After a record hiring quarter in Q2, we’ve already blown that record out of the water with twice as many new hires in Q3! And with dozens of positions in both Seattle and Perth still listed on our new website, we aren’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.
This quarter, we’re very pleased to introduce 38 more additions to our team. Our newest First Modizens have done everything from marine engines and interstage composites to multi-award-winning snowboard design and cell science research. Get to know a little bit more about each of them below.
Nic Hugh — Mechanical Systems Engineer
Beginning as a consultant, First Mode was thrilled to welcome Nic to the team full time as both an engineer and a group manager. He particularly enjoys working on products that involve complex multi-disciplinary systems and energy transfer.
Sean Bourke — Control Systems Engineer
Sean Bourke’s experience with mechanical engineering, multidisciplinary teams, automotive development, architectural design of engine systems, and more have already made him a great asset to the Perth team. He is particularly interested in using new technologies, electronics, and the power of software to solve complex systems engineering problems.
Megan Robins — Team Assistant
Megan brings a wide variety of experience in administration support, event planning, social media, HR, and relationship management to the First Mode team in Perth. Outside of work, she enjoys a range of different activities from surfing to snowboarding to building LEGO to playing strategy board games. With an interest in renewable energy and space exploration, she enjoys taking the time to learn as much as she can from the First Mode team.
Tevon Hodge — Electrical Engineer
Tevon’s background in electrical engineering has focused on control circuits and power distribution, with additional experience in manufacturing, cybersecurity, and device electronics. In his spare time, he enjoys experimenting with home automation and growing a massive variety of houseplants.
Ryan Shappell — Electrical Engineer
Originally an engineering co-op with First Mode in 2020, Ryan has joined the team as a full-time contributor, bringing experience with machinery, embedded programming, circuit design, and digital art to the electrical engineering team. He is also interested in mechanical engineering, including machining and CAD design.
Amy Chi — Modeling & Simulation Engineer
In previous roles, Amy has focused on modeling physical systems using Matlab and Python. She also has experience with test engineering and mechanical design, and is interested in learning more about the economics of moving to 100% clean energy. Outside of her professional background Amy is very proud to be an avid Eli Manning and Taylor Swift fan.
Bronce Perez Matos — Business Analyst
Bronce has earned two masters degrees, one while working full-time during the COVID-19 pandemic: He is experienced in legislative affairs, negotiations, analysis, and program management, and is particularly interested in business and logistical infrastructure for clean tech and space exploration.
Barron Knigge — Senior Electrical Engineer
Barron’s career has been centered around making robots that make airplanes—specifically, designing and installing their electrical power, control, and safety systems. He also has extensive experience in Solidworks, Solidworks Electrical, and 3DExperience.
Edwin Park — Senior Business Analyst
Edwin has experience working in the aviation and aerospace industries, particularly on program cost control and finance for Defense and NASA programs. Before coming to First Mode he worked at Blue Origin on the BE-4 Production program, establishing program finance and business analytics tools.
Related: Video: First Mode, a Creative Engineering Company
Anthony Maimone — Business Analyst
Anthony’s background is in civil engineering consulting, with additional recent completion of a certificate program leveraging new skills in data analytics. Outside of work his interests include aviation, space, science fiction, video games, and travel.
Rocky Eastman Jr. — Project Manager, Formulation
Rocky began his professional career studying tissue engineering, then transitioned to custom fabrication, design, and project management during his time working at the Walla Walla Foundry and Dillon Works. He enjoys being a jack of all trades and leading teams with diverse skillsets from project initiation through completion.
Sophia Kim — Mechanical Systems Engineer
Sophia first joined First Mode as a co-op in 2020, and the team is very pleased to welcome her as a full-time employee. After spending her time as a co-op focused on building mechanical systems for the Perseverance mission’s goniometer, she will be bringing her background in physics, control systems, Python, and Matlab to new projects here.
Shannon Cassady — Mechanical Systems Engineer
After graduating from MIT with degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Physics, Shannon arrived at First Mode ready to apply her energy conversion, structural dynamics, and instrumentation expertise to high-impact projects. Her previous internships have included time spent at SpaceX, Raytheon, and the University of Washington.
Ben Chinowsky — Technical Writer
Ben arrives at First Mode as a seasoned technical writer with broad experience across a variety of industries. He enjoys collaborating with a wide range of subject matter experts, and is a big space and energy geek.
Margaret Gardner — People Operations Director
Margaret began her time with First Mode as a recruiting consultant, and proved to be so valuable that the team is thrilled to welcome her full time in a director role. Her recruiting background features an emphasis on executive and engineering recruiting, particularly for industry-leading space companies.
Andy Diaz Colon — Senior Electro-Mechanical Technician
Previously an avionics technician at Blue Origin, Andy joins First Mode’s team of electro-mechanical technicians to support a wide variety of projects at our hardware development facility in SoDo.
Related: A Seattle Manufacturing Lab Built for Clean Tech Development
Zach Rader — Electro-Mechanical Technician
With previous experience as an automotive technician, R&D support engineer, and active-duty aircraft mechanic for the US Army, Zach will also be supporting a variety of projects at the First Mode hardware development facility in SoDo.
Christiana Wu — Creative Manager
Christiana joins the Marketing team with considerable experience in visual design and videography, as well as degrees in human-centered design and electrical engineering. She has spent a decade working in the tech industry, specifically with semiconductors, IoT, gaming, and SaaS; in her free time, she is also the vocalist and frontwoman for Paper Nova.
Eric Bramlett — Mechanical Engineer
Eric joins the First Mode team with experience from Blue Origin, Boeing, SpaceX, and Global Formula Racing. His strong suits are mechanical engineering design, machining, welding, and mechanical assembly; he also won multiple international championships as a graduate student in Formula SAE.
Maike Griessbach — Senior UX/UI Designer
In addition to her UI/UX skills in Sketch, Figma, Adobe, and many more, Maike’s design expertise includes everything from print and typography to animation and the science of colors. She is also fascinated by industrial design and machine building, and is looking forward to more exposure to both at First Mode.
Quincy Rhodes — Electrical Engineer
Quincy brings a background in embedded systems, avionics, and communications to First Mode, with previous experience as a systems engineer in addition to his electrical engineering skill set.
Donna Hile — Director of Information Technology
As First Mode’s new director of IT, Donna is already making her mark as a technology translator with particular expertise in digital transformation, operational technology, and business analysis. Her past experience spans complex industries from engineering and mining through health, finance, and the military.
Harlan Kuo — Mechanical Engineer
Harlan comes from a background in composites, materials, and cryogenic fluid and propulsion systems. His past work has included the Blue Origin Second Stage Fluid System, Crew Capsule windows, Life Support system, and the Falcon Heavy interstage composites. In addition to an MS from Stanford he holds a BS from UC Berkeley, where he was also involved with the Human-Powered Vehicle team.
Kyle Aurisch — Mechanical Engineer
Kyle joins the Perth team with technical skills in SolidWorks and Ansys, including concept-market designs and certification analysis. Previous experience has included designing an automated surveying vehicle from scratch and analyzing its systems to meet company and industry standards.
Garritt Chrzanowski — Manager, Growth & Change Operations
Garritt joins the Operations team at First Mode HQ to help manage a huge slate of changes related to rapid company growth and maturation. With a background in management consulting and operations, tech implementations, and partner relationships, he is looking forward to all that the coming years hold for First Mode.
Lauren Zepeda — Recruiter
Lauren comes to First Mode from ADP, and will be helping the company grow from 150 members to a planned 300 in the coming year. Beyond her recruiting work, she looks forward to learning more about the projects that First Mode is working on in space and beyond.
Amy Altchuler — Senior Business Analyst
Amy joins First Mode with a varied background in chemical engineering, power market operations, renewable energy, and project management, most recently at Amazon. She is looking forward to helping the team at HQ solve difficult problems of all kinds.
Carmen Yellen — Senior Construction Project Manager
Carmen is a mechanical engineer, with demonstrated expertise in construction and facilities management. She has managed complex, high-impact work, including phased construction turnover and coordination of the most critical commissioning activities at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City. After construction, and most recently, she served as the WTC Transportation Hub assistant general manager of facilities operations.
Related: Introducing the Newest Additions to the Team: Q2 2021
Chris Fitchette — Facilities Manager
Chris is an experienced facilities manager with a demonstrated history in commercial facilities, negotiation, operations, and employee and vendor management. His most recent experience includes building a culinary program for Facebook’s Redmond campus from the ground up.
Tyler Wingfield — Senior Project Manager, Formulation
After nine years working in R&D at Terumo BCT, Tyler has joined First Mode to bring his project management, leadership, systems engineering, and product development skills to bear on a variety of First Mode initiatives. His past experience has included engineering physics with an emphasis in biochemistry and material science.
JD Wolflick — Hydrogen Systems Engineer
JD has worked as a process engineer, facility engineer, and software engineer with an emphasis on dynamic simulation; he now joins First Mode as a dedicated hydrogen systems engineer. Outside of work he enjoys building scale models of aircraft, including a few on display in museum exhibits.
Andrew Lewis — Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Andrew joins the embedded software ranks of First Mode with 20 years of successfully delivering high-quality systems, plus leadership and architectural roles. He brings particular experience in real-time and safety critical systems, AWS cloud-native systems, system architecture, and test automation.
Scott Ward — Mechanical Engineer
With previous experience at Lockheed Martin, Belcan, and Rolls-Royce, Scott joins the team with a unique range of engineering skills, including modeling, analysis, fabrication, troubleshooting, DfX, and rapid prototyping. He enjoys wearing many hats, and is looking forward to doing so at First Mode.
Eric Blood — Senior Systems Engineer
Previously at Waymo and NASA’s JPL, Eric is passionate about building a better world through the technology and science enabled by space exploration. He is a technical systems engineer and expert project manager, and has been doing incredible work on the Psyche DSOC project at First Mode as a consultant since April.
Jason Liang — Senior Industrial Designer
Jason joins the growing industrial design team at First Mode bringing particular experience in product design, sketching, and CAD. His past work has earned him a Red Dot Design Award honorable mention; outside of work, he enjoys playing basketball and experimenting with what he calls “weird” recipes.
Joel Amundson — Principal Mechanical Engineer
Joel has been making invaluable contributions to the SCG team as a consultant since May, and the team is very pleased to be adding him as a full-time contributor. His automotive background has touched everything from semi trucks, race vehicles, and marine diesel engine packages to LNG-powered rocket engines.
Camille Woodthorpe — Senior Designer
Joining the growing design team from the Perth side of the globe, Camille is a technologist, software generalist, and self-proclaimed geek with over a decade of experience with emerging technologies, 3D simulations, digital twins, VR/AR, gaming, robotics, and automation. Outside of work she is an engaged member of the STEM community, as a regular presenter and mentor for the upcoming generations.
Aaron Mathers — Principal Electro-Mechanical Technician
Most recently a maintenance technician for Amazon Scout, Aaron Mathers has also worked as a design engineer for K2 Sports, where he earned five industry product design awards. The team looks forward to benefitting from his expertise in mechanical design and assembly, manufacturing, and process optimization.
Welcome to the newest members of First Mode!
Want to join the list in Q4? We’re planning to double our workforce by 2022! Check out our open positions in Seattle and Perth.
