Director of Engineering  (May 2017 – Mar 2018)

ARANZ Medical is a technology company that makes imaging and 3D measurement solutions for wound care and fitting orthotics/prosthetics. Silhouette is an electronic wound assessment solution that includes both the point of care wound imaging and 3D measurement device, as well as the software that enables data capture, storage and analysis. Silhouette is a proven solution in both clinical trial and clinical practice environments, and it is rapidly expanding its market presence around the world.

The Software Team is made up of “full-stack” web developers using .NET (C#, ASP.NET), web building services (REST, JSON, WebAPI), modern HTML5 development (Aurelia, SignalR, Angular) and SQL server. The Hardware/Firmware and Research Engineers are a mix of highly skilled multi-disciplined engineers.

The Director of Engineering is responsible for delivery from software, hardware/firmware, research, and testing services. Demonstrating stewardship of the assets and resources of the organization. Working effectively in collaboration with other members of the department, and with managers and staff across the organization. Complying with all legal requirements, all corporate policies and procedures, and with generally accepted business and ethical practices and ensuring work complies with AML development methodology and quality system.

Key Points

• Member of the Senior Leadership Team.
• Leadership of multi-disciplinary team that includes electronics, hardware, firmware, software “full stack” engineers as well as production and assembly technicians.
• Project Management of Engineering Products from concept to market.
• Development of annual strategic and operational plans.
• Involved in Senior Leadership Team strategic planning and implementation.
• Responsible for Hardware, Software, Firmware, Research and Production.
• Budget and Financial responsibility for Engineering Department.
• Monitor and improve the Production Team’s output and ability to meet forecast sales.
• Process improvement through Engineering.
• Ensuring all product development meets quality and regulatory requirements for medical devices.
• Develop the delivery programme plan to meet Marketing and Sales needs.
• Supporting the development of products, technology and business strategies.
• Actively supporting the use and development of companywide cross-functional teams.

This was a newly created role that resulted from identifying that the Company’s Engineering function was broken. This job provided me with the challenge I was after. The Engineering Team had not been able to release new products to market for over a year, and some substantial changes were required to enable the team to perform. This role was highly contested, and my fit as a ‘fixer’ rather than a ‘caretaker’ along with my varied background across technologies was a good fit.

The Engineering Team consisted of 15 direct and indirect reports, made from a mix of Hardware, Firmware, Software, and Research Engineers. This also required mentorship of Engineers and a Manager.

After an internal restructure, the small in-house Production Team moved into the Engineering Department, meaning that I was also acting Production Manager with three Electronics Technicians. They were responsible for the stock, repairs of product, and production of the SilhouetteStar cameras. Additionally, Two Senior Research Engineers moved from the Advanced Development team into the Engineering Team to help bolster getting Products to market faster.