Jared Drinkwater Email & Phone Number

Greater Seattle Area

Leading teams in the development of complex hardware devices within the technology space of both virtual and augmented reality. Working cross-functionally to deliver systems that combine novel mechanical components, complex electrical systems, ground breaking optics and display technologies, new sensor development, challenging human factors and ergonomic considerations, while glued together with bleeding edge machine perception and software work. And making that all work within extreme budgets of: size, weight, power and cost.- Led the Seattle based hardware engineering team from prototype concept work through production of the Oculus Rift CV1 VR headset. - Driven concept development and system analysis of a variety of VR and AR headsets within the Oculus Product team and the Facebook Reality Labs Research team.- Strong hands-on understanding of deploying complex technology stacks in the headset and glasses form factors. Well versed in system tradeoffs and what works in limited prototypes vs product use.- In depth understanding of the technologies required to deliver high quality AR/VR experiences: display and optics, eye and face tracking, positional tracking, hand tracking, body tracking, audio capture and delivery, machine perception, depth sensing, graphics rendering etc. Familiar with how these map to mobile design vs PC connected designs.- Strong background in ergonomics and human factors and how various hardware designs interact with a variety of users. Created the initial benchmarks and targets related to headset design within the engineering groups.- Skilled at technology maturity assessments, cost estimates, risk profiles and development timelines associated with bringing technology out of research and into shipping products.- Team leader as both a direct manager and within virtual or matrixed organizations. Strong leadership and organizational skills within the hardware engineering discipline.

My spare time: designing and building stuff. This is my way of staying engaged in hands on engineering projects while focusing on leadership and management roles at my primary job. I get to work on exactly the projects I want and build everything myself. My personal shop has evolved into a full function prototyping lab with metal fabrication capability including CNC machining, TIG welding, plasma cutting, etc. From ideas to products - while taking breaks to mow the lawn. Projects have included: (check out binaryeng Instagram account)- Race car parts for Lancer EVO's and BMW M3's.- CFD Designed compensators for competitive shooting applications, along with other gunsmithing parts.- Novel Red Dot sight design including optics, PCB fabrication, and a variety of field tested prototypes.- Custom pocket knives including a novel locking mechanism and user interface.- Custom watch.

Greater Seattle Area

Personally drove the creation of World-Class hardware prototyping and model shop capability at Facebook after the Oculus and Carbon Design Group acquisition. Did this as a "2nd job" while leading the Seattle based hardware development team of the Rift CV1 headset. Built out brand new labs/shops in the Oculus Seattle office and Facebook MPK location. Key player in the selection of office space which could suit normal business needs while allowing for a full CNC shop is be created alongside the engineering and design teams. Established the equipment, team, and processes which allow for industry leading velocity in quick-turn prototype iteration. - Selection of all machine shop equipment and capabilities: 3, 4, and 5 Axis CNC's including pallet changers and automation, Mill-Turn CNC, 3D printers (FDM, Polyjet, SLS, MJF), waterjet, lasers.- Developed hands on knowledge of 5 Axis machining in a prototyping environment. Audited all major CAM software solutions and created a suite of SW tools available for a variety of specific needs. In depth knowledge of machine tool builders, control systems, work holding and fixturing.- Design of shop spaces for high efficiency and proximity to engineering teams. Dedicated lab for ID team with more manual tools used for model making. Dedicated prototype assembly lab with mini "proto-line" and archive storage. Dedicated EE and test labs.- Creation of the Softgoods lab and expertise within the engineering organization. Hired key Softgoods lead and built out in-house prototyping of softgoods components.- Creation of the intake process, order que and communication methods to the supported engineering and design teams. Establishment of external vendors and outsourcing partners in order to create dynamic capacity and round out the offerings available to the teams.- Hired a shop manager so I could return to full-time Hardware Systems Architecture work.

Seattle, Washington, United States

Managing the cross-functional development of cool products in the consumer, medical, and industrial markets. Merging award winning design with ground breaking engineering. Helping clients projects deliver the product they need and the public wants. Doing project manager stuff like: keeping things on-time, in budget, within scope, meeting requirements, and talking about this new awesome thing you did in microsoft excel while wearing brown shoes.- Managed the engineering and design efforts for Oculus VR projects. Full product development of initial controller prototype concepts. Industrial design and mechanical design of headset concepts which created the consumer version of the Oculus Rift CV1.- Lead teams of ME, EE, ID and FW for a variety of customer projects in the creation of fully functional concept prototypes.- Prototyping Shop Lead. Brought CNC prototyping in-house, selected equipment, software and hired machinists. Installed equipment on 4th floor of an office building through a window. Created budget and project tracking systems for in-house CNC prototyping.

Creating innovative engineering solutions at one of the nations premier full-service design consultancies. Working side-by-side with research, industrial design, electrical and software engineers to create award winning products.Specializing in the integrated design of medical devices, consumer electronics, and products that need to be done right. Dabbling in foosball and office shenanigans.- Expertise developed around mechanisms which enhance the user-experience, analog user interfaces. Created the stiletto mechanism used in the Microsoft Wedge Mouse.- Skilled in the engineering that solidifies and empowers world-class industrial design. Zero thickness walls, infinitely rigid materials, packing zero air volume, and Class A surfacing.- Lead engineer and system architect of a highly complex product which included ID, ME, EE, SW, UX 1300+ BOM items and 500+ unique parts. Client CEO response to final prototype - F***ING GENIUS!

Redmond, Washington, United States

Managing the planning and execution of customer specific product development projects. Including quoting, specification creation, scheduling, defining scope, and leading technical development . Taking products from concept to production, creating exceptional products - and satisfied customers. Specializing in electro-mechanical systems such as lithium ion batteries and chargers.- Ownership of products ability to meet performance, cost and schedule requirements.- Detailed understanding of the different processes and milestones required to create a new product development lead time of: 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, etc.- Recruited into project management due to demonstrated ability in: driving project efforts based on scope and specified requirements, resolving issues quickly and accurately, aligning customer expectations with deliverables

Redmond, Washington, United States

Designing electro-mechanical systems for the medical, military, and consumer products markets. Creating best practices and mentoring other engineers. Expertise in complex injection molding, systems integration, thermal management, sheet metal, contact design, compliant mechanisms, configuration and change management, benchmarking.- Designed and released 25 products for the medical, military, and ruggedized handheld markets.- Mentored other mechanical engineers for: analysis, system architecture, design tricks, customer interactions, and creation of technical documentation.- Carried 6 to 7 concurrent projects while maintaining ability to hit commit dates for deliverables.- Supported successful six month developments (concept to production) of complex electronics devices.- Collaborated with many of the nation’s market leading companies and learned from their processes and expectations

Redmond, Washington, United States

Fast-Paced engineering excellence. Helped design, engineer and bring technically complex products to market in industry leading times. Used "how can we do this" strategies to create out of the box solutions for difficult customer needs. Specializing in the design and manufacturing of battery systems and chargers.- Design and packaging of electro-mechanical systems including flex circuits, custom wire form contacts, and thermal solutions.- Light pipe design.- Design of ruggedized products for extreme drop tests and water tight applications.- Travel and direction of overseas manufacturing partners.

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Managed product development and manufacturing of world renowned ski specific exercise equipment. Directly responsible for: product conception, design and analysis, prototype building and testing, manufacturing process stability, and quality control. Maintained daily communication with overseas manufacturer. Expertise in off-shore manufacturing and high volume metal processing, engineering polymers and rubber, and exercise equipment. - Designed a major upgrade which was backwards compatible with four generations of products.- Production released an end-user fitness computer (data logger), which had been stalled in development for 5 years.- Discovered and corrected a manufacturing step that was creating a 30% reject rate of finished goods.