Alex Anderson

Experience

• 

  Auckland Bioengineering Institute

  Mar 2010 - Mar 2016

  PhD Candidate

  My responsibilities were, the design, manufacture, assembly, programming, and validation of a device intended to test samples of heart muscle tissue. I contributed new capabilities to the groups existing apparatus, including: • Simultaneous bright‑field microscopy and calcium fluorescence imaging • Introduction of synchronized motors which enabled scanning compositing imaging of contraction • Localisation and quantification of sarcomere contraction via wavelet processing of imagesI also laid the foundation for further expansion through careful design of software and hardware architecture.Design involved the use of Solidworks, Ansys, and Altium. Manufacture involved the use of Featurecam, and a Deckel-Maho DMU 35M CNC machine (as well as a manual mill/drill press and lathe). Programming was done using NI LabVIEW, as well as Python (for scripting) and Matlab for data analysis. Validation was performed by executing the suite of experiments on samples of heart tissue. Show less

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  Rocket Lab

  Mar 2016 - Aug 2024

  My responsibilities have included both day-to-day and strategic management of the development and testing workflow for a Mechanical Development team of 17 engineers who reported to me. This included defining priorities taking into account both overall business development strategy and issues arising with existing production. I provided technical direction and mentoring for the team across a broad range of technical areas including fluid system and component design and testing, mechanism development and testing, structural testing and general experiment design for investigating physical phenomena and material properties. I was responsible for approving test plans as well as checking and approving the results of testing. This includes qualifying designs for operation with reference to industry standards. I oversaw the development of numerous performance and reliability enhancements to the Electron vehicle mechanical systems. In addition I supported the development of space-faring fluid systems for the Photon platform and its derivatives.I have also played a leading role in the development and formalisation of engineering design and production processes as the company transitions from a start-up with an R&D focus, to one which must deliver a reliable high-performance product while maintaining design flexibility. Show less

  • Senior Development Engineer - Electron

    Mar 2023 - Aug 2024

  • Lead Mechanical Development & Test Engineer

    Oct 2019 - Mar 2023

  • Senior Vehicle Test Engineer

    Oct 2017 - Oct 2019

  • Vehicle Test Engineer

    Mar 2016 - Oct 2017
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  Ternary Kinetics

  Sept 2024 - now

  Engineering Manager