Bill Smith

The role focused on developing instrumentation for electrochemistry applications (e.g., batteries, fuel cells, sensors) and included a variety of hands-on technical duties. Circuit Design: Designing and testing electrical circuits, focusing on precision analog electronics and handling a wide range of DC signals (microvolts to hundreds of volts and nanoamps to thousands of amperes). Power Electronics: Experience with DC-DC converters, inverters, and switching technology was required. System Development: Involvement in hardware, software, and firmware design, including working with DSP and PID controllers. Troubleshooting & Analysis: Conducting hardware characterization, debugging, noise analysis, and root cause analysis across the product line to maximize reliability. Technical Leadership: Providing technical guidance to engineers and technicians, advising on industry best practices, and ensuring designs meet compliance standards. Documentation: Creating detailed technical reports, engineering specifications, and production documentation. The position involved working within multi-disciplinary teams, including mechanical, firmware, and production engineers.

Analyze system-level product requirements and determine product feasibility. Develop product data sheets, validate new silicon, develop application notes, and develop Evaluation boards and GUI software. Provide technical support for Tier 1 customers and field personnel. Develop and present product training material.

Responsible for worldwide applications engineering, product definition, and product validation within the Analog, Mixed Signal, and Power Division (AMPD). I lead a team of 13 talented applications engineers located in the US, and China, who define power management ICs, validate new silicon, create user technical documentation, and provide customer support for highly integrated power management, audio, and interface ICs that are marketed to the Consumer, Industrial, and Automotive segments. Additional responsibilities include: Set employee’s goals, assign projects, schedules work, and provide performance reviews. Also provide hands-on applications work in support of product development. Mentor and grow the applications team. Provide strong technical support to internal application engineers and field applications engineers. Drive practices and processes to ensure thorough validation of new product developments. Make recommendations for disruptive improvement to products and roadmap. Provide competitive analysis to assess the pros/cons of competitive offerings. Assist in preparation of collateral to identify device/system-level differentiation from competition. Network with internal and external contacts in area of expertise. Have frequent inter-organizational contact. Develop training for internal/external technical audiences. Investigate and funnel new technology and "know how" into the new product development process. Travel to support Tier 1 customers and/or attend trade events.

In charge of engineering, research, and hardware development functions from concept to production. Analyze new technologies, resource needs, and market demands to plan and assess new product feasibility. Managed a staff of 8 development engineers. Developed an embedded controller module for installation in vehicle fleets, that remotely identified when truck operators where driving improperly. The system logged selected data and passed it via telemetry for further analysis. Developed a system for real-time monitoring of sugar cane collection, transport to processing plants, and fleet management. The system was comprised of three modules installed in each vehicle of a 500 vehicle fleet. The first module, the On-board Computer, was an ARM 9 based mobile display unit with high-resolution color display, interactive touch screen, and multiple switching power supplies. The second module, the Communications Control Module was based on the PIC32MX795F512L and managed the bi-directional flow of telemetry via GPRS (GSM), WiFi (802.11) or Iridium Satcom. The third module, the Electronic Control Unit, was based on the dsPIC33FJ256GP710 and translated all the vehicle sensor data from analog into digital, and passed real-time readings to the On-Board Computer via the Controller Area Network (CAN) interface. Developed an embedded wireless device that can be easily installed (using existing wiring) into tractor-trailers, that automatically detects connection/disconnection, and 100% identifies the attached trailer. The device combines 2.4 GHz wireless and proprietary hard-wired data modulation. The system can run without vehicle power for up to 8 hours, and can be safely connected to either 12V or 24V vehicle power. Conducted three public technical training seminars with over 150 participants. “Successful Battery Charger Design”, “Digital Power Supply Design”, and “Advanced Lighting Technologies, and How to Drive Them”.

In charge of product definition for new Analog Power Products. Wrote Initial Objective Specifications (IOS). Interacted with cross-functional teams in Marketing, Silicon Design Team, Production Testing, Layout, and Field Applications. Collaborated closely with Silicon Design Engineers to implement the most cost efficient and optimized circuits. Strategic focus Digital Power. Defined 8 Analog Power Products. Defined the company's first I2C serial interface for power ICs. Wrote the Verilog models for the architecture. Designed dsPIC30F2020 based system for automatically testing and analyzing power management product evaluation boards, improving the kit production rate by 200%. Designed a family of six PIC18F2455 based USB adapter boards to allow FAEs to demonstrate Micrel’s entire white LED driver products. Adapters could be plugged into a notebook USB port and device parameters could be adjusted with a Windows GUI.

In charge of engineering, research, and product development functions from concept to production, with full P&L responsibility; controlled an annual operating budget of more than $10 million. Analyzed new technologies, resource needs, and market demands to plan and assess new product feasibility. Directed a staff of 20 development engineers. Products were developed for industrial control, automotive, refrigeration and telemetry use.

Company Co-founder. Developed remote monitoring solutions that collected environmental parameters, produced alternative energy, and used plasma technology to treat dangerous industrial residues. Directed engineering, research, and technology-driven product development functions. Designed and fabricated modular development platforms to produce “proof of concept” prototypes. Produced a prototype remote data-monitoring system based on cutting-edge smart sensor and wireless telemetry technologies. Designed and developed a portable, low-cost GPS Point-Of-Interest data logger for the consumer market.

Defined new battery management CMOS Integrated Circuits, including the development of new product Initial Objective Specifications (IOS). Interacted with cross-functional teams in Business Management, Silicon Design Team, Production Testing, Layout, and Field Applications. Collaborated closely with Silicon Design Engineers to implement the most cost efficient and optimized circuits, as well as “tweak” the IOS requirements to balance device functionality with cost. Working member of the Smart Battery System Implementers Group (SBSIF). Interacted with key customers to review design changes and ensure concurrence with modifications. Reviewed and analyzed new product proposals from FAEs, remained abreast of new market trends, and analyzed competitor products for strengths and weaknesses. Planned and conducted technical presentations, obtained technical data for use in defining new products, and provided technical support on Battery Management products. Developed new product datasheets and reference manuals from the IOS, as well as created presentations for training Maxim FAEs and customers. Built application circuits for specific strategic customers, and defined the product’s evaluation kit hardware and software. Defined 2 new Smart Battery Chargers, 1 new Smart Battery Selector and 2 new Lithium-Ion Cell Protectors (CMOS Integrated Circuits 1.2µ and 0.8µ).

Charged with orchestrating the startup of a new business group within the Power Management Division focused on the emerging Smart Battery Market. Performed strategic planning to address staffing, marketing, product development and customer interaction functions. Developed new product specifications. Conducted design reviews with the Silicon Design Team, Corporate Applications, Production Testing, Layout, and Field Applications. Defined and launched 14 Battery Management products, including 3 microcontroller cores manufactured in 1.2µ and 0.8µ CMOS including SMBus Smart Battery Chargers, Smart Battery Management Controllers, Fuel Gauges and Lithium-Ion Cell Protectors. Instrumental in creating a market for products; founding member of the Smart Battery System Implementers Forum to develop an open specification for the development of products. Key team member for the industry’s first monolithic Smart Battery Controller solution, the MAX1780. Closed deals with Sony, Matsushita, and Moli-Energy to use the new MAX1780 Smart Battery Controller IC in their next product designs. Managed and mentored a team of 5 development engineers.

Built a startup operation in Germany to more than $50 million in revenue; staffed, trained and directed Field Applications Engineers assigned to Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Planned and conducted new product seminars throughout Central Europe. Planned and controlled capital budget and expenses. Evaluated new product proposals on a quarterly basis. Invited by the company president to conduct product-training seminars to more than 30 key customers in Japan. Hired, trained, and managed a team of 12 field applications engineers. Developed the organizational structure of Field Applications which was subsequently adopted throughout the enterprise. Annually planned and conducted 22 public product training seminars in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland speaking to a combined total of 5,400 attendees.