Fred Kool, Director of Electronics & Software Engineering

“BC Tech is one of few medical product development companies that offer a truly comprehensive service package. In my experience, a proper development effort requires complete access to, and integration of, all the development teams. Getting my electronics and software engineers in close with the mechanical and design folks streamlines the work on our end and makes life a lot easier for our client's project managers and stakeholders.”

—Fred Kool, Director of Electronics & Software Engineering

• Overview
• Education & Experience
• Prior Achievements

Fred Kool

Fred Kool has managed electronics and software development teams for more than twenty years. His track record is unmatched in the industry, with achievements that include development of small handheld devices, patient database solutions, and instrumentation for research institutions.

Companies:

Eldridge Products

Globespan

LSI Logic

Adaptec

Maxtor

Seagate

Products:

Biotech Automation and Instrumentation Systems

RF Ablation System

Nerve Stimulation System

Infusion system

Thermal Mass Flow Systems

Flow Control Systems

Reference Design Platforms

ASICs for Apple, WebTV, Sun & DigiDesign products

Disc Drive Controllers

Years of Experience:

23 years in Engineering with 15 years in Management

Skills and Achievements:

Extensive project management experience – moving multiple projects in parallel through product definition, architecture, digital RTL and analog block design and verification, netlist generation, DFT, floorplanning and layout, and GDS2 release. Expertise is ISO and FDA documentation, audit trail, issues tracking / resolution and team communication and motivation.

Broad business perspective – experience interfacing with Sales, Marketing, Finance, Executive Team, Vendors and Clients in the discussion of technical and business opportunities and operations, evaluation of ROI, schedule impacts, and risk assessment.

Expertise in firmware development and verification – design specifications, test plans, block level verification, board design, design reviews, customer support and documentation.

Education:

BSBA – Business Administration; University of Phoenix
Electronics Diploma; DeVry Institute of Technology

Client:

Singulex

Product:

Erenna System ™

Ultra-sensitive biomolecule quantification for clinical, pre-clinical and research labs.

Singulex approached BC Tech with an instrument design in progress and an aggressive launch schedule. Fred and his team met the challenge head on. Working alongside the mechanical and design groups, Fred developed and validated an entirely new software architecture that greatly improved speed and usability. BC Tech was able to deliver a working solution in just six months.

Client:

Adaptec

Product:

Disc Drive Controllers

Hardware innovation sets new standard for Disc Drive performance

As Director of Engineering for Adaptec, Fred led an impressive engineering group and oversaw a high volume of electronics and firmware development work. But it was a personal epiphany that resulted in one Adaptec's most famous innovations – the headerless disc drive. By removing the header field from each data sector, precious capacity is freed for the user. Fred received a patent for the technology and it was licensed to several hard drive manufacturers, including Samsung and Hitachi. Under Fred's management the product line grew to $120 million in annual sales.

Client:

Confidential

Product:

Gas Flow Meter

Calculating gas flow faster and more accurately

Many manufacturing processes require accurate metering of fuels, compressed airs and chemicals. The market for flowmeters is thus competitive and rapidly evolving. Fred helped upgrade a successful line of flowmeters to meet new market demands for functionality, reliability and price. A complete hardware redesign and new software package improved every measure of performance and added countless differentiating features.