Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area
Solutions-driven advocate for computational technology in the building industry with a collaborative approach to research, development, and implementation of advanced software to meet the emerging needs of ever-evolving businesses. Demonstrated expertise in product and project management, software development and testing, user experience research, and integrated project delivery. • Design computing expert with experience in research, development, and implementation of design technology strategy leveraging advanced design software in infrastructure design firms. • Extensive experience in leading internationally distributed teams developing complex software. • Training and workshop development for a broad range of users including seasoned industry professionals, development teams, academics, and students on advanced design technologies, methodologies, and research findings. • Skilled in waterfall and agile methodologies, generative performance-based design, building information modeling (BIM), 3D modeling, and computational design for architecture, engineering, and construction. • Dual citizen of the USA and Germany.
Manage software training for Peddinghaus's Raptor software and provide training to customer organizations to increase customer competency and productivity, as well as in-house to upskill employees. This includes analysis of production workflows for process improvements, evaluation of software behavior and potential software issues, and user advocacy to the software development and engineering teams.
Lead and direct the Advanced Software Development department developing Peddinghaus Corporation’s Raptor software which transforms geometric structural steel part information into machine-type specific CNC instructions for fabrication. Collaborate with engineering departments and enhance communications with C-level management. Support software cooperation with hardware and software partners. Communicate with customers regarding requirements and elevated escalation resolution. Manage all hiring, lay-offs, and personnel matters for the Advanced Software Development team. • Increased revenue for the Advanced Software Development department, reducing the investment deficit by over 75%. • Intensified the utilization of software issue tracking and improved M&E burndown, overcoming Covid-19 staffing challenges. • Alleviated staffing shortfalls through outsourcing of crucial, non-core software projects. • Enhanced inter-departmental collaboration by conducting weekly coordination meetings. • Steered a critical, long-term software development project through a series of challenges. • Guided team efforts to address shorter-term core software projects.
Managed the infrastructure design software products OpenBuildings™ GenerativeComponents® and OpenBuildings Station Designer which leverages GenerativeComponents’ computational design capabilities to connect continuous linear infrastructure design with digital models of individual infrastructure items. Led development scrums, agile software development, and user experience research. Conducted professionally oriented computational design workshops for civil engineering workflows, including tunnel and bridge design and construction in China, Singapore, and Australia. • Delivered key contributions to product definition of OpenBuildings Station Designer in the crucial project initiation phase. • Guided strategic team efforts, increasing product reliability and performance. • Spearheaded and produced monthly online GenerativeComponents special interest group sessions, increasing user engagement and knowledge transfer. • Authored, recorded, edited, and posted 20 GC SIG webinars. • Prepared and presented more than 120 lectures, presentations, and workshops at U.S. and international conferences for industry professionals and students during tenure at Bentley Systems. • Published papers to peer-reviewed conferences and contributed to publications, including three book chapters.
Directed Bentley Systems’ global research efforts for computational design. Collaborated as industry partner on international research grant applications and on research projects funded by international government research agencies. In addition, managed the product development for Bentley’s computational design application GenerativeComponents. Promoted its use in international design practices and in research and teaching at international academic institutions. • Led the successful commercial release of a new GenerativeComponents product generation with dramatically improved user experience based on insights gained through academic research collaborations and early user engagement. • Developed, conducted, and evaluated usability labs to test assumptions and improve the usability of a complex computational design software. • Developed the concept and led a globally distributed team across multiple business units to develop a proof-of-concept cloud-based prototype for multi-disciplinary analysis and multi-objective optimization based on GenerativeComponents as a parametric modeling engine, including connections to energy and structural analysis engines. • Participated in international research projects with academic innovators, resulting in published research; presented research and conducted workshops at conferences, architecture and engineering firms, and academic institutions. • Promoted the move to computational BIM by advocating and driving the integration of GenerativeComponents with Bentley’s BIM applications, empowering users to leverage computational BIM in their professional practices.
03-2003 Promotion to Senior Associate 03-2000 Promotion to Associate Firm wide responsibility for design technology strategy and implementation in an architectural design firm with offices in the USA and in various countries around the globe. Very important was human change management to overcome the initial concept of effecting practice change in the context of technology implementation. • Built and led the firm wide Design Technology Group supporting the effective use of software and hardware in all workflows from schematic design to construction administration. • Developed and implemented an in-house training concept to support the technological and professional practice transition from a split between design modeling and 2d digital production drafting to an integrated 3d, model-centric, and object-oriented design process, and further into BIM-based integrated project delivery. • Developed project phase charrettes into a standard methodology for technology-intense projects, introducing project teams to new ways of working with advanced technology while ensuring project progress. • Introduced complementary on-the-job follow-up training and just-in-time knowledge injections. The knowledge transfer and design technology infusion toolset included training Design Technology Group members for direct project participation and coaching project team members to become design technology advocates. • Extended this approach for project kick-off charrettes to consultants, client representatives, and beyond.
Contributed in a small and agile team to the development of the pioneering 3d modeling package form•Z across the full vertical stack from user requirements through software specifications, user interface design, coding, documentation, to user support and training. • Researched and developed a new sun position algorithm that works reliably for all latitudes, longitudes, and seasons. • Extended the dimensioning tools to cover a broad range of international standards and discipline conventions. • Added a line drawing algorithm with control of WYSIWYG high-fidelity line styles for display and PostScript printing. • Researched and developed an algorithm for tangency snapping to up to three points, lines, or circles. • Developed table-based font mapping with optional fast font substitution. • Developed an optimized assembly-like display list command language for speedy screen redraws of wireframes.