Silgan Dispensing
December 2021 - Present
Lead Product Design Engineer
Approached by Silgan mid-2021 to work on the Advanced Engineering Team. Began training in Siemens NX CAD modeling and soon took over a high profile project nearing commercialization. Discovered critical potential roadblocks which have been resolved through testing and revision of the design for manufacturing. Have taken on two other high profile projects for commercialization with annual volumes in the millions of units annually.
FireBoard Labs
March 2021 - November 2021
Head of Product Design
FireBoard Labs makes cloud connected, wifi enabled temperature probes for various monitoring uses. The company offers many accessories used in the outdoor grilling and smoking Market segment. In order to offer their customers more useful products to enhance their experiences, FireBoard hired me to help design and develop custom products. In a short period of time, I designed a few new products for FIreboard including an all-new Consumer Electronic device. I designed, engineered, sourced and conducted initial testing of the entire mechanical assembly of the Spark smart instant read thermometer. The other items are accessories used to help organize products ranging from injection molded TPE to RF welded soft goods. During tenure at FireBoard, a number of companies reached out with interest to recruit me for their teams focused on innovation. An opportunity to work for Silgan Dispensing was too good to pass up and ultimately I stepped down from my position with FireBaord Labs.
UbeCube, LLC
July 2019 - February 2021
Director - Product Design & Development
After a few months as a contractor for the owner of a number of local businesses, was brought on to start/finish product development of the entire product line. UbeCube is a brand focused on storage and organization products for the home, garage and outdoors. My responsibilities included: product design, engineering, prototyping, sampling and sourcing. As well as marketing activities which include: product renderings, motion graphics, 3D animation, web design, packaging design and social media roll out.
Tribal Manufacturing
August 2018 – July 2019
DESIGN Contractor
Leveraged vast career experience to provide a variety of new product-related deliverables to professional network in the Kansas City business community.
• Product Design using SolidWorks
• 3D Animation using Studio Max
• Motion Graphics/Animation using Adobe After Effects
• 2D Graphic Design using Adobe/Corel
Castle Creations, Inc.
March 2017 – August 2018
Design manager
Castle Creations, Inc. is a manufacturer of high performance electronics for the Radio-Controlled Hobby industry.
• Manage the design process (concept to production) for new electronic devices, mobile apps, websites and product packaging.
• Contribute to the company’s business planning, marketing activities and cultural improvement
• Conceive and prototype new products that generate IP, meet sales goals and consumer needs.
• Continually study the RC Hobby market to gain insight into consumer needs which Castle can meet.
Contributed to the successful launch of 3 new Castle Creation products
Nemo Ventures
January 2014 - March 2017
Product Development lead
Nemo Ventures was a new product development startup within the C3 Brand Marketing Agency.
• Through observation and user testing, identify opportunity spaces for new and improved consumer products.
• Define the features, benefits and other product attributes of the new product.
• Conceived, designed and developed numerous items. Two items have been licensed to companies with established presence in their respective markets.
• Conducted initial IP research to establish likelihood of receiving patent grant.
• Awarded full utility patent grant for a vehicle mounted wind-powered light up windsock.
• Designed packaging for numerous products.
• Shot and edited numerous videos for commercials, websites and internal use.
• Ran ad campaigns for new products on Google, Facebook and Twitter.
R&D/Leverage
March 2010 - November 2013
Senior Industrial Designer
R&D/Leverage provides Product Design and Mold Manufacturing for the food, beverage, home, personal care and healthcare industries.
• Accepted a position as Senior Industrial Designer and Director of 3D Animation.
• Led the design phase of many products including the brand new 20oz 7UP bottle. As a successful product of design research and consumer preferred solutions, this bottle design has outperformed a bottle 7UP has never been able to replace based on consumer preferred criteria.
• Worked with brand owners to understand how important brand equity is to successfully marketing their products.
Garmin International
September 2003 - Feruary 2010
Garmin International delivers innovative GPS technology across diverse markets, including aviation, marine, fitness, outdoor recreation, tracking and mobile apps.
3D Animation Specialist (December 2006 – February 2010)
• While in Garmin's ID group, was tapped for 3D Animation from time to time.
• In late 2005, Garmin offered me a newly created position in a newly formed Interactive and Animation Group within Marketing Communications.
• Worked on some very exciting projects, including television commercials and websites. If you've ever used a Garmin GPS, you've seen my work.
• Created all of the downloadable and most stock vehicle icons.
Industrial Designer (September 2003 - December 2006)
• During tenure in Garmin's Industrial Design department, provided leading design directions on 7 product lines and various accessories.
• Worked with many teams during each product development and learned the ropes of bringing a product to life.
• Contributed to many Garmin innovations and have been listed on 30-40 Garmin patents.