Stephen Bourque Email & Phone Number

Andover, Ma, Us

Carbondale, Pa, Us

Designed the hardware for a power-data rail on combat helmets, which provides power and a multi-drop communication network for accessories (flashlights, strobes, NVGs, etc.). This features a flex circuit with multiple sites of protection circuitry (current limit, ESD, EMI/EMC) and sealed switches using magnetic sensing.Designed multiple battery packs for the helmet system, incorporating power selection and conditioning (boost, buck) for FPGA module, Gbit/s differential signaling, extremely dense, 10-layer PCB layout, safe parallel combination of primary cells, and a novel battery voltage follower circuit for NVG supply.Designed circuitry (power, USB charger, temperature sensing) for an active anti-fog goggle, and firmware (in C for PIC) for an electrochromic (electronically dimmed) goggle.Worked on the firmware (in C for MSP430) and hardware for AMP headset.Designed hardware for an experimental wireless body-to-helmet communication system.Improved yield on electret microphone production line in various ways: by repairing a crucial machine that is a single point of failure, by solving a costly bias current problem, and by improving a gain adjustment process through measurements and modeling.

Irvine, California, Us

Designed and developed firmware and circuits for LoJack stolen vehicle trackers. Served as technical lead for the latest generation product. Collaborated on circuit design of main tracking products, which have extremely low-power and low-cost design constraints. Designed and developed other LoJack products, including a WiFi-based field tester with a Li-ion battery charger, a linear power module, and a wireless peripheral circuit for use in the vehicle system. Performed the schematic entry and layout of many of these circuits, and worked closely with other departments and contract manufacturers in getting boards fabricated, assembled, and tested.Designed and developed the embedded firmware for the vehicle trackers. Designed and developed firmware for peripheral products (field tester, key fob). Performed every aspect of troubleshooting and debugging products. Managed the firmware release process, and held periodic firmware reviews.Designed and hand built scores of circuits (e.g. a 6-decade current and charge meter for in-house testing of LoJack products) and wrote numerous programs (in Python and C) to facilitate testing, configuring, and debugging. Planned and constructed fixtures for various tests (e.g. battery depletion, temperature performance, etc.) and analyzed results.Supervised three to five engineers and technicians at a time, and served as a mentor to young engineers. Provided technical guidance to other departments and engineers.

Lawrence, Massachusetts, Us

Maintained and revised the main circuit board for the NxStage portable hemodialysis machine. Designed and developed peripheral circuits (e.g. fan-speed controller) and circuits for a dialysate preparation system, which including a conductivity measurement circuit for ultra-pure water.Participated in product verification and validation testing, and edited the extensive documentation for those procedures.Supervised a test technician.

Designed and developed the embedded firmware for microwave radios and IDUs. This real-time, multi-tasking code handled external telemetry while controlling transmitter and receiver gain, executed the modem and line-interface functions, and attended to the line-interface circuitry.Designed the digital, baseband analog, and power sections of circuit boards for microwave radios, including all microcontroller (68HCxx) circuitry, external memory, power supervisors, and interfaces to radio control lines and FPGA-based modems.Designed a variable-gain (20 dB to 70 dB), low-noise (<5 dB NF), high-speed (>35 MHz) baseband circuit for a direct-conversion microwave radio receiver, featuring a passive 6-pole elliptical filter with a firmware-selectable low-pass cutoff frequency. Designed various CPLD state machines and “glue logic” in VHDL, converter circuits (high-speed, 10-bit ADC and DAC) for I/Q payload signals, line interface unit (LIU) circuitry for T1/E1 and E3 signals, transducer signals for temperature and RF power measurements. Designed a precision reference oscillator for a frequency-agile signal source using direct digital synthesis (DDS).Designed and built a cost-effective, self-contained bit error rate tester (BERT) for in-house product testing and manufacturing.Designed and developed (using C) the DOS-based calibration programs that are used in the production of microwave radios, and performed extensive analysis of data (using MathCAD and Excel).Wrote thorough and extensive design documents.

Designed the control electronics for a state-of-the-art integrated circuit handler. Produced the initial concept and definition of the electrical system architecture, and designed a custom, high-speed distributed I/O network that linked all electronic modules to the machine’s central computer. Designed an ISA-based, 15-axis servo motor controller for use on the machine. Designed all I/O, motor driver, and power circuits in the machine, plus the low-level C++ classes used to control the hardware.Designed circuit boards and wiring harnesses for legacy products.

Mansfield, Ma, Us

Designed a series of microcontroller-based (8051) instruments used in industrial control applications. Performed board layouts (PADS) for products.Designed and coded the firmware (in assembly) for these products. Designed in-house hardware and software development and test tools.

Msee, Electrical Engineering

Bsee, Electrical Engineering