Q: What does your role involve?
My responsibilities cover several areas. In addition to overseeing technology and capability development, I am increasingly focused on strengthening our manufacturing infrastructure and scaling production capacity.
Another important part of my role is building the next generation of talent within the company. I manage a department of around 50 employees, including managers, engineers and technicians. Developing people, growing leadership capability and ensuring we have the right skills for the future is a major focus for me.
Q: Can you tell us more about the production side of the business?
Twenty years ago, we were primarily a research and development organisation. As we have grown, one of the biggest challenges has been turning core technology into real products that make an impact on customer missions.
It is one thing to develop advanced sensor technology. It is another to manufacture it reliably, consistently and at scale. That transition into production is critical.
On a day-to-day basis, I focus on focal plane array production. We manage detector wafer fabrication, readout processing and flip-chip hybridization to produce hybrid CMOS imaging sensors that sit at the heart of our imaging technology.
Q: What have you been focusing on over the past year?
Over the past year, much of our focus has been on improving production flow and manufacturability. We are working to increase throughput and reducing cycle time, while maintaining good production yield. Expanding capacity and improving efficiency are essential as customer demand grows and performance requirements become more challenging.
Q: What is your favourite part of the job?
I started my career as an engineer, so technology is still my favourite part. I really enjoy taking advanced technology and turning it into a product that can be delivered and used in real missions. Seeing innovation move from concept to reality is extremely rewarding.
Q: You have worked on some truly iconic space missions over the years. What does it feel like to see your work contribute to discoveries on a global scale?
Space is our core business, and our products support civil and scientific missions around the world. We have contributed sensors to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Roman Space Telescope.
On the European Space Agency side, we have supported missions such as Euclid, which is a personal favourite of mine.
As a company, the James Webb mission is probably the most iconic project we have worked on because of the many years of development behind it. Seeing the stunning images released to the world and knowing our sensors helped capture them is a very special feeling.
With regard to ESA's Euclid mission, I was closely involved during the development and production phase between 2015 and 2018. It is always meaningful when you can connect your own contribution to the success of a mission. Seeing it launch and operate successfully makes all the hard work worthwhile.
Q: Has working in space influenced your interests outside of work?
Yes, it certainly has. Space missions naturally capture your attention when you work in the industry. Outside of work, I enjoy travelling and photography, which connects nicely with working in imaging technology.
Q: Where do you see the future of Teledyne Space Imaging heading?
Our customers continue to raise performance expectations and technical requirements. That keeps the work interesting. We are constantly developing new detector capabilities at different scales and performance levels.
The future will bring new challenges, but that is exactly what we are built for.
Q: After nearly three decades with the company, what stands out to you most?
One of the most exciting developments has been seeing formerly separate companies come together under Teledyne.
Recently, I attended a leadership meeting with colleagues from the United Kingdom, Canada and other sites. Companies such as e2v and others that were once independent are now part of the same organisation.
The level of collaboration and shared capability across sites is impressive. Working together as one company, sharing knowledge and expertise, is something I truly value after all these years.
