Philip Schmitt

Experience

• 

  Lepel Corporation

  Jan 1991 - Jan 1998

  Engineer

  Product development engineer for RF Induction heating equipment. R&D engineer for new RF induction technologies.Involved in the design of new products including DC power supplies, OEM induction inverters, and enhancements to existing products. Responsible for a product family of induction heating inverters from engineering drawings to final test and acceptance. While at Lepel, designed an IGBT based full bridge resonant inverter, 5kW power supply (300V at 20A at 20 kHz) with phase control for an induction heating application. It was the first IGBT design at Lepel at the time. I was responsible for the power, thermal and control designs. This was the first air cooled induction heat system for the company including the heating coil (similar to today’s stove top induction heaters you can purchase commercially). This product was designed and tested for FCC part 15 and UL labeling. Personally worked with the UL investigator for the UL labeling. Show less

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  Harris Corporation

  Jan 1998 - Jan 2003

  Product Engineer and Supervisor

  Power Supply and AM Transmitter Design Leader and Project ManagerProject Management for low power (1 kW to 6 kW) AM transmitter project. Managed project from concept and planning through design and into manufacturing. Monitored project performance with Earned Value. Responsible for system architecture of design and technical oversight of power supply design. Project Management for high power AM transmitter project (100kW to 1 MW). Managed project from concept through planning stage including scope development based on international customer requirements. Provided technical guidance for the specification and design of power supplies used in broadcast transmission equipment. Managed the design and development of 50kW AM radio transmitter. Implemented procedures and tools for new product development process, including project management guidelines and earned value process.Lead system architect for design of custom power supply solution. Designed and implemented power supplies including:Designed a custom high current 24V DC housekeeping power supply (500W). Designed a custom synchronous 75V, 750W DC/DC power supply and a 150V, 1.5kW DC/DC power supply. These were primarily hard switched buck converter typologies include one as a dual converter with current sharing. Responsible for the MOSFET power design, PCB layout, controls, thermal design, and magnetic design. Included the first use of planar magnetics at Harris and custom VHDL code I developed for a small CPLD. Design a custom PLL circuit to ensure the switching frequency of the power supply was in phase with the broadcast frequency, switching the DC/DC converters from 125 kHz to 500 kHz.Designed a 200kW, 300V linear power supply using an half controlled SCR soft start circuit. SCR controller was a purchased item. Show less

• 

  MKS Instruments

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2004

  Engineering Manager

  Engineering Manager for RF matching units and RF measurement and sensing technology.Managed introduction of next generation metrology tool for measurement of plasma impedances. Responsible for project managing all aspects of project including DSP, FPGA, and hardware design as well as cross functional tasks required to introduce product into manufacturing. Managed the implementation of 50-ohm impedance matching RF networks.

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  Harris Corporation

  Jan 2004 - Mar 2014

  Responsible for all program and proposal execution within the System Engineering organization from proposal phase to customer delivery. Ensured delivery of systems programs, with annual program values of over $100 million in revenue with engineering budgets of over $20 million, were on time and on budget, and met our customers’ requirements and expectations. Manage a staff of Systems Engineers in the design and execution of Tactical Communications Systems for International and domestic customers. Manage an integration and test group who assemble and test custom assemblies for our systems.Led a staff of 60, including 45 engineers and 15 custom assembly manufacturing personnel, with 4 direct managers and supervisors. Responsible for the custom assembly manufacturing area area including procurement, production, inventory. Developed new plant floor layout to optimize work flow for assembly team.Responsible for man power planning and prioritization of all program and proposal execution within the System Engineering organization, from proposal phase to customer delivery for Tactical Radio Communications Systems for DoD and International military customers.Experience integrating tactical communication equipment with COTS components including network and power supplies to meet MIL-STD-810 for vehicular applications.Reviewed all technical solutions to ensure they met customer requirements, and ensured teams managed and mitigated associated risks. Ensured proper trade-offs were completed to evaluate multiple design approaches. Managed key proposals, including development of the technical architecture. Proposal Manager and Lead Engineer for the largest international system program award of over $80 million.Developed a focused project management team with emphasis on a Project Management Professional certification and process development to ensure consistent performance from project teams. Implemented technical working groups to institutionalize process Show less Manage a staff of Systems Engineers in the design and execution of Tactical Communications Systems for International and domestic customers.Led a team that developed program execution process with focus on consistent project Management to ensure consistent program performance. Implemented peer review process for technical designs to manage potential risks. Supported CMMI implementation for Systems Engineering.Led and managed technical demonstrations and trade show demonstrations in the US, Europe, Algeria, Mexico, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. Managed proposals resulting from these demonstrations with successful conversion to orders for new customers in multiple countries. Grew staff from 15 to 45 engineers and specialists to support growth requirements of the business. Lead teams in developing systems architectures and requirements for outsourcing ruggedized and modified COTS power supplies for base stations (AC/ DC), vehicular systems (12/24 VDC to 24 VDC), as well as solar power systems with power supplies and battery chargers. Included requirements for MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461 EMC, MIL-STD-1275.Lead teams to do integration and test of these components typically lending a hand to build and test these systems directly. I also was involved in several site surveys at customer locations and customer installations where we installed the equipment into vehicles (HMMWV) and S10 communication shelters.Under additional role of Product Manager, developed a technology proof-of-concept demonstration unit for a Border Security Shelter System. Accelerated four-month effort involved integration of new technologies including a ground surveillance radar and custom software development. Joint effort between two divisions and Included oversight of a remote team in Melbourne, FL. Show less

  • Sr. Systems Engineering Manager

    Jan 2011 - Mar 2014

  • System Engineering Manager

    Jan 2004 - Aug 2011
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  Ultraflex Power Technologies, Inc

  Mar 2014 - Jul 2017

  P&L responsible for managing business operations and sales for North America, CALA, and Asia, with continued responsibility for engineering and new product development. Includes responsibility of sales, order management, engineer to order process areas, customer service, finance, sustaining engineering, product management, and new product development. Oversaw business strategy changes and directed sales process engineering improvements to increase end user business revenue by over 100% from 2015 levels. Developed key proposals as technical lead working with sales and marketing.Directed improvements in the engineer to order process including improved resource planning tools to align resources to revenue recognition objectives. Improved on time delivery to 90% with goal of 100% in 2017.Assembled and project managed a multi-national engineering team of engineers and consultants to develop new technology. Managed power electronics, analog, digital, FPGA, VHDL, embedded software and mechanical engineering resources.Developed an updated product line for an OEM client with significant cost reductions and performance improvements over the prior product line. Implemented commercial solutions for infrared temperature measurement and control for use with the company’s standard products. Show less Managed the U.S. engineering and applications teams, and provided technical direction and guidance for product development for high power RF conversion technology from 1kW to 200 kW. Engineered custom solutions for customers utilizing core power supply technology for packaging, industrial, and medical applications. Included project management of mechanical, software and hardware resources. Supported UL, CSA, and FCC testing.Developed RF design calculation tools, and trained international engineering team on use of tools. Implemented 2D and 3D RF modelling capability with COMSOL.Developed improved RF transformer design tools, including a custom Excel tool to calculate frequency dependent losses in multiple layer Litz winding construction.Implemented standard design tools for thermal performance and analysis of heat sink design for natural and forced convection designs. Directed several heat sink and cooling changes based on use of improved design methodology. Show less

  • Managing Director / Director of Engineering

    Jan 2015 - Jul 2017

  • Director of Engineering

    Mar 2014 - Dec 2014
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  Vertiv

  Jul 2017 - Sept 2019

  Managing global team (Ohio, Italy, China) of 7 program managers for NPD project execution. Leading focused team to implement corrective actions for product improvement. Organized root cause analysis actions and developed collaboration portal for all users to share same data-set. Aligned issues in graphical methods to show Pareto of key issues to best focus resources on resolution. Directing engineering team to review more thorough accelerate life testing for key components to determine additional modes of failure to pro-actively correct.Implementing online project management portals using smartsheet online collaboration platform for individual NPD projects to allow teams direct access to project schedules, action items, and risk registers. Initial pilot projects have shown higher team engagement in project execution and better communication with management on project performance. Implemented online NPD project “one list” to align all global NPD and ETO projects for best resource utilization. Captured over 200 projects in various state of development to allow prioritization for best utilization of available resources globally. Collaborated with global Product Management and Engineering teams to align business priorities to resources availability. Implemented process to keep alignment across global priorities.Developed online resource management planning tools to view monthly allocation of resources and alignment with the project one list. Show less Managed team of 17 engineers (6 remote in Mexicali) to execute customized engineering projects for standard AC Power product lines. Projects involved customized products for over $120M in annual business.Implemented process improvement and automation using Smartsheet online collaboration platform to improve department performance. Tool allows cross functional teams from Project Management, Engineering, Production, and Test to share data and communicate project status and priority. Using better collaboration, achieved 98% on time engineering release while improving first pass engineering yield above 95%. This was accomplished with the same level of engineering resources while releasing 40% more orders over the prior year. Created a tailored process for more complex ETO projects that required cross functional support to better integrate ETO projects within the NPD project life cycle.Led team responsible for custom integration and management of third-party integration and customer factory witness testing.Supported factory sustaining engineering activities. Directed Value Add / Value Engineering (VAVE) projects teams to achieve product cost reduction goals.Worked with team leaders to set clear goals and objectives for team performance and to implement personal development objectives for key individuals.Manage compliance engineering functions for standards compliance including UL.Establishing lead six sigma capabilities to address cross functional process improvement opportunities. Show less

  • Director, Global NPD PMO, AC Power (acting)

    Apr 2019 - Sept 2019

  • Sr. Engineering Manager, Engineer to Order - AC Products

    Jul 2017 - Jun 2019
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  Advanced Energy

  Sept 2019 - Jun 2021

  Program Manager

  • Lead the top 3 of 12 development programs for the RF business.• Successfully executed a critical SW development program with a 2-month escalation timeline. Delivered all the customer key requirement on time and improved our customer relationship.• Implemented online project management tools using Smartsheet online collaboration platform for individual PDP (Product Development Programs) projects to allow teams direct access to project schedules, action items, and risk registers. Trained other program manager on use of the tool• Implemented PMO portfolio dashboard for tracking key program activities and metrics. Show less

• 

  Adapt To Control, LLC

  Jun 2021 - Jul 2022

  Development Lead (and Founder)

  Key Client Projects:• Worked with global clients to develop semi-custom solutions for Engineer to Order workflow management, Proposal and Bid Management solution, Logistics tracking solution, and Engineering Resource Management system all developed with the Smartsheet toolset. • Developed custom SQL to Smartsheet connector in Python to automate loading new orders and updated ERP sales data and CO data to ensure synchronization between Smartsheet and the ERP data while reducing errors for manual data entry.• Developed custom Flask and Python application for an Induction Heating power estimating tool.Collaborative Business Management Tool DevelopmentSpecialize in using Smartsheet to develop an easy to use Business Management tool set for your organization using No Code solutions. Focus on collaboration across all your functional teams so everyone from the top executives to the managers and teams have access to the information they need to make informed decisions.Project Management and Business AnalyticsFocus on using the data you already have in your business to help drive better decision making. Provide the data in formats and views that fit the need of the organization. Using a mix of tools including Smartsheet and PowerBI we can design of solutions to provide the information you need to get your project done more effectively.Business Dashboards and WorkflowsUtilization of Dashboards and custom workflows to ensure the information is available to the right people when they need it. Eliminate running your business with Excel and emails. Show less

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  Advanced Energy

  Jun 2022 - now

  • Sr. Director of RF Engineering

    Jun 2023 - now

  • Director of Engineering

    Jun 2022 - Jun 2023