In modern engineering projects, a team of specialists need an experienced multidisciplinary engineer with expertise in technology management, integration, networking and APIs, to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I am a hands-on systems engineer with a passion for making systems work. With the right leadership and environment, a good team use their knowledge and experience to combine the parts into great products and learn how to do even better on the next project.
Looking for Hybrid/ Remote Working in the Following Areas
Engineering Management roles from Engineering Manager/ Principal Engineer to Board Level within SMEs.
Hybrid roles in southern England, Midlands and Wales (I live in OXON)
Remote roles anywhere in England and Wales - further a field is possible given agreement on amount of travel required.
Skills and Experience
Technology Business Management
Bring the team together, to understand the project, select the right technologies, then work together to achieve the goal.
Founder and CTO of CloudPerfect Ltd
I created CloudPerfect Ltd in late 2010 to provide software solutions to Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This company grew to 5 employees and approx £300k turnover. I sold my share to my business partner in 2021.
Originally CloudPerfect Ltd created solutions used open-source packages with custom integration.
One solution was a completely bespoke web application, written in PHP.
Since 2018, CloudPerfect Ltd focused on being a Zoho Partner, implementing SME solutions on the Zoho platform, with emphasis on integration with third-party APIs, such as Xero, Stripe and various Inventory Management Systems.
Motorola Management Programme
From 2005 to 2007 I was on the Motorola Management Training Programme, at various times I had staff, contractors or interns reporting to me. Often, during on-site projects on mobile networks around the world, as the most senior engineer, I would direct the team, including local engineers assigned to the project.
Team Lead
During some of my time as a contractor I functioned as the team lead (including once as Scrum Master) on several projects. My recognised engineering experience resulted in being asked to run part of a project, usually involving remote software teams.
Strategic Thinking
Looking at the big-picture, an engineering strategy has two components which feed into each other:
CloudPerfect CTO
The selection of Zoho as the SaaS platform, then the development of integrations with key other SaaS platforms, gave CloudPerfect a significant edge over other Zoho partners. Zoho and the majority of the integrations we developed continue to grow in popularity, returning ongoing profit.
Motorola - MVIOS
When a change in the initial plan became apparent, I recognised the benefit of a more-costly but significantly less risky approach. This decision was key to a successful product, resulting in multiple sales.
Solutions Architect
Make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
Motorola optimisation solutions (IOS & MVIOS)
IOS and the vendor-neutral variant MVIOS, collected data from 2G and 3G mobile networks and applied a big-data approach to optimise the network. I was the only systems engineer on the project for the first 2 years and took the project from a concept (from a research group) to a platform which I would take into customers networks and optimise RF network performance.
I never left a network with worse performance than when I arrived.
Business Process Architect & Optimiser
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
CloudPerfect CTO
I would meet with the customers’ subject matter experts to understand their current processes, then convert them into a realisable cloud based process. Through the application of automation, interaction via APIs and UX design, processes would be optimised and made to function on a cloud-based platform. In several cases, I was able to improve existing processs by bringing them clsoer to ITIL best practice (see below).
My basic premise for this work was to automate what can be automated, help the user to do the things that cannot.
IT Service Management - various workplaces
Whether designing processes for CloudPerfect customers and when working with various cellular providers, I tried to apply my knowledge ITIL best practice. Following the general engineering principle of avoiding re-inventing the wheel, when working in Service Management, I would base my strategy on ITIL guidance. Although most of my experience is within Incident, Problem, and Change management, I have familiarity with other areas through a personal connection with the Service Design author (ITIL v4).
Continuous Improvement
You cannot improve what you cannot measure. With analysis of the measurements, the area(s) to be optimised become obvious and any system can be improved.
I completed the Motorola training on 6σ, applying it in all later projects at Motorola.
Integration of Disparate Technologies
I don’t care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do - Gene Kranz - Apollo 13
Motorola IOS & MVIOS
As described above, the purpose of this project was to improve cellular network performance. The solution largely architected by me included: distributed processing, wide area networking, fibre optic interconnections, big-data processing, deep understanding of mobile phone protocols etc. to create a solution which I am told raised $10bn in turnover.
Automation
Frequently, automation requires bringing together information from multiple sources and combining them into one view. This combined data can then feed automation and a user interface such that a person can move a process forward with all of the relevant information accessible.
No system is an island, APIs connect digital islands.
Many SaaS APIs
I have developed many API clients to support integration of multiple systems. Key examples are syncing Invoices etc from Zoho to/ from Xero (as latest count this code has synchronised over 250k financial transactions).
Mostly I have worked with REST APIs, though I do have some experience with GraphQL and binary interfaces.
Wireshark
I added a proprietary protocol into Wireshark, which embedded an existing protocol, using the LUA scripting language.
Home Assistant devices
Partly as a geeky hobby, I have integrated lights, cameras and simple mechanisms onto various household useful items which are controlled as part of a smart home, based on the Home Assistant platform.
Security and Data Privacy
Throughout Career
As the Data Protection Officer at CloudPerfect Ltd with a strong IT security focus, I lead in implementing best practices to safeguard data, for both our customers and their customers. This included handling of sensitive patient data and advising on IT security policy for many types of organisations.
Radio Networking: Cellular & LoraWAN
Just because you cannot see a radio wave, it doesn’t mean that you do not know it is there.
Cellular (Mobile Phone) Networks
I have over 20 years experience with Nokia, Motorola then contracting with ip.access, Airspan, Arieso and Aircom.
LoraWAN
Following suggestions from some potential customers, I purchased multiple LoraWAN devices, to develop RF measurement and optimisation procedures.
Training and Education
Motorola, CloudPerfect, CoderDojo plus others
To me, as the ‘inventor’/ developer of new products, the first use is success. I find the next few occurrences are opportunities to improve. After that it can become a chore. So it is essential to train others in how to do it. I have always enjoyed training, whether as the instructor in a classroom, or as a mentor in ‘on-the-job’ training. This is reinforced by knowing I can move onto something new afterwards.
Technical Skills
The best use of my skill-set will be to lead the integration or development of projects with multiple technologies where challenges exist. Although I always look forward to the need to learn new skills, projects based on my existing knowledge and experience will better enable me to hit the ground running. The areas I am proficient in are:
Software development - primarily in Python and PHP. Some experience in multiple other languages including C, C#, SQL, LUA and Javascript.
Devops - deploying and maintaining applications on Linux servers, either physical or virtual. Good working knowledge of ProxMox, docker and portainer. Some experience with ansible, kubernetes and most virtualisation platforms: VMware, Hyper-V amd VirtualBox.
3D Printing - design, mainly using OnShape and printing in plastic. Most of my designs have been cases for home-made devices and storage.
Microcontroller peripherals, building small devices using ESP32 or Raspberry Pi microcontrollers and integrating peripherals, developing in Micropython, C and esphome.
Patents
Title
Patent Number(s)
Number of Inventors
Filing Date
Setting pilot signal transmit powers in a CDMA system
GB2375266, EP1388220, US7272409, WO2002091621
4
20010504
Determining transmission power
GB2396522, EP1576742, US7319883
2
20021218
Method for determining a coverage area overlap in a cell based communication system
GB2399990, WO2004086795
3
20030328
Frequency planning in a communication system
GB2404118, EP1576844, WO2004056145
3
20030723
Determining the identity of an unknown neighbour cell
EP1671508, WO2005032190, DE602004006764
6
20030927
Frequency re-planning using estimated C/I penalties for neighbouring co-channel cells
GB2412547, EP1733567 , WO2005104602
8
20040326
Frequency re-planning using calculated uplink receive levels for mobile stations served by neighbour cells
GB2420255
8
20040326
Apparatus and method for frequency planning for a cellular communication system
GB2433378, WO2007070242
1
20051214
Career History
BaziCloud - Freelance Engineer 2018-present
Various small projects based around ESP32 boards. Reverse Engineer microcontroller device to replace software and document for future projects.
CloudPerfect Ltd: 2010-present
I founded CloudPerfect Ltd in 2010. I brought in business partner and became CTO in 2018. I sold my share in 2022, becoming an ongoing consultant.
Pico-Cellular Product Manufacturers - 2012-2016
System Engineering of Pico/ Femto cells in order to improve automated testing (Contracting).
Design and Implementation of 4G, 3G and 2G RF optimisation technologies (Contracting).
Motorola - 1996-2010
Design and Implementation of 4G, 3G and 2G RF optimisation systems and specification of LTE SON (Self Optimising Network).
3rd line technical support of 2G customers world-wide.
Nokia - 1993-1996
Systems Engineering for GSM-1900 basestations for US market.
W S Atkins - 1991-1992
Consultancy for Intelligent Highways.
Marconi Systems - 1990-1992
Radar Systems Group.
Education
Degree
Institution
Dates
Qualifications
Bradford University
1986-1990
B.Eng Electronics, Communications and Computer Engineering (2:2)
Workplace Qualifications
Institution
Dates
Qualifications
Motorola
2009
Scrum Master, certified Scrum Master, qualified April 2009 - now lapsed
Motorola University
2005-2006
Motorola Management Programme, completed first 2 years of programme
Motorola University
2003-2007
Project Management: Completed 4 modules of the Project Management Professional (PMBOC) program, receiving certification from George Washington University.
Open University
2000
Java for Network Applications
Hobbies and Interests
Tae Kwon-Do - 2011 to present day. I have just passed 4th degree Black Belt, now training as Assistant Instructor.
CoderDojo Mentor - (now known as Code Club) primary instructor for Faringdon group from 2015 to 2020 (closed during lockdown and never resumed).
Yacht Sailing - multiple long weekends per year with Motorola Sailing Club and later with friends. Completed training as skipper, marine navigation, meteorology and first aid. 1998-2012.