If you’ve checked out our LinkedIn lately, you may have noticed we’ve been hiring a lot this year. Joining our 13 new hires from Q1, we’re very pleased to introduce 18 more additions to our team in Q2!
These new First Modizens bring experience in everything from aerospace engineering and embedded microcontrollers to mechanism design and EV manufacturing. Read on to get to know a little more about each of them.
(Want to join the list in Q3? We’re still growing! Check out our open positions in Seattle and Perth.)
Ali Alwaely — Safety Coordinator
Ali brings over a decade of experience managing international HSSE for industries such as oil and gas (including offshore) and construction. In addition to experience successfully managing multi-billion-dollar projects and thousands of onsite workers for major companies including Shell, Ali also has a background in chemical engineering. He is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, and has also lived in Antalya, Turkey.
Amylie Plante — Executive Assistant
Amy joins First Mode as executive assistant to president and chief engineer Chris Voorhees. She specializes in roles that demand more than traditional EA competencies, including project management, governance, compliance, tracking budgets and deliverables, managing stakeholder engagement, and more. Amy hails from Canada and has also lived in London.
Joining the Business & Product Development team, Arthur brings prior experience as a business analyst with an emphasis on mining and procurement projects to First Mode. Previously with a boutique consulting firm, he also has a degree in mechanical engineering. Arthur is originally from North Carolina and went to school in Atlanta.
Brett Konen — Communications Manager
Brett joins the Marketing team at First Mode with over a decade of experience in editorial and content marketing roles. Her background also includes a wide variety of work in PR, social media marketing, copywriting, SEO, advertising, and product development. She is originally from the Seattle area and has also spent time living in Melbourne, Australia and San Jose, Costa Rica.
Brian Hoehn — Senior Systems Engineer
Brian joins the First Mode office in Perth an accomplished systems engineer bringing particular experience in configuration management, change management, risk management, logistics, and more. He is originally from Cincinnati but has lived all over the world, including Italy, Japan, and now Australia (with Perth being one of his favorite places to date).
Clive Baldwinson — Project Manager
Clive joins the team in Perth as an expert project manager with special emphases on planning, analysis, and computing. He has also been an aerosciences instructor, as well as an officer and navigator with the Royal Australian Air Force. Clive is originally from Australia; he has also lived in Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Dave Bares — Benefits Administrator
Dave brings two full decades of HR experience to the First Mode team, and will be responsible for continually growing and improving the employee benefits available at First Mode. Most recently at Ekata, Dave has lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington.
David Pinkins — Mechanical Systems Engineer
David is a recent graduate with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering: As a student, he participated in the 2021 NASA Student Launch Competition where his team won multiple design awards, including third overall. David is originally from Ohio and attended Ohio State University prior to moving to Seattle.
Glenn Jewell — Principal Integration & Manufacturing Engineer
Glenn joins the First Mode office in Perth as an accomplished automotive engineer, most recently focused on electric vehicles with SEA Electric. In his previous role he led engineering, global programs, manufacturing, and quality while managing an engineering staff of 22 across Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. He is originally from Melbourne and has also spent time living in the UK and Sweden.
Karen MacKenzie — Principal Mechanical Systems Engineer
With more than four decades of experience, including three at NASA and Boeing, Karen is an exceptional mechanical engineer with an emphasis on fluid systems and structures. She also has a background in writing, to which she attributes a portion of her success. Karen was born in Pennsylvania and has also lived and worked in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana prior to Washington.
Nathan Glover — Platform Engineer
Nathan is an avid software engineer enthusiastic about any and all applications of technology; his specialties include infrastructure, DevOps, and embedded microcontrollers. Nathan was born and raised in Perth, and joins the First Mode office there.
Nel Rajakaruna, SHRM-CP — HR Generalist
Nel joins the growing HR team in a generalist role that will benefit from her depth of interpersonal and problem solving skills. She will bring eight years of experience with onboarding, benefits, employee relations, and performance management in order to build out the First Mode onboarding process, implement a people management program, and broaden the learning and development opportunities available to the team. Nel is originally from Sri Lanka but has spent more than half of her life living in the UK and four US states to date.
Paul Tetley — Principal Systems Engineer
Paul brings two decades of experience to the First Mode team in Perth as a software engineer, systems engineer and engineering manager on software and airborne hardware projects. He considers past roles in the aviation, defense, and manufacturing industries to be his most interesting experience to date. Paul has called Perth home all his life apart from a brief recent stint in New York.
Randi Peterson — Mechanical Engineer
Randi joins the team as a mechanical engineer with varied experience in mechanism design, kinematics, materials, and structures. Most recently with Boeing, Randi is particularly passionate about multi-disciplinary design, systems integration, and finding better ways to solve complex problems. She is originally from Illinois and went to school in Michigan prior to making Seattle her home.
Ryan Timoney, Ph.D. — Senior Mechanical Engineer
Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Ryan joins the Perth team with eight years of hands-on experience in systems engineering and mechanical design for space flight and scientific applications. A Chartered Engineer and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, Ryan’s Ph.D. research focused on the development of robotic drilling and sampling systems for planetary exploration. He also holds a Master of Engineering degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Glasgow.
Sarah Troedson Haynes, CPA MA — Accounting Manager
Sarah joins the Accounting team with extensive experience leading international teams in hyper-growth environments. She has handled a variety of complex accounting projects including technical accounting close and consolidations, operational full-cycle accounting, and project engagements with specialized finance systems. She hails from Saint Paul, Minnesota but has lived and worked all over the world including in Tokyo, Saõ Paulo, and Bucharest, Romania.
Siobhan Avenell — People & Culture Director
Siobhan joins the Perth office with over a decade of experience as a specialist in people and culture roles within the information and technology industries. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management and is a repeat speaker at Perth DDD, a tech conference focused on inclusivity. Siobhan is originally from Scotland and has lived all over the UK and Australia.
Stephanie Cynkar — HR Generalist
Stephanie joins the First Mode HR team in Seattle with a background and degree in Human Resource Management; her previous experience has included work in the education field with children on the autism spectrum. Originally from Seattle, she has also spent several years living overseas in Germany, Japan, and England.
Welcome to the newest members of First Mode!
Want to work with us? We’re hiring! First Mode draws on the exceptional talent and creativity of its multidisciplinary team to solve the toughest problems on and off the planet. Check out our open positions in Seattle and Perth.
