John Runchey Email & Phone Number

“You’re my odd-job guy”. That’s what my boss told me years ago, as a young engineer in the beginning stages of what would become an extensive career at Motorola. I’d just completed hacking up 2 automated test fixtures for 2 different new, custom IC’s that another division had produced, but had no way to even begin to verify that they were functional.We popped in an IC to try out my test fixtures. Failure after failure. A thought popped into my head – “Maybe they labeled these wrong and one is actually the other”. Tried each in the “wrong” fixture, and sure enough, tests start passing. Way to go, semiconductor division!Shortly thereafter, our small group shipped the very first 20 GSM prototype cell phones to Europe for initial testing.That was long, long ago.A steady stream of technical challenges, diving in, and learning technologies marked my career going forward. From writing code in HPBasic for testing those early cell phones (ask me about the pig brain tumor test!), to debugging and re-architecting embedded code in C, to working on cellular system simulators that simulated a network in the lab, thru diagnosing and troubleshooting issues in the factory while making prototype runs. Lately, building an automated client reporting system using C#, React, Javascript, and a NoSql database. The challenges and learning continues.Thru it all, my passion and skills have been, and continue to be:• Getting tossed in the deep end of technical problems.• Root causing why something is failing: Eliminating unknowns and subdividing the situation until the problem is found.• Communicating with folks at all levels: Presenting a slide to management with a few boxes and arrows, giving the “Aha that’s what’s going on” insight to a complex technical situation. Sitting next to a struggling engineer, asking a few questions and saying “Uh huh…” until their light bulb moment of understanding.• Intense curiosity and desire to learn: Nothing motivates me like learning a new skill or technology, from most recently learning Javascript, React, and AWS, to teaching myself how to TIG weld several years ago and building a recumbent bike, to receiving my honorary ophthalmology degree after my extensive cataract surgery research (ok, not really, and, yes, I had to look up the spelling).As I think about my next step, I ponder what will satisfy my curiosity, while providing exceptional value. My skillset isn’t measured in a simple “x years of C# experience”. I’m sure my fit is out there, but I want to get it right.Maybe you need an odd job guy too. Hit me up.

Listed skills include Embedded Systems, Embedded Software, Testing, Debugging, and 23 others.

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  Iowa State University

  Electrical And Electronics Engineering