Chris Hill

Analog Engineer

Stockport, England, United Kingdom

About

An enthusiastic and self-motivated Electronic Design Engineer with an MSc in Electronic Product Development. Has a passion for learning, gaining both HNC and MSc qualifications through part-time study. Has extensive experience in circuit design including DC-DC conversion, SMPS, motor drives and battery management and low-power design in a variety of different markets. Also considerable expertise in the fields of simulation, thermal design, test, measurement and test development in support of advanced semiconductor research. Is very much at home working in multi-site and multi-cultural teams and reporting directly at board level. A “hands-on” engineer with outstanding communication skills who has also produced numerous application notes, conference papers, technical presentations and blog posts.

Experience

  • Hardware Architect at Thalès Underwater Systems
    Jun 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 1 mo

  • Analog Engineer at Thales Maritime
    May 2022 - Jun 2023 · 1 yr 2 mos

  • Senior Hardware Engineer at Landis and Gyr
    May 2019 - Jan 2023 · 3 yrs 9 mos

    Main areas of responsibility: Design for intrinsic safety and ATEX (ATmosphere EXplosibles) Extremely low-power design ASIC design and specification Circuit simulation Thermal analysis

  • Electronic Design Engineer at Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc.
    May 2018 - May 2019 · 1 yr 1 mo

    Design and development of electronic sensor systems for use in Intrinsically Safe environments. Circuit design of products according to the specification, budget and timeframe set out in Development Orders. Analysis of circuit behaviour using the LTSpice simulation package. Verification of product compliance with EMC requirements and providing improvement proposals for same. Management of component obsolescence. Creation of detailed product documentation for use in the certification process. Specification and checking of data sheets. Verification testing of prototypes and pilot run devices. Reviewing of PCBs layouts Mentoring of junior staff members.

  • NXP Semiconductors (20 yrs 6 mos)
    • Senior Applications Engineer - Gallium Nitride (GaN) Team
      Nov 2012 - Oct 2016 · 4 yrs

      Moved into the Gallium Nitride (GaN) team at NXP Semiconductors. Now focussed on the high-voltage applications appropriate for GaN switches and diodes. Responsibilities include analysing and characterizing device behaviour using custom test circuits designed by myself, identifying and investigating potential application areas for GaN, liasing with customers and other partners and guiding device development. Producing and presenting highly detailed technical material is also a fundamental part of this role. I also retain my thermal modelling role, as described in my previous post at NXP.

    • Senior Applications Engineer
      May 1996 - Nov 2012 · 16 yrs 7 mos

      Concentrated on the use of power semiconductors in a wide range of applications including: DC-DC conversion, battery management, motor control and various other low voltage applications. Successfully developed a deep understanding of power MOSFET behaviour using bespoke, custom-built test methods. Solely responsible for introducing the use of FloTHERM thermal simulation software at the Manchester site. Provided a high-level of design-in support for numerous “brand name” customers. Analysis and resolution of EMC problems in customer circuits using a variety of techniques including Laplace and Fourier analysis. Participated in a large number of customer visits in Europe, North America and the Far East. Authored numerous articles, application notes and conference papers on various aspects of power MOSFET applications. Regularly produce and present training seminar material for our sales force and FAEs as well as external customers. Demonstrated the ability to manage multiple high-profile projects running simultaneously and to tight deadlines.