Haley Smith

Owned end-to-end verification and validation program for system and hardware subsystems, including verification strategy definition, test plan development, protocol authoring and maintenance, test execution, and verification report generation per QMS processes Managed complete requirements lifecycle for system and hardware requirements by collaborating with SMEs across systems, mechanical, electrical, software, UX, and product teams to translate user needs into clear, testable requirements using technical expertise and cross-functional facilitation Maintained end-to-end traceability matrix from user needs through system and hardware requirements to verification and validation artifacts, serving as the verification summary and ensuring complete coverage for audit readiness Coordinated hardware and system verification milestones across mechanical, electrical, firmware, software, and quality teams, tracking dependencies, managing external lab schedules, and resolving blockers to maintain NPI delivery commitments in a fast-moving startup environment Managed external compliance testing programs for IEC 60601-1, determining applicable test plans, executing in-house engineering confidence testing for applicable clauses, and coordinating with test labs Owned system-level risk management program per ISO 14971, including authorship and maintenance of Product Risk Assessment, leading cross-functional risk reviews, and applying risk-based prioritization to verification scope Established verification program infrastructure including requirements traceability framework in Jama Connect, verification planning and reporting templates, and cross-functional review processes that reduced documentation approval cycle time by ~30% Led operational program setup for in-house production operations, creating work instructions, NetSuite inventory workflows, and physical space planning to enable receiving, kitting, and shipping of precision instruments

Stood up an independent V&V team from scratch for MakerSat, a NASA research payload designed to extrude carbon fiber-reinforced structures in orbit as part of the OSAM-1 robotic servicing mission, joining the program pre-CDR with no existing verification framework in place. Established the full V&V program including team RACI, QMS documentation, verification planning, test strategy, and sprint planning, integrating the team into the broader program lifecycle and stakeholder review cadence. Designed and executed verification campaigns for four payload subsystems with no existing test precedent, developing custom test fixtures, GSE, and procedures aligned with NASA mission assurance requirements. Led hands-on prototype operation and root cause analysis on a first-of-kind electromechanical system, translating findings directly into requirements clarifications and design iterations in close collaboration with systems and design engineers.

• Designed and executed qualification test plans and procedures for OSAM-1 payload EQM system, subsystems, and avionics • Implemented and maintained electromechanical systems for low TRL prototypes/test setups, including multi-node motor control firmware using embedded C++ on arm microcontroller with COTS stepper and BLDC drivers • Provided input to systems engineering on requirements development and verifiability, specifically verification method/environment/level and tracing requirements to verification artifacts • Developed block diagrams, test fixtures, and infrastructure for laboratory environments to meet test objectives • Prepared technical documentation and review material for peers, management, and external customers, particularly ownership of TRRs

• Conducted in-house research to develop and scale an innovative rapid manufacturing process for impact structures • Spec’d sensors and designed corresponding embedded systems to inform the proper fit of helmets

Completed the build & bring up of 3 holonomic robotic platforms with integrated robotic arms involving consultation of schematics/datasheets & debugging of hardware/firmware. Implemented a full body operational space controller for mobile platform that used visual servoing to track a balloon’s trajectory and hit it with a racket.

Helped to facilitate undergraduate student learning by conducting office hours, leading supplementary lectures, grading homework and exams, providing constructive feedback, and aiding weekly hands-on activities.

Assisted in conducting trials to optimize gains of balance and metabolic cost controllers of prosthetic emulator for individual subjects

Adapted the daVinci Sure-Form 60 Stapler for a novel surgical platform by engineering a miniature-scale high-thrust/high-stroke drive mechanism for firing, and mechanisms to allow for steering and shaft roll of the instrument Developed anthropometric data driven human body models with biologically accurate mechanical properties and a reproducible rapid manufacturing process for creating said models to aid robot design and testing

I completed a redesign of a prototyped Endoscopically-Delivered Overtube (EDO) that had been engineered by a student group at CU. The device consisted of a novel overtube to be used with any commercially available endoscope/colonoscope to ease insertion, manipulation, and retraction during colonoscopy. Over the course of the semester I experimented with various catheter balloon materials and shapes as well as the number and placement of these balloons on the overtube to optimize both concentricity of the endoscope in the lumen and steerability of the endoscope.

• Utilized mill to complete precise adjustments to metal block used in mesofluidic prosthetic ankle • Completed requirement validation tests for Bluetooth-enabled force and moment sensor and created company reports detailing contrived experiments and their results • Executed sensitivity analysis on valve pin mechanism in prosthetic ankle - determined tolerance stack up in hydraulic circuit by referencing CAD model and drawings, then wrote Matlab code that accounted for variability in dynamics of system due to manufacturing error, plotted results in creative and digestible way, and determined maximum tolerance to stay within boundaries for usability

Focusing my studies on mechatronics and robotics.