From a scientist's sketch to a working instrument.
Turning early-stage concepts into functioning hardware through practical design decisions, careful assembly, troubleshooting, and collaboration.
Scientific instrumentation at BrightSpec
At BrightSpec, I work on the assembly, prototyping, and development of scientific instruments used to identify and analyze molecular structures. One of the company's platforms is the spectraMRR, which uses molecular rotational resonance spectroscopy for chemical structure analysis.
My work includes building and integrating physical systems, translating technical ideas into hardware, and helping the scientific team test and improve instruments.
Building a next-generation prototype
The starting point
Dr. Justin Neill, BrightSpec's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, developed an electrical circuit design using whiteboard sketches and handwritten drawings. These provided the technical direction for an early-stage instrument, but many practical implementation decisions still needed to be made. I report directly to Dr. Neill and worked closely with him to translate those designs into functioning hardware.
My responsibility
I translated those designs into a working physical instrument. That included planning wiring layouts, determining component placement, integrating hardware, solving problems during assembly, and troubleshooting the resulting system in collaboration with the scientific team.
A functional, demonstrated prototype
The prototype was successfully tested and demonstrated to perform its intended function.
Like many research and development projects, the instrument remains under active optimization and refinement. The achievement at this stage was moving from initial drawings to a functional system that the team could test and improve.
My contribution was the hands-on realization and integration of the scientist's design. I was not responsible for inventing the underlying spectroscopy or originating the circuit architecture.
What this work demonstrates
- Electronics assembly and wiring
- Prototype construction
- Wiring layout and component placement
- Physical system integration
- Hands-on troubleshooting
- Working from early-stage technical drawings
- Collaboration with scientific teams
- Iterative testing and refinement
I enjoy taking an idea that exists on a whiteboard and helping turn it into something real.
Building what comes next.
Hands-on prototyping, instrument development, and solving practical implementation problems are among the parts of technical work I find most engaging. I enjoy working closely with people who are developing new ideas and need help making them tangible.