I am the founder of a small business; Venator Technologies. We design and produce a wide range of educational electronics products to help makers of all skill levels learn a new skill.

As a maker specialist, I lead special projects related to multiple areas of expertise, with a specific focus on electronics and CNC machining. Projects include the development of custom electrical solutions to assist in lab operations, planning and executing electronics for artistic/engineering displays, and developing curriculum for skill-focused classes.

As an evil henchman, it is my responsibility to ensure engineering excellence in a wide range of projects, both internal and for external organizations. This includes tasks in project management, mechanical design, electrical engineering, and fabrication (CNC, 3D printing, manual machining, soldering, etc.)

Between events, my job at Havoc Robotics entails planning, overseeing, and executing improvement projects to help grow the league and to increase efficient operations. This includes facilities planning, electrical and mechanical design, project management, and CNC fabrication. During events, I serve as the head referee and operations manager. It is my responsibility to ensure the timely and smooth progression of the event through the management of all operations staff. It is also my responsibility to respond to unexpected events, ranging from robots on fire to judging calls by the referees that are challenges.

As a Contributor for Hackaday, I write about cool hacker and DIY projects from all different disciplines. My specialties are robotics and rocketry-related articles. https://hackaday.com/author/jimheaney/

Lead day-to-day and high-level for all aspects of operations for a team of 40 student engineers;• Lead research, development, manufacturing, integration, and operation of student-developed rockets, payloads, and their supporting infrastructure• Lead and advise student teams on operations, safety, and technical protocols through classes and regular briefings• Serve as chief safety officer for international competitions, overseeing systems and personnel safety• Integrate Kaizen and visual factory concepts for more effective workflow with fewer defects. • Develop visual system to aid in final integration, contributing to 75% decrease in incidents before or during flight.

Oversaw administrative and project management for the RIT Launch Initiative as the group moved through its largest period of growth to date. Developed systems and structure to facilitate the development of multiple rockets at once, compared to the single-rocket development the team had previously engaged in. Mentored students in engineering, project management, and safety. Coordinated and executed fieldwork launching and recovering rockets in both local and international events.

Led a small group of student engineers to develop payload interface and deployment systems for RIT's submission to the 2018 Intercollegiate Rocketry Engineering Competition. This included engineering development, iterative design with multiple design review presentations to other engineers, and sub-scale testing. I then led the manufacturing, full-scale testing, and integration of this system into the full rocket. I accompanied the team to launches and international competitions to prepare the payload and interface for launches following procedures and checklists I wrote to ensure there were no faults in the system.

Assist in both day-to-day and high-level operations of student makerspace• Provide technical and process expertise for over 100 internal and external projects. • Develop and implement systems to increase machine uptime and reduce maintenance complexity• Lead Kaizen procedure to optimize layout of the space for better user experience

Operate CNC machines for use in the manufacturing of aerospace components. Assist with Kaizen projects related to shop layout & organization. Design, prototype, manufacture, implement, and review Kaizen systems using CAD and manual machining.

Worked two summer internships (2016 and 2017)Assisted in all stages of emergency operations, including planning, coordination, logistics, mitigation, reporting, etc. • Assisted in and operated emergency command center logistics for data visualization, operational readiness, and radio and telecommunication operations for County and State incidents and events. • Led teams for the research, development, simulation, and enacting of multiple response plans, integrating visual factory concepts to reduce wasted time in emergency situations • Assisted in initiatives to modernize operations and utilization of social media, integrating the concepts of visual factory to allow for emergency managers to more effectively intake data in emergency situations from multiple social media sources.