Carnegie Mellon University

Brown University

Stanford University

Hardware Engineer specializing in Prototyping, ECE, Integration, and Systems Architecture

Lead Electrical and Computer Engineer designing Systems Architecture at Mashgin, the industry leader in contactless checkout.

Mashgin

Electrical Systems Engineer

Worked for Deeplocal and the NFL for the "#ShowtimeCam" product, traveling to football stadiums nationwide to deploy and operate the hardware and software during NFL games.

Deeplocal

Software/Production Tech (NFL)

As lead hardware engineer for TEECOMlabs, I specialized in prototyping and design, developing cutting-edge solutions (both hardware and software products) for creating the "built environment for the future." 

My day-to-day responsibilities included designing hardware – inception, design, and prototyping – and also managing software development projects. I also conducted technology research to analyze and influence industry trends, performed cybersecurity analysis and penetration testing, fulfilled analysis and NPI on vendor hardware, and created written content for TEECOM's press blog. In addition, I also managed TEECOM's onsite hardware lab and makerspace, equipped with an EE workstation, 3D printing equipment, and other systems and tooling. 

My responsibilities for developing hardware projects included all design and engineering aspects from inception through production – this included systems design, schematic capture, board design, bringup, integration, mechanical / CAD design, and programming and external software.

The goal of the 8-person R&D team (TEECOMlabs) was twofold: 
1) to develop cutting-edge solutions for TEECOM (core business) and for clients that incorporate new technologies; and 
2) to create public-facing content demonstrating TEECOM's forward-thinking approach to technology. 

Highlighted projects – 
• The Hub – a Python-based hardware-interfacing application platform
• Inky – a 31” E-Ink wall-mounted display, powered by only a single Ethernet (HDbT) cable
• Room Finder – an indoor experience app for wayfinding and room management which leveraged occupancy tracking and analytics (iOS)
• The Occupancy Report – 2+ years of research culminating in a ~70-page SotU techology report (see link below)

TEECOM

R&D Hardware Engineer

My primary project on the Facebook Infrastructure (Storage Hardware) team was to assist in designing Facebook’s next-generation enterprise storage platform, Bryce Canyon, for FB's data centers. 

My primary responsibilities involved system integration, coordinating and balancing various requirements from other teams (Compute, Rack & Power, etc.) when their respective components needed to interface with the Storage systems and shelves. 

I developed systems management solutions for the storage platform, as well as standardized inter-box communication between several hot-swap modules (SKUs), including specifying digital communication buses and all connector pinouts. 

Additionally, I traveled internationally with the team and worked directly with vendors in Taiwan on schematics, high-speed signaling, and PCB layout.

Facebook

Storage Hardware Engineering Intern

My second internship was at the SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, designing hardware for test racks and servers for Flight Avionics systems. 

My primary project was redesigning outdated test server racks which were responsible for passing various avionics components (sensors, et al.) through testing suites, as opposed to testing just a single part or compute system. One of the challenges was integrating all the necessary hardware (and software) to test all of the different modules within a limited-space VPI connector, balancing requirements and (occasionally) redesigning the test module boards themselves to integrate features of multiple boards onto one.

Besides designing Avionics testing hardware circuity and also creating a universal testing platform for many different types of hardware, I created a universal SW image and HW standard for all testing systems and test racks. These, along with other projects, improved the overall reliability of AVI testing platforms at SpaceX. 

Side projects included creating schematics and board layouts and drafting harness drawings for flight hardware, in addition to assisting the production teams with fabrication and bringup of various PCBAs.

SpaceX

Avionics Test Engineering Intern

I was the lead hardware designer for Reach, a wearable HCI platform that captures movement and touch data for real-time interactivity with surrounding environments. The devices incorporated sensors, integrated computer systems, radio systems, and custom interconnects and circuitry, all within a combination 3D-printed/e-textile wearable glove and armband set. 

In addition to designing all hardware prototypes (R1-R3), I was in charge of system integration, facilitating the fusion of the electrical and mechanical systems. I also contributed to software modules, including developing custom low-level sensor operations, kernel mods and drivers, and library-level scripting for SW integration. I also designed interactive demos, including VR demos using the Oculus Rift.

Our original prototype won the AlphaLab Gear prize at CMU’s Build18 ECE competition (2015). 
Our second prototype was featured at Maker Faire Pittsburgh (2016).

HQ: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Lucidware

Co-Founder / Lead Electrical Engineer

My first internship at SpaceX had me working at the Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4), a SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy Launch Site in California. I was primarily involved with the Communication and Instrumentation Range Operations team. 

My main projects included designing an Area Warning System for the pad and hangar area of the launch facility, which incorporated custom circuitry and the design of multiple warning controllers, as well as networking the layout of the system in the Payload Processing Facility (PPF) and the hangar. The primary design consisted of controllers, inputs (wall panel buttons), outputs (light poles), as well as I/O interfaces into the compute software for the facility and launch systems. 

I also completed another project, replacing expensive third-party power supplies with an in-house, lower-cost alternative. The core of the design was a dual-redundancy quad (4ch) power distribution system, specified and rated for the Launch Control (Mission Critical) server racks. After two design iterations, I successfully implemented a low-cost and more reliable alternative (higher performance rating) using pairs of adjustable regulators plus Phoenix QUINT Diodes for redundancy. 

My team also managed and implemented installations in the Launch and Landing Control (LLC) facility; my main responsibilities there included designing circuitry and PCBs to replace various telemetry systems, assisting with launch operations, installing a fallback emergency PA system, and maintaining the fiber optic telecommunications network for mission systems.

Launch and Test Intern

Worked for Paladin Entertainment/Times Square NYE as a Production Assistant and in Broadcasting.

Times Square NYE

Production Assistant

Starting my freshman year, I worked on the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute's team competing in the Google Lunar XPrize Challenge, in collaboration with Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based CMU spinoff developing space robotics for lunar missions.

While my responsibilities evolved over my four-year tenure, I primarily developed custom avionics (computer systems) and software programs for various Lunar Rover prototypes and families.

The Team CMU/Astrobotic rover completed Terrestrial Milestone evaluations in 2013 and 2014, with a launch to the Moon originally scheduled for 2016 (postponed). Our team was one of only two teams selected by the XPRIZE foundation to compete for all three target milestone prizes (Landing, Mobility, and Imaging), and the only team to win all three. 

My primary responsibilities on the Avionics team were designing (and later, leading design for) custom computer systems using ARM-based solutions, as well as battery and power distribution systems (including solar arrays), thermal controllers, motor controllers, imaging interfaces, and sensor systems including IMUs, thermistors, encoders, et al. 

I also assisted with various software systems and libraries, including bare metal programming of sensor modules and motor controllers. I was also heavily involved in manufacturing the rovers (although to be quite honest "manufacturing" in this case really meant myself and one or two other engineers working in an e-lab building the PCBAs, constructing wiring harnesses, machining metal in the shop, i.e. building the rover.)

Carnegie Mellon Google Lunar X-Prize Team

Avionics Engineer

Worked on "The Comedy of Errors" at Shakespeare in the Park (Central Park, NYC), and Venice, a new musical written by Matt Sax and Eric Rosen.

The Public Theater

Production Intern

Developed Social Media Campaign
Designed iPhone apps (Medical, Scientific, Educational and Gaming)
Worked with Software Design, Hardware Prototyping, Marketing, QA, Product Research, and Development, among other departments.

Futurity Ventures / bMuse LLC

Intern

Founded a charity organization that donates books to children whose parents are undergoing cancer treatment at hospitals.

Books 4 Kids From Kids

Co-Founder

Personal Projects

Research and Development in Hardware/Software, Robotics, and Human-Computer Interface technology. 

Software & Hardware Development:
Apple and Android Developer – Mac iOS, and Android
Currently developing applications for Apple Mac and iOS devices, as well as Android Smartphones. "Airplane Mode Timer", a successful app for Android, is a Pebble watch-based app available on Google Play Store.

Hardware Development: 
Jim the SenseBot: A robot that knows who, what, when, where, why, and how it is. Using a variety of sensors and incoming data streams, 'Jim' knows everything about itself and it's immediate environment, and using an AI platform can generate "feelings" or emotions based on this data. 

Retired Projects:
The COM-BAT System (Carbon Monoxide & Methane - Barometer, Altimeter & Temperature)
The COM-BAT System, a solar-powered air pollution detector and weather sensing device, is a all-in-one environmental sensing unit. I designed, built, and am currently maintaining the device; it utilizes an Arduino processing unit with integrated sensors for measuring Carbon Monoxide and Methane atmospheric parts-per-million, as well as temperature, altitude and barometric pressure sensors. It can to be charged either through a solar panel (0.2v-18.0v, 450nA-1A) or normal wall chargers (1.5v-16v, 100mA-1.4A). The solar mechanism was designed specifically to accept the widest range of amperages possible.

Jake Tesler