Resume

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Alexis' Resume

Highlights

Solid history of effective design and development of autonomous systems.
Detail-oriented, innovative professional with a demonstrated record of driving the success of science and engineering projects.
Analytical professional skilled in developing powerful business solutions to maximize value and support growth of companies.
Proven expertise in spearheading all phases of project life cycle, from initiation to completion. See my references on LinkedIn.
Superior collaboration and leadership skills, with proven expertise in directing, motivating, and guiding cross-functional teams to peak performance in high energy, deadline driven environments.
Bilingual: Italian and English.
Italian and U.S. Citizenship.

Professional Experience

SPACE INGENUITY, HIGHLAND RANCH, CO, USA

Engineer Subject Matter Expert (January 2024 – Present)

GN&C Engineer for the Orion Capsule, at Lockheed Martin Human Spaceflight facility. Furthermore, I work with the TT&V (Test and Validation) team for Orion at the Nasa Johnson Space Center (JSC).

REDWIRE SPACE, LITTLETON, CO, USA

Subject Matter Expert - Optical Navigation Capability Lead (January 2021 - December 2023)

I worked on the GN&C system for the Orion Capsule, at Lockheed Martin Human Spaceflight facility. Furthermore, I worked with the TT&V team for Orion at the Nasa Johnson Space Center (JSC). Key Achievements:

Machine Learning (ML) algorithms for the RedWire ARGUS camera
Software modules and plugins for the RedWire ACORN simulation system
During year 2021 I have been the Vision Navigation Lead for the Firefly Blue Ghost Lunar Lander and I have contributed to the successful completion of the first three major milestones for the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander (SRR, PDR and CDR) with NASA and Firefly representatives.
Recipient of the RedWire ‘At Our Core’ Award for year 2022, along with other Orion team members.

DEEP SPACE SYSTEMS, LITTLETON, CO, USA

Senior Staff Engineer (May 2018 – January 2021)

Contributed in the design, development and testing of FPGA based systems, using VHDL. Carried out extensive testing (thermal, radiation, vacuum) of embedded systems. Provided support to third companies concerning the development of vision-based navigation algorithms for spacecrafts, using embedded CPU and GPU systems. Extensive use of lab equipment such as oscilloscope, logic analyzer, programmable power supplies, for testing and debugging. Jira and BitBucket administrator. Key Achievements:

Designed, implemented and delivered computer vision algorithms for autonomous navigation and hazard detection and avoidance for spacecrafts, tested in simulated environment. Algorithms were designed in MatLab and implemented in C/C++ and were heavily based on OpenCV.
Contributed in the development and testing of firmware for embedded systems based on STM32 MCU, commissioned by NASA. Software developed in C.
Recipient of the Deep Space Systems Excellence in Engineering Award (October 2021).

GERMANDRONES GMBH, BERLIN, GERMANY

Research Scientist (April 2017 – March 2018)

Led development of the autopilot firmware for the Songbird VTOL UAV. Management of research projects in collaboration with Universities. Research in the field of autonomous navigation of UAVs and fault diagnosis. Key Achievements:

Designed, implemented and delivered embedded C++ software solutions consistent with the product roadmap and released plan milestones. Managed software releases using Jira and Git.
Organized and conducted extensive field-testing of new firmware features for autonomous navigation of UAVs.

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER, DENVER, CO, USA

Research Scientist (April 2015 – December 2016)

Led research and development for wide range of projects, utilizing analytical, communication, and collaboration skills to capture project success. Key Achievements:

Directed autonomous landing algorithms for rotary wing UAVs project, integrating vision and inertial sensor, parallel computing, and embedded CPU/GPU systems. All algorithms developed in C++.
Designed modular HW/SW framework for development of unmanned systems, performing development and testing of mechanical structures, sensors, communication systems, algorithms, and communication protocols to ensure success and reliability.
Publications and Patents List: ─ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y1S4rmgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra

CIVITANAVI SYSTEMS S.R.L., CIVITANOVA MARCHE, ITALY

Algorithm Engineer (February 2014 – March 2015)

Led design, development, and testing of algorithms necessary in providing quality software products. Collaborated with cross-functional team members in development of new products and functions while complying with Civitanavi System’s policies and procedures. Key Achievements:

Developed algorithms for Attitude Heading and Reference Systems (AHRS), Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and North Finders Systems using Kalman Filter and embedded systems. Algorithms were designed in MatLab and implemented using C and C++.

THALES ITALIA S.P.A., CHIETI, ITALY

Internship (January 2011 – December 2013)

Completed European Research Project ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking R3-COP (file number: ART-010000-2010-5). Achieved project goals of overcoming fragmentation of robotic sector through creation of cross-domain platform of methods and tools for design of usable autonomous systems. Additionally, contributed to research on Pedestrian Localization using MEMS IMU and UWB. Designed and implemented Navigation Algorithms for different drone platforms using C and C++.

Education and Training

Ph.D. Degree, Automation Engineering - Polytechnic University of marche, Ancona, Italy

Thesis: “Localization and Navigation of Autonomous Systems in Complex Scenarios”

Master Degree, Automation Engineering (Summa Cum Laude) - Polytechnic University of marche, Ancona, Italy

Thesis: “Designing of a Simulation Environment for Fast Prototyping of Cooperating Avionics Systems”

Bachelor Degree, Automation and Computer Engineering - Polytechnic University of marche, Ancona, Italy

Thesis: “Designing and Development of Response Plans to Cyber Attacks"

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What They Say About Me

The following is a list of recommendations that I have received on my LinkedIn profile:

Stephen Bailey, VP and GM space-ng. Founder of Deep Space Systems, Littleton, Colorado, USA: "Super smart and hard working is a powerful combination. On multiple occasions Alexis carried our team to meet deliveries of very complex systems, with truly exceptional personal commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Alexis is an all star."
Chris Hanson, CTO, AlphaPixel, Evergreen, Colorado, USA: "We worked with Alexis on the Artemis/CLPS project with Firefly Aerospace. Alexis is organized, detailed and very knowledgeable in vision navigation & GNC and was a great partner to work with. Alexis is one of the good ones. I look forward to working with Alexis on future projects!"
Emmett Nelson, Owner and Principal Engineer, Laramie, Wyoming, USA: "It was my pleasure to work with and get to know Alexis during my time at Redwire Space. She’s a very willing team player, full of excellent ideas and has the grit to follow those ideas through. Her enthusiasm and drive toward project and customer success is exceptional. Her attitude, easy going demeanor, and professionalism made it a delight to work with her."
Enrico Quatraro, Principal Hardware & Sensor Engineer at Civitanavi Systems, Fermo, Marche, Italy: "I had the pleasure of working with Alexis for about one year, few years ago. It wasn't a very long period, but it was enough to appreciate her mindset, attitude and professional approach in her job. She was eager to learn and to give her valuable contributions in any assigned task. She is a very smart person, and I'm happy to know about her success in pursuing her dreams and ambition in US."
Nicolas Brieger, Head of Vertical Mobility, Bern, Berne, Switzerland: "Alexis was one of the best coworkers I have ever had and I can recommend her for every challenge she might face in the future. She did a terrific job as a software engineer due to her focused and organized work. She has excellent communication skills, can work independently and is able to effectively handle high workloads. She was always willing to offer help with additional projects and has been a tremendous asset to the company. Please let me know if you have any further questions."
William Coogan, Lunar Lander Chief Engineer at Firefly Aerospace, Austin, Texas, USA: "Alexis was an integral team member leading spacecraft vision navigation. She was always responsive, communicated challenges as they arose, and was well prepared for program reviews, traveling as needed to support our demanding schedule."
Jeff Szmyd, Director of Flight Software, True Anomaly, Englewood, Colorado, USA: "I worked with Alexis on a lunar lander simulation funded by NASA. Alexis was an invaluable team member and worked diligently to get the optical tracking working to the expected level. I also got the chance to continue working with Alexis on a NASA CLPS program. Again, her subject matter expertise was invaluable to the program. Personally, she is a pleasure to work with and just a fine person overall. I strongly recommend having Alexis on your team if you are looking for an optical tracking/computer vision expert."
Adrian Adamson, Subject Matter Expert at Deep Space Systems, Denver, Colorado, USA: "Alexis is brilliant and dedicated. She went above and beyond on our project to augment her own strong experience with machine vision from her PhD, by recruiting world-class machine vision experts to ensure that we had the best possible machine vision performance for lunar feature recognition and pose estimation. She is also very willing to do whatever it takes to make the team successful. In one case she taught herself FPGA development and SpaceWire protocol so that she could provide assistance to a struggling team member."
Mohammad H. Mahoor, Professor at University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA: "Alexis is very knowledgeable in Computer Vision. She taught Computer Vision at the graduate level during first quarter of 2016 at the University of Denver, and she did a great job. Alexis meticulously and thoroughly prepared for the course and covered lots of CV concepts in just 10 weeks. I found her very passionate and enthusiastic about teaching as well. Mohammad"
Andrea Pizzarulli, CEO & co-founder at Civitanavi Systems, Macerata, Marche, Italy: "It was very enjoyable to work with Alexis because of her team oriented attitude and her strong determination and her problem solving attitude. In Civitanavi Systems Alexis worked mainly on the development of an Inertial Navigation System and North Finder Systems for Defence Airborne applications, based on Civitanavi's Proprietary Fiber Optic Technology. The developed INS was based on Kalman Filter based on Sensor Fusion between Inertial Data and Military-level GPS receiver. During the above period Alexis was involved also on the development of calibration algorithms for Fiber Optic Gyroscopes evaluating novel calibration."
Fabrizio Avantaggiato, Prototyping Manager at AWS | Helping the World’s Largest Enterprises Explore Generative AI, Machine Learning and other Emerging Technologies on AWS, Milan, Lombardy, Italy: "Alexis is a hardworking engineer. I recall many nights we spent together preparing for university exams, and how determined we were. She taught herself almost every programming language and began developing software and websites alongside her university studies. Alexis is consistently dependable and a person you can rely on."
Ralf Ferner, Digitally transforming the asset management sector, one process at a time, Luxembourg: "It has been a privilege to work with Alexis, her contribution towards making our VTOL autopilot a deployable product was immense. She is a true team-player, always interested in bringing the project forward while maintaining her calm even in the most stressful situations. Alexis and her unique style and sense of humour will be missed at Germandrones. I wish her the very best for her future career."