Wallace Davis
Satellite Engineering Leader
Phoenix,AZ
Summary
Innovative, entrepreneurial and hands-on Product Development Engineering Leader with 30+ years experience defining, developing and deploying Satellite Communications equipment and networks, Metro Area Networking and Network Management solutions. Offering seasoned presentation, communication, coaching and empathetic leadership skills. Results-oriented technical leader with a proven track record of bringing products to market with full stack expertise starting from the RF, Waveform, Security, Hardware, Software, Embedded Software and through to the IP Network stack. US Security Clearance.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of User Terminal Engineering
Telesat
Bethesda, MD
11.2021 - Current
- Leading team of engineers and scientists to define all technical specifications and designs of Telesat's LEO Lightspeed User Terminals including RF, Waveform, Hardware and Networking.
- My team is responsible for all Embedded Software for the UT and Userlink including Antenna control, MEF Packet stack, advanced algorithms to control and optimize the User wireless communications link and platform embedded software.
- Investigating latest technology and trends to evaluate, select and incorporate into product offering.
- Working with internal teams and external partners to curate, define and develop portfolio of terminals with innovative components including Antennas, RF and Modems to enable enterprise customers with compelling service offerings.
VP of Technical Business Development
Comtech EF Data
03.2020 - 11.2021
- Created Business Development interface between Engineering and Sales to imagine, scope, propose and present innovative solutions to capture strategic opportunities.
- Bid team lead and technical architect for all LEO Landing Station and User Terminal, Next Gen LEO constellations and multiple Military RFI and RFP proposals.
- Lead deep technical discussions and workshops with highly visible customers for new opportunities totaling over $150m
- Study emerging technologies and markets to align with internal capabilities for commercial and military opportunities.
Senior Vice President of Engineering
Comtech EF Data
02.2015 - 03.2020
- Led Engineering organization which builds advanced Satellite communications equipment for consumer, enterprise and defense applications
- Owner of $25m budget for staff of 150+ engineers and 20+ active projects including DoD/Gov NRE
- Increased staff by 25% over 2 years
- Multi-site, multi-national engineering team comprised of broad disciplines including Software, Embedded Software, NMS Software, Hardware, Waveform Design, FPGA, Test, Mechanical, PCB layout, Thermal, Technical pubs and RF.
- Tightly interfaced with Market team to define and deliver on Engineering Roadmap
- Continuous engineering process evolution using Agile (Jira) based on metrics and dashboards
- Assessed and Integrated multiple M&A evaluations totaling over $500m
- Implemented Risk register across all programs
Director of Software Development
Comtech EF Data Corporation
02.2011 - 01.2015
- Departmental head for 40+ software development team across multiple products and disciplines including Embedded, NMS and server based software.
- Responsible for end-to-end delivery of trunking and VSAT systems deployed worldwide including all aspects of systems, software and hardware.
- Systems Architect for hybrid TDMA and SCPC waveform development (H-DNA)
- Systems Architect for 10+ full Satellite modem designs
- Initiated and led company through adoption of Agile which improved time to market by >25%
- Hands-on Company-wide System Architect and SME for IP Packet processing and Distributed Networks.
Embedded Software Engineering Manager
Comtech EF Data Corporation
02.2007 - 02.2011
- Managed activities of 10+ Embedded Software engineers building software for advanced satellite modems using Embedded Linux, MQX and vxWorks
- Developed Embedded software as subject matter expert for all IP Networking and packet processing including QoS including policing, shaping and scheduling algorithms, Header Compression and WANOp.
- Walked clients and internal staff through troubleshooting steps to resolve issues, enhance supportability and identify performance bottlenecks.
- First CEFD engineer to get an encryption module FIPS-140-2 Level 2 certified.
Embedded Software Engineer I, II, III
Comtech EF Data Corporation
08.2001 - 02.2007
- Embedded Software Engineer (Linux, vxWorks) focused on Packet processing, Web, SNMP and Redundancy using C/C++ to deliver 25+ software releases.
- Team and System lead for multiple high-profile products with total sales >$300m
Software Engineer
Intransa Inc.
02.2001 - 11.2002
- Architected, designed and implemented key sub-sections of storage area network platform implemented on Embedded Linux with C/C++.
Software Engineer
Candela Technologies
03.1999 - 03.2002
- Designed and implemented IP Network Traffic Generator software to simulate real-world networks using Linux and C/C++ system calls.
Software Engineer Team Lead
Mayan Networks
01.2000 - 07.2001
- Architected, designed, Implemented and Team Lead for Service/Network Management system (SMS) for next generation Metro Area Network Optical Aggregation device including Java.
Education
MBA - Technical Management And Entrepreneurship
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZMaster of Science - Computer Science Emphasis Networking, Security, AI
National Technological University
Minneapolis, MNBachelor of Science - Computer And Electrical Engineering
Purdue University
West Lafayette, INSkills
Engineering Leadership
Product and Project Management
Product Development
Embedded Software Development
C, C, Java, Scripting, Patterns
Cloud (AWS)
VM, Containers, Kubernetes
Edge/Distributed Computing
Satellite Communications (GEO, MEO, LEO)
DVB-S2, DVB-S2X, TDMA, LDPC, ACM, Power Control
Satellite Waveform design
Software and Systems Architect
IP Networking/Packet Processing
DoD Grade Security
Business Development
High Availability / Redundancy
Security Clearance
ARM, x86, MIPS
Finance and Budgeting
Embedded Linux and vxWorks
Papers and Patents
- Named Inventor/Co-Inventor for (8) active patents covering Satellite communications: interference mitigation, shared satellite bandwidth optimization and network management algorithms
- Co-authored "The application of SCA in the design of high data rate (HDR) JTRS radios and waveforms", SDR08 Papers and Presentations, 2008
Timeline
Director of User Terminal Engineering
Telesat
11.2021 - Current
VP of Technical Business Development
Comtech EF Data
03.2020 - 11.2021
Senior Vice President of Engineering
Comtech EF Data
02.2015 - 03.2020
Director of Software Development
Comtech EF Data Corporation
02.2011 - 01.2015
Embedded Software Engineering Manager
Comtech EF Data Corporation
02.2007 - 02.2011
Embedded Software Engineer I, II, III
Comtech EF Data Corporation
08.2001 - 02.2007
Software Engineer
Intransa Inc.
02.2001 - 11.2002
Software Engineer Team Lead
Mayan Networks
01.2000 - 07.2001
Software Engineer
Candela Technologies
03.1999 - 03.2002
MBA - Technical Management And Entrepreneurship
Arizona State University
Master of Science - Computer Science Emphasis Networking, Security, AI
National Technological University
Bachelor of Science - Computer And Electrical Engineering
Purdue University
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