm of Google's web-search infrastructure to find ringtones and other content for partner portals* A rotation as Site Reliability Engineer for Google's data storage infrastructure* Engineer on Project Glass in Google X, building some of the early prototypes, including a lead role on the little-known Lennon device: http://wcc.gatech.edu/exhibition#consumer * Engineer on Project Loon in Google X, working on avionics hardware and software as well as laser communication prototypes

Developed testing software infrastructure and provided quality assurance in Google's mobile division, working on a carrier-syndicated search project.