Daniel Matthews

Phlux is a leader in the development of advanced photodiodes, specialising in ultra-low noise InGaAs APD (Avalanche Photodiode) solutions. Our flagship product, the Aura Noiseless InGaAs® APD, delivers breakthrough performance in a variety of applications, including laser range finding, LiDAR, and fiber optic systems. By reducing noise and improving sensitivity and resolution, our technology enables the creation of smaller, more efficient systems, reducing costs while enhancing performance in even the most demanding environments. At Phlux, I lead the development and innovation of our next-generation sensor solutions. My role focuses on guiding our talented engineering team in creating high-performing product solutions that push the boundaries of optical sensing technology. I am committed to fostering a collaborative environment that encourages creativity, problem-solving, and the continuous pursuit of excellence in engineering. Together, we will drive Phlux Technology’s mission of revolutionising the photonics industry through precision and innovation.

As director of engineering, I led a multidisciplinary engineering team and supported research and development teams within LiNa. Most notably leading the development, manufacture and deployment of a novel Battery Energy Storage System pilot and demonstration with TATA power. Successfully installing and operating the pilot in both Mumbai and Delhi. LiNa’s sodium-metal-chloride battery is built around proven technology based on 1980s sodium chemistry, with modern materials science and advancements in fuel cell ceramics. As well as improving standards in safety, performance and sustainability, LiNa is spearheading commercialisation by reducing lab development time and lowering the cost of deployment. The materials used are abundant and thanks to a patented design, LiNa’s batteries are ideal for mass manufacture utilising proven Sodium-Metal-Chloride chemistry in a breakthrough planar design made possible by our ultra-thin solid ceramic electrolyte. LiNa Modules provide customers with low-cost, sustainable, and high performance energy storage. Modularity is core to the design, enabling simple system scaling from kilowatts to megawatts developed specifically to serve the renewable energy storage market.

As the Head of Engineering at Trumeter, I led a team of multidisciplinary personnel to successfully complete industrial, commercial, development and research projects in electronics, software, and mechanical engineering. I managed the development and product roadmaps and introduced new technologies into the company's diverse portfolio of control and instrumentation products. One of my main focuses was the adoption of IoT technologies and the enablement of automated subscription services in a new direct-to-customer recurring business model. Furthermore, I supported the growth of the engineering team by 50% and of the business with grant-funded knowledge transfer projects with UKRI. In addition, I led multiple strategic business initiatives that contributed to record sales years and business opportunity growth. Trumeter is a global company that designs, manufactures, and distributes sophisticated control and measurement instruments, with sales in over 30 countries worldwide. The company has a proud history of industry-leading quality standards, achieving an on-time delivery performance of over 98%, and just 114 defect parts per million (DPPM) in 2022. Trumeter has been operating in the UK since 1937 and in the USA since 1938.

As the Head of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Iceotope, I was responsible for leading a department of multidisciplinary personnel to the successful completion of industrial, commercial, development, and research electronics and software projects. This included yielding strategic products and ideas from concept to realization, providing standards and architectural guidance, and overseeing product development with multinational industry leaders such as Schneider Electric, Lenovo, Meta, Intel, and Hewlett Packard. Iceotope Technologies LTD, is a multi award winning organisation, at the forefront of cutting-edge server and IT liquid cooling technology, designed and manufactured in Sheffield, UK. My focus was on the growth and adaptation of the core Iceotope IP and technology with commercial outcomes within HPC and concurrent multi-million pound research and development programs for the European Commission and Innovate UK initiative. I held the position of head of department, work program lead, and technical specialist in the field of HPC and high-speed electronics design.

During my time as an Electronics Design Engineer at Iceotope, I was directly responsible for the system circuit design and development for core Iceotope electronics IP and product development. Through our core research and development projects, we were able to yield a prototype Exascale High-Performance Computer system. Working collectively with a European Consortium of leading industry organisations and academic expertise, our HPC solution aimed to achieve a computational overhead of a Billion-Billion (10^18) calculations per second in the race to Exascale between Europe, America, and China. To achieve this monumental computational overhead, the Exascale prototype utilised multiple high-speed digital data interconnects consisting of low-power SoC ARM computing cores and FPGA accelerator fabrics. However, this density conversely required Iceotope dielectric immersion cooling technology to efficiently and effectively dissipate the excess thermal energy, resulting in a resilient, fast, scalable, and efficient test bed, in which I was integral in developing.

As an Electronics Engineer employed by Ultra Electronics, I was involved in a number of large programmes, most notably responsible for the design of electronics to support the successful prototyping of a modular control system for a new generation of NUSCALE Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). This involved designing bespoke FPGA data collection mezzanine cards with modular high-precision analog and fibre communication channels, based on the Eurocard and VITA form factors. I also served as the Project Lead on investigating system design impacts as the System Design Authority for existing SIL Nuclear control systems and contributed to the successful system design of a stack effluent health physics and monitoring systems. Ultra Electronics, a former FTSE 250 organisation, is an internationally successful defence, security, transport, and energy company that manages a portfolio of specialist capabilities generating innovative solutions to customer needs. The Group applies electronic and software technologies in demanding and critical environments, ranging from military applications to safety-critical devices such as aircraft, nuclear controls, and sensor measurement.

As an Electronics Engineer employed by Scanlite Visual Communications, I had an extremely diverse position that spanned across many different roles, including electronics design and development, testing, field engineering, site installs and surveys, on-call technical support across the length of the UK, and production. Through this experience, I developed a concise and deep knowledge of electronics manufacturing and electronic product range development, ranging from circuit level design and life cycle to commissioning/servicing and legacy support. Utilising multi-platform solutions, I was able to provide application-specific solutions for the end-user. Scanlite Visual Communications is one of the leading manufacturers of LED solutions in the UK, having manufactured display solutions for four decades. Their digital solutions range from HD LED video panels to LED scrolling message and information systems to petrol price totems, with each solution being bespoke for a specific portfolio of corporate organisations, such as Bloomberg, JCB, ConocoPhillips, RBS, Morrison’s, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Manchester City, and Liverpool FC.