Zachary T. Miers

I am an experienced RF engineer that has worked in both the commercial and military microwave industries. I am adept at designing, simulating, and implementing antennas and active RF systems, and enjoy the intricacies of the RF design procedure. Currently, I am seeking new career opportunities where I can join a strong team, as well as research, design, and develop new and upcoming microwave technologies.

During my industry tenure, I have been fortunate enough to have been apart and led multiple teams, authored a variety of different proposals and contracts, as well as designed / fabricated / tested hardware and software for both DoD and industry products.

At MicrowaveTools Inc. I have consulted on 23 separate products ranging from satellite set top equipment, RFID charging and receiving systems, to personal transponders. Consulting for a variety of different companies has allowed for a diversification in my knowledge, skill set, and approach to problem solving. While most of the designs I have worked on at MicrowaveTools focus on RF modulation and front end systems, some jobs have required: detailed power solutions, Linux / Windows / Android implemented software solutions, full system analysis, and channel models.

Daily Tasks and Required Skills

• Writing and responding to RFPs and RFIs.
• Project management (coordination of multiple people and companies in an effort to meed a defined project timeline)
• RF Measurements: Error vector magnitude (EVM), phase noise, noise figure (NF), and bit error rate (BER).
• Antenna performance: S-parameters, 2D and 3D patterns, power testing, axial ratio analysis, and active beam steer measurements.
• Most general and system RF measurements: generation of detailed link budgets, channel models, and fully RF system analysis.
• Digital system analysis including eye pattern measurements, and cross talk analysis.

While working at FIRST RF Corporation I worked with, and led (2010 – 2012), a team of skilled engineers in the development of high linearity Transmit/Receive modules, array time delay units, small phased and true time delay arrays for communication and RADAR applications, custom filters/diplexers, up/down converters, as well as a variety of specialized antennas for applications ranging from signal intelligence to communications. Throughout my time at FIRST RF, I was part of a team that completed over 18 small business innovative research (SBIR) grants, 6 broad agency announcement (BAA) programs, and multiple commercial products. During my time at FIRST RF I helped to transition multiple SBIR’s from an initial idea into Phase II or III programs selling either directly to the U.S. DoD, or to a prime contractor.

Daily Tasks and Required Skills

• Project management: Responsible for program timeline, team meetings, and customer deliverables.
• Lead systems engineer: Coordination of all engineering teams (RF, Digital, Firmware)
• RF Measurements: Error vector magnitude (EVM), phase noise, noise figure (NF), and bit error rate (BER).
• Antenna performance: S-parameters, 2D and 3D patterns, power testing, axial ratio analysis, and active beam steer measurements.
• Most general and system RF measurements: generation of detailed link budgets, channel models, and fully RF system analysis.
• Antenna to bits simulation and analysis (DAC/ADC to antenna)

At Picosecond Pulse Labs I worked in R&D on analog high speed circuitry. In this position, I designed several test boards to quickly and efficiently test different high speed circuits that Picosecond was developing. While at Picosecond Pulse Labs, I helped in either the development or automated test of six catalog products. These products included: DC to 20GHz surface mount passives, 200MHz to 15GHz clock jitter insertion circuits, and a pulse compression amplifiers.

Daily Tasks and Required Skills

• Design of automated test systems using Matlab and C based firmware and GUIs
• Simulation of RF passives in HFSS
• Electromagnetic interference and compliance testing

RF Equipment

• Network analyzer (vector network analyzer), signal analyzers (spectrum analyzers), signal generators
• Phase noise, noise figure, BER, and EVM measurements
• Anechoic, EMC\EMI, SATIMO, and near-field Chambers

ASIC / MMIC Equipment

• Wire bonding machines (ultrasonic), wafer probe measurements

General Equipment

• Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, pick and place machines

Prototyping Equipment

• Injection molding and 3D printing, CNC, mills, lathes

 

High Frequency Simulation

• Computer Simulation Technology Studio Suit (CST)
• Ansys High Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS)
• Altair HyperWorks FEKO (Integrated, Scripted, and MoM Exported)
• WIPL-D
• Keysight Advanced Design System (ADS): harmonic balance, transient and 3D circuit
• National Instruments Microwave Office: harmonic balance and AXIEM EM simulators

Engineering Software

• Matlab, Arden SysCalc, PSPICE, MathCAD
• MS Office Suite (Excel Programming), OpenOffice Suite
• Altium Designer, Cadsoft Eagle, KiCad
• SolidWorks, Blender
• Atmel Studio, JetBrains, Xilinx ISE/Vivado

Programming

• GUI development: C, Matlab, C++, Python, Java (Beginner)
• Firmware: C