Software-trained, systems-minded, R&D-led.
I started as a software engineer and grew into senior R&D leadership through hands-on experience in the lab, on the manufacturing floor, with suppliers, and in front of customers across three continents.
That breadth is the point. When something is fragile in a deep-tech company, the real bottleneck is usually somewhere unexpected — and it helps to be fluent in more than one discipline.
From employee #16 to Vice President of R&D.
Seven years at one company, going from individual contributor to executive leadership as it scaled past 180 staff. Five distinct roles, each one a different problem to solve.
Master's project: First Class. Met Office Academic Partnership summer fellow; presented at EGU 2016.
Pluggable biometric authentication for iOS and Android. Built image analysis pipelines and neural network model for image classification. Took Android compatibility from 40% to 95%.
Joined a 16-person scientific instrumentation start-up working on mass photometry. Integrated several CMOS cameras, built imaging analysis tools, and introduced version control practices.
Established Refeyn's QA function and automated test suite from scratch (ISTQB Foundation certified). Then took ownership of the Software Analysis team's roadmap and releases.
Built a brand-new multidisciplinary team (HW, SW, Application Scientists) after a large restructure. Started attending conferences and customer sites — the technical work and the customer reality finally meeting in the middle.
Directed a complex GMP customer programme end-to-end across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Sales, Logistics, and Service. Successful install, $1M+ follow-on revenue. Helped set up the cross-functional Change Review Board. Sustained and improved 15+ launched products.
Led a 35-person R&D organisation across hardware, software, optics, systems, applications, and consumables. Delivered 4 concurrent programmes, ran a $7M+ budget, transferred a major platform to outsourced manufacturer, and reported to the board quarterly. Refeyn was 180+ employees by this point.
Independent fractional R&D and engineering leadership for scientific instrumentation, life-science, and deep-tech teams. Open to full-time roles in parallel.
What I'm hands-on with.
Senior leadership matters, but most engagements need someone who can also pick up a ticket, sit in a technical review, or work a problem with a supplier. Here's the depth.
Software
Lead software development & testHands-on background as a software engineer. Python, C++, Java; computer vision and ML; hardware integration. Built Refeyn's QA function and automated test framework from scratch (ISTQB Foundation certified). Established version-control and code-review practices in a young team.
Hardware & Systems
Confident collaborator, not a design leadI'm not a hardware design lead but I am comfortable in design reviews across mechanical, electronics, optics, and microfluidics — fluent enough to follow the discussion, ask the useful questions, and spot integration risks early.
Industrialisation
Manufacturing transfer & supplier managementLed full transfer of a major instrument platform to outsourced manufacturing in Asia. Direct supplier work on quality, cost, and manufacturability. Shaped Factory Acceptance Test processes and Change Review Board governance.
Customer-facing
Field issue resolution & customer programmesVisited customer sites across Europe, North America, and Asia. Directed a complex GMP customer programme end-to-end. Documented field issues and drove changes back through Production and Quality to reduce on-site issues.
Process & ways of working
Agile delivery, change governance, Jira automationRolled out a unified agile-sprint cadence across a 35-person R&D organisation. Co-created the Change Review Board. Automated Operations workflows in Jira. Ran regular product development reviews. Heavily involved in NPI processes, including being stage gate committee member.
Leadership
Multidisciplinary teams & board reportingBuilt and led teams from 2 to 35 across HW, SW, optics, systems, applications, and consumables. Reported product roadmap and delivery to the board quarterly. Comfortable presenting at executive level and aligning across Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial.
Practical, written, hands-on.
I focus on practical, high-value support rather than generic advisory work. That means getting up to speed quickly, identifying the key risks, and helping teams move with more confidence from development to reliable delivery.
I’m comfortable moving between levels. Sometimes that means helping shape the bigger picture; sometimes it means getting into the detail with the team to understand what is actually slowing things down.
And I get hands-on where it adds value. Reviewing a PR, debugging an integration, sitting in a customer install, or working through a supplier escalation — those are where the real picture comes into focus, and they're the parts I enjoy most.
Want to talk about your situation?
I’m happy to have an initial conversation, understand what’s going on, and tell you honestly whether I think I can help.