Joel Dunham Email & Phone Number

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

• Use Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) techniques to develop systems through SysML v2.0, resulting in consistency across the team; catch issues early via MBSE, avoiding costly rework during the implementation phase.• Develop code-generation and simulation systems, reducing costly rework in hardware testing.• Define and develop networked control systems including hardware, RTOS, and software components.• Perform safety analyses and root-cause analyses for robotic systems as a systems safety expert, identifying areas for development and defining a development roadmap to meet safety standards.• Lead requirements development for ground test and flight test platform, leveraging experience with aerospace vehicles, embedded hardware, and software requirements to manage clear communication between disparate groups to ensure a successful design that meets project needs.• Provide project management expertise for multiple remote teams to enable meeting defined schedules.• Lead and assist proposal development for SBIR and STTR programs.• Develop data analysis and automatic decision-making tools necessary for automatic responses to changing conditions without human intervention; develop monitoring capabilities to provide explainable reasons behind automatic decisions.• Lead PX4 flight control system modification as flight control system expert, including developing new capabilities to integrate with custom software and leading teams to complete novel Phase 1 software/hardware implementation; currently leading the continuing work in phase 2.• Developed UAVCAN v1 over CAN-bus nodes based on developing standards, resulting in robust, distributed services provided on embedded hardware on a flight vehicle.• Defined and developed novel service-oriented architectures (SOA) for plug and play propulsion systems, resulting in a significant reduction of required operator expertise and development time; demonstrated architectures in both simulation and hardware.

Atlanta, Ga

• Teach students self-defense skills through the Korean martial art of Hapkido, improving physical and mental conditioning.• Provide a safe environment for students to experiment and learn, resulting in greater self-confidence and understanding of themselves.• Develop an understanding of each student and tailor classes to their needs to guide them along the path in their martial arts career, enabling consistent improvement and strong performance in evaluations.

• Defined technology path and vision for company, resulting in cohesive understanding among the team.• Defined software architecture and lead software development for small team of developers, resulting in a Plug-and-Play system that non-technical testers have successfully used.• Defined IT infrastructure and lead implementation to enable improved customer experiences through data science, product supply chain and use tracking, and quality control improvements.• Interacted with potential customers to understand market and need for our company and products, resulting in an increased customer base.• Worked closely with professors to realize kits that enable teaching complex concepts to students, resulting in multiple new products.• Developed optimization and learning algorithms to compensate for differences in low-cost hardware and project builds.• Developed hardware for educational kits including 3D solid modeling and PCB design; source parts and assembly suppliers, resulting in cheaper, higher quality, and more reliable products.

Atlanta, Georgia

• Led small team for algorithm development and integration, provided strategic vision, and briefed customers on $1M+ autonomy program; provided Subject Matter Expert inputs and recommended path/tasking to large cross-lab integration and testing team.• Developed cross-lab relations, facilitating close cooperation and transition path for $1M+ autonomy program.• Led and developed architecture and decision, control, and navigation algorithms for UAS that operate beyond human oversight; test through simulation and flight, resulting in improved transition from concept to flight demonstration.• Developed fusion algorithms for combining track information from multiple sensors, providing a system for testing F35 fusion system performance.• Developed statistical data analysis tools for real world, noisy performance data and lab test data, with an automatic pipeline to analyze, search, and present results, resulting in a significantly reduced workload for the end users.

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

• Led software design and development for flight control systems and groundstations including infrastructure and integration.• Led integration of high reliability, low-cost commercial vehicle control system based on flight control software from Georgia Tech, off-the-shelf ARM and FPGA processor board, and custom sensor board.• Liason between Georgia Tech Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Research Lab and Drone Aviation Corporation to combine state-of-the-art flight control systems with commercial applications and markets.• Developed and integrated comprehensive health monitoring package for vehicle and groundstation system including fail-safe conditions and response procedures, enabling automatic responses to system health issues, low operator workload in critical situations, and improved safety for users.• Developed integrated logging system for vehicle and groundstation management, enabling fast analysis of issues, root cause analysis, and optimization of system use.• Designed network-based client-server mission controller and groundstation, enabling remote control and testing from anywhere in the world.• Developed and integrated heading overlay capability using low-cost off-the-shelf components within one month for camera avionics package on an aerostat (long endurance balloon) usually only available in systems three times as expensive; delivered product on-time to customer.• Worked remotely from Atlanta, GA; remote work included building hardware test systems to support software development and integration.

Alpharetta, Ga

• Led software development for a Phase II SBIR focusing on using artificial intelligence to analyze, predict, and effectively respond to enemy behavior provided through heterogeneous fused track data.• Co-led the technical development of the knowledge acquisition process and tools as a subcontractor for the Sikorsky team on the DARPA ALIAS project, resulting in significantly decreased time to understand and encode knowledge from doctrinal sources.• Encoded known enemy tactics based on Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) into the artificial intelligence system for analysis of incoming track data.• Scheduled and prioritized software development, resulting in a successful customer demonstration within 90 days of contract start work.• Coordinated with a second contractor and subcontract, resulting in effective collaboration and unprecedented communication within the greater team.

Marietta, Ga

• Led strategic and project-specific software development.• Improved process flow and software capabilities through recommending and implementing development roadmaps and best practices.• Drove cost reduction through creating systematic lab processes resulting in 50% labor savings in changed processes.• Managed $100Ks customer projects.• Created follow-on contract opportunities through growing customer relationships and improving project management.• Significantly improved new product reception at AUVSI 2013 through market analysis and sales literature development.• Analyzed customer segments to improve sales material mixes.• Recommended product line divisions and names to executive management to streamline development and marketing.

Fort Worth, Tx

• Advocated for software re-use as a means to reduce new aircraft projects’ costs and risks; influence perceptions among Company senior leadership and customers through personal selling and briefings.• Coordinated common activities between two programs, maximizing efficient use of resources and personnel.• Developed and executed novel aircraft avionics; demonstrate concepts to customers to win buy-in of new paradigms for avionics architecture.

• Demonstrated to U.S. military customer Company’s proposed solutions to significant gaps in customer’s existing architecture; managed a team of seven engineers to develop software required for experiment; led a team of four engineers across two programs to develop a mission-critical communications datalink model as required by customer.• Worked closely with an internal customer to develop a weapons-simulation model; interviewed customer at exhaustive length and depth in order to attain a firm grasp of model’s intended purpose, features and functionality, and to author requirements documentation.

• Leveraged understanding of fighter pilots’ needs and behaviors in order to develop future aircraft displays for vastly improved usability and efficiency.• Integrated distributed simulations with four geographically dispersed business units to perform experiments for Pentagon customers, resulting in the design of superior solutions to architecture gaps – made possible by exceptional cooperation among military branches.• Defined technology set for net-centric warfare by developing weapons and aircraft-dynamics models for experiments.

Atlanta, Ga

• Developed the guidance, navigation, and control systems for a pan/tilt sensor unit to enable computer vision and target tracking on UAV platforms.• Created a deployable sensor package by integrated the GNC software and electronics on the pan/tilt sensor unit.• Greatly improved sensor stability by adding feedforward controls from the UAV– enabling long range computer vision.

• Developed educational and commercial software that solves engineering statics and mechanics problems through free-body diagrams for which the team earned a software patent; software remains an essential teaching tool at Iowa State University and several area high schools.• Developed educational and commercial software that organizes and solves problems through concept maps for which the team earned a software patent - currently one of the only solutions which performs both functions• Worked extensively with team to develop intuitive and capable user interface

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Aerospace, Aeronautical And Astronautical Engineering, 4.0

Activities and Societies: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Archery Club• Focus on risk assessment and reliable system.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Business Administration And Management, General, 3.9

Activities and Societies: Beta Gamma Sigma

Master Of Science (M.S.), Aerospace, Aeronautical And Astronautical Engineering, 4.0

Activities and Societies: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Aerospace, Aeronautical And Astronautical Engineering, 3.99

Activities and Societies: Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Gamma Tau, Beta Sigma Psi, Crew Club