Alison Aquinas - Professional .NET Software Developer

Alison Aquinas Software Engineering Leader | Working in .NET, Agile Development, Electronics, Digital Signal Processing, and High Volume Data for 15 years Navgation

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About Me I am a seasoned software developer and leader with 15 years of experience. At Axion BioSystems, I was their second full-time employee, leading embedded and desktop software development for over 15 years. Their products allow biologists to electrically interface with cells via MicroElectrode Arrays (MEAs), enabling scientists to make significant advancements in ALS, Parkinson's, cardiac safety, and cancer research. Today, Axion has over 150 internationally distributed employees and has released nine different label instruments driven by three enterprise WPF applications. I lead in software development for each of these products. I integrated technology from CytoSmart, a Dutch company, into Axion. I also standardized procedures compliant, ensuring consistency between the US and Dutch teams. I also collaborated with the Engineering Team at NETRI to interface their software and devices with Axion's Maestro Systems. My stock in trade has been hardware interfacing, rapid data processing, and user-focused product design. Axion's Maestro products process ~1GB/s of raw data in real-time with minimal buffering delay. I've created algorithms utilizing functions like Fourier transforms, PID regulation, sliding polynomial regressions, and feature detection. Companies including Merk, Eli Lilly, GSK, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson rely on the feature detection elements I authored during my tenure to screen their products for safety before entering animal and human trials. I'm looking for new roles where I can use my expertise in a collaborative setting. I'm interested in roles related to product development, embedded systems, team leadership, and fast data processing. If my skills match your needs, please get in touch at alisonaquinas@gmail.com

Location:Atlanta, GA

Freelance:Available

Email:Alison Aquinas

Education:Georgia Tech

Programming Languages:

C# / .NET, WPF, C, C++, MATLAB®, Java

Skills: Atlassian Suite, G-suite, AWS, MS Azure, Git, BitBucket®, GitHub®, Jenkins, OpenSSL, Kanban, Azure, Agile Software Development, Algorithm Development, Embedded Systems, Embedded Software, Inter-Disciplinary Team Leadership, Project Planning

EmploymentAxion BioSystem (Aug 2008 — Jul 2023)

Led software development, starting as their second full-time employee and serving for 15 years

Maintained a continuous code-base of over 10,000 lines of C#, C, and C++ code

Pioneered .NET based data-processing code that is capable of processing 1GB/minute of Multi-Electrode Array(MEA) data in real time to create actionable live metrics for biologists

Professional Experience Principal Engineer Dec 2022 — Jul 2023

Orchestrated software and technology integration after acquisition of CytoSmart for collaboration between the 3 distinct software teams in charge of Axion’s High-throughput in vitro impedance system (Maestro TrayZ) with CytoSmart’s continuous cell imaging product

Mentored andelevated the skill sets of 3 junior .NET developers, guiding focus toward Architecture andDevelopment while transitioning work to the Maestro TrayZ product

Set in motion the process of integrating metrics from optical data into the experiment databases of the Maestro via a REST API to the CytoSmart cloud-native App, gathering requirements and creating architectural plans

Formulated FIPS-140 compliant code-signing procedures, simultaneously standardizing CI/CD processes, utilizing both Jenkins and Azure across US-based teams in Atlanta andNetherlands-based teams

Streamlined the build and test process by optimizing Nuke build scripts and migrating standard Jenkins builds to pipelines, leading to a 50% decrease in unit test run-time and improved logging of errors

Software ManagerOct 2021 — Dec 2022

Led a team of 4 developers (2 local, 2 remote), overseeing all customer-facing software releases

Directed development of embedded .NET code for both an ARM Cortex-A9 (Linux), an X64 single board computer(Linux), and two WPF desktop apps (Windows)

Maestro Pro and Edge with AxIS Navigator: In vitro MEA platform, with integrated Heat and CO₂control for label-free electrical measurement of Neurons and Cardio-muscular cells
Maestro Z and ZHT with AxIS Z: A configuration-free platform for non-invasive measurement of cell growth and death

Choreographed migration of the product code-base from .NET Framework 4.6.1 to .NET 6, including a migration from Nancy to Kestrel for the REST-based control of devices and the desktop software

Trained a direct report engineer in control theory for the migration of the Maestro Pro/Edge gas control components to new, more reliable valves and sample pumps

Devised an internal process for ongoing project estimation andmanagement, utilizing Jira data to consolidate 150–300 user stories andbugs per software release 2–4 times per year

Instituted a tractable and verifiable calibration procedure for the temperature sensors used to regulate the temperature of cell cultures in the Maestro device, accurate to ±0.3℃

Constructed a requirement tracking system within Jira, systematically collecting andtracking over 500 business requirements across 5 non-software teams

Authored a comprehensive software team handbook, delineating policies andprocedures that standardized communication, pull-request policies, coding anddesign standards, andonboarding procedures

Founded a women’s group,fostering a supportive environment that encouraged mentorship andsupport

Technical Lead Sep 2011 — Oct 2021

Launched 7 Hardware products and enterprise WPF applications: Maestro Pro, Edge, Z, andZHT, and the Lumos optical stimulation platform

Launched 3 enterprise WPF applications, Axion Integrated Studio(AxIS), AxIS Navigator and AxIS Z used for managing MEA and and Impedance experiments and data Analysis

Demonstrated proficiency in circuit design, DSP, andmetrology to create a high-accuracy, measurement of electrical impedance of 96 to 384 culture wells in the Maestro Z

Led UX design for managing plate map data andstatistical analysis of impedance experiment data in Axis Z

Composed a simplified WPF skeleton app to mock and focus-group the desktop application
Championed the design that allowed for unsupervised and configuration-free collection of Impedance data in the Maestro Z/ZHT
Formed the architecture data analysis engine utilizing promise-based(TAP), data-frame patterns
Released the MVP version of AxIS Z in under 6 months using carefully vetted SW libraries
Collaborated externally to support integration with GxP and CFR Part 11 compliant processes

Created an XML-based runtime system with 1μs precision, enabling real-time control of hardware for rapid application R&D and custom manufacturing operations, resulting in accelerated innovation

Defined file formats for storing MEA with a .NET Standard APIs anda read-only MATLAB API

Engineered andmaintained environmental controls for the Maestro's integrated single-plate incubator with ±.1% precision at 5% CO₂ and ±0.1℃ at 20℃ — 40℃

Product EngineerAug 2008 — Sep 2011

Originated firmware authoring for the Muse single-well MEA platform in C++, interfacing hardware andsoftware

Engineered a PID andSigma-Delta algorithm, heating cell cultures while keeping induced noise below 10μV

Refined the same PID algorithm for the Maestro multi-well MEA's heater, precise to ±0.1°C

Initiated andmaintained issue tracking andwiki in Atlassian Cloud, overseeing issue workflow

Adapted firmware for the -generation Maestro, refactoring the C++ code to facilitate reuse between products

Conceived a real-time data processing system for Noise Measurement, Spike/Feature Detection, andthe fundamentals of CiPA data analysis for cardiac applications still in active use for over 15 years