Beau Bakken
Experience:
Project Management, Technical Communication, Research & Development
Interests:
Deep Tech, Semiconductor Security, Software & Hardware Engineering
ABOUT ME
I’m a versatile professional in the hardware security field, having led a growing team of 5 engineers and staff, acted as Principal Investigator for a federal contract, developed over 10 funding proposals and project plans for product development, and researched various state-of-the-art topics in hardware assurance and security.
Topics include:
VLSI, Secure Development Lifecycle, IP Protection, Side-channel Analysis, Fault Injection Assessment, Physical Assurance
Recently furthered my knowledge on business development and customer discovery as a NSF I-Corps participant in Spring 2023.
Bio
B.S. in Computer Engineering from University of Florida (top 5% of graduating class).
Specialized in hardware security my senior year before being hired as employee #1 for a spin-off startup developing commercial security tools & solutions.
Developed and helped expanded the company to 11 team members, opened an office in Gainesville, FL, and executed numerous government and industry projects for hardware assurance, verification, and training development.
My Story
Outside of the office, you’ll find me sipping a homemade cappuccino, distance running, perusing my next self-help book, exercising at the local gym, or unplugging outdoors on an adventure.
Hobbies
SKILL SET
-
Developed a winning Govt. proposal as the Principal Investigator worth $156,000
Only 3 out of 27 total submissions were chosen
Created project work plan by collaborating with senior staff members, performed in-depth research on current state-of-the-art methods in counterfeit microelectronic detection, and familiarized myself with current inspection procedures at U.S. ports-of-entry
Led the delivery of a 30-page technical feasibility investigation report on using machine learning for microelectronic inspection and a live proof-of-concept demo at the end of 5 months by driving a 3-person engineering team
Delivered monthly progress reports and presented at monthly status update meetings with sponsor
Following Phase I, led the development of a 40-page Phase II proposal worth $1,000,000 to continue product development
Primary author for survey report on microelectronic forensic analysis techniques
-
Developed report on modeling the semiconductor wafer fabrication stage for secure digital twin lifecycle management as a new R&D Intern
Organized and integrated additional sections on the semiconductor lifecycle (i.e., design, packaging, testing) to deliver a complete 70-page report
Developed Govt. proposal worth $150,000 for a hardware-assisted malware detection product
Performed market assessment and competitor analysis
3.97 GPA during undergraduate studies
-
Developed a concise and accepted pitch for an NSF project on PCB reverse engineering using x-ray tomography
Delivered well-received invited talks at IEEE PAINE in 2021 and 2022 on the use of automation for hardware assurance
Sole exhibitor at a booth for 3 conferences (GOMACTech, IEEE HOST, IEEE PAINE), where I gave demos and product presentations to 30+ individuals
Designed and authored 3 standing banners, 5 pamphlets, and webpages for hardware Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) and position openings with brand consistency
-
Established a Learning and Development (L&D) project for in-house technical skill development
Consulted with PhD intern on developing assignments and trainings on application development for scientific research to familiarize engineers on current Python libraries and development methodologies for future project execution
Following along with the trainings to identify key challenges the engineers encounter and lessons learned to better manage engineer’s effort during product development.
Influential books I’ve been learning from:
Experience
VP of Engineering
Caspia Technologies
April 2022 - Current
Lead R&D Engineer
Caspia Technologies
May 2021 - April 2022
Research Intern
Caspia Technologies
August 2017 - May 2021
Undergraduate - Computer Engineering
July 2020 - May 2021
University of Florida