9315 Southern Belle Drive
Weeki Wachee, FL 34613
(352) 592-5291
jim@karam.com

Cubic Transportation Systems, San Diego, CA, 2002-2006

Senior Vice President, Engineering & Program Management

Extending the dominant supplier of large customized automated fare collection systems to a totally refreshed product line supporting several large tailored systems simultaneous with configurable offerings for small and mid-markets.

Cybersensor, Inc., Madison, TN, 2000-2002

Vice President, Operations

Startup providing remote monitoring and control of high-value assets using multiple satellite and terrestrial wireless networks.  Patented system architecture allows users to view sensor readings, set alarms, report by exception, reconfigure parameters, etc…by just using their Internet web browser to access configurable, centralized Internet servers using Java servlets.  Product applications include metering, pipeline compressor monitoring, tank farm management.  OEM’s include Badger Meter, Altronic, & Barton Instruments.

Trex Medical Corporation (LORAD), Danbury, CT, 2000

General Management & Systems Engineering Consultant

Restructured and managed primary new product development of full field digital mammography system.  Shortened schedule by several months while adding substantial software robustness.  Revised all R&D departmental procedures and managed technical and documentation clean-up for FDA audit.

Lunar Corporation, Madison, WI, 1997-1999

Cradle to grave responsibility for all product-related activities (R&D, Production, Customer Support; 180 staff; $48M annually) of the premier, worldwide Bone Densitometry medical equipment manufacturer. Full spectrum of products incorporate almost all imaging technologies (pencil, fan, and area detector Dual Energy X-Ray as well as ultrasound). Market expansion is supported by small C-arm X-ray unit for orthopedics, etc.

Substantially improved R&D schedule and budget compliance while refreshing the entire product line. Also redesigned cash-cow product for 20% cost reduction while improving reliability. Established metric-based programs for continuous quality improvement for all departments. Reduced installation defects by a factor of four in less than four months. Greatly improved responsiveness and prudence by clearing out myriad "full in-boxes". Service inventories cut by 55%; median critical software bug age reduced from years to weeks. New practices enabled ERP system usage to pro-actively manage rather than reactively document.  Migrated Customer Support from reactive folklore to systematic, documented training and diagnostics.  

Development of software-intensive products mainly integrating sophisticated Sony hardware into large-scale systems. Grew from 20 to over 100 staff developing custom and world-wide software products (approx. $15M annually).

DIRECTV's Broadcast Control Subsystem controls origination facilities for Hughes' Direct Broadcast Satellite systems. Castle Rock Broadcast Center, Colorado uses 250 digital tape recorders, 56 robots, and the world's largest router. Centralized, efficient (less than one person per channel) control of $35M in hardware plus interfaces to external systems. Resource deconfliction and error monitoring automates fault tolerance for 175+ channel operation. California Broadcast Center in Long Beach originates 70+ channels for Latin America and the Caribbean -- essentially a half-size clone of CRBC but with new Sony scheduler.

New generation of non-linear Video Servers flexibly automates multi-channel transmission using RAID technology and advanced origination-quality MPEG compression. Extremely distributed, scalable, fault tolerant software application based on PC's, C++, NT, & SQL (Oracle and SQL Server).

Misc. US Marketing driven products such as application software for automated duplication and CineNET which marries broadcast tape robotics and video distribution with Sun workstations and Sybase to provide format-independent, uncompressed digital acquisition, archive, and viewing for cardiologists and surgeons.

Primarily supported development and production of Unmanned Strike Systems, e.g., Tomahawk & Advanced Cruise Missiles.

Functionally responsible for Marketing, Strategic Planning, & related support services (Photo, TV, Art & Ed, Reproduction). Improved focus while reducing indirects by 40% and held supporting services' rates in face of declining base.

Programmatically responsible for all pre-Eng. & Mfg. Development efforts ($35M Contract R&D, $13M discretionary funds). Major refocus from "technology for performance" to "processes and practices for lowest cost".

Entrepreneurial 1983 start-up focusing this $20B corporation's technologies on tactical smart weapons. Responsible for all line functions (Program Mgt., Business Operations, Production Readiness, & Engineering). Full P&L responsibility for San Diego's approx. $20M annual sales and $5M discretionary investment in IR&D et al. Raised Independent R&D ranking to top 10% of all companies reviewed by Tri-Service panels.

Extensively redefined technical approach to successfully salvage division's major submunition dispenser program. Reduced departmental overhead expenses by 30% while providing more effective distributed computing resources. Focused IR&D on concrete demonstrations of near-term advanced technologies key to low-cost/hi-rate composites for stealth and all-ADA, GPS-aided-inertial, affordable flight management avionics.

Transitioned from sustaining analog product from parent to locally developed, advanced digital image processing: Video-rate digital disk and high-resolution viewing add-on to Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA); Multi-processor Computed Radiography system enabling migration to all-digital radiology dept.'s.

Extensive involvement with Marketing and Strategic Planning. Rationalized similar and/or related developments of other Philips international design groups. Translated customer needs into realizable development program plans & specifications.

Technically structured and oversaw new strategic alliances with innovative technology specialists in advanced radiology viewing stations (Pixar, Cemax, Island Graphics) & Picture Archiving & Communication Systems (AT&T, Raytel).

Structured and led new entity of 60 very senior staff to fill management void in Tomahawk Cruise Missile program. Solely responsible for oversight and compliance of design and performance baselines for all Tomahawk variants. Authorized to technically direct 44 Design Agent contractors, but operated, in practice, by persuasion for effectiveness.

MRASM was a Joint-service, reduced cost, non-nuclear submunition version of the Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Incorporated substantial producibility enhancements and Convair's first sophisticated avionics -- the Z80-based DIS computers. Grew from 8 people in a trailer to 600+ staff executing $100M Full Scale Development (FSD) late '81 contract. Completed prototype computers and vehicle design in 1982.

Systems development dept.'s developed, motivated, and enforced functional, design, and verification requirements. Analytic dept.'s conducted analyses & trade studies (all the various dynamics & flight sciences). Functionally supported all cruise missile, DC-10, and Atlas/Centaur space programs

Conceived & executed three major advanced cruise missile technology thrusts (approx. $15M annually). "Zero-CEP" guidance incorporated active (laser & mmw) & passive sensors with sophisticated image processing. Demonstrated compound rotary and reciprocating engine concepts for reduced fuel consumption, small propulsion. More survivable airframes used radical shaping and new advanced materials, i.e., the beginnings of "stealth". Several eventually entered Full Scale Development and/or production by the Air Force and Navy.

Developed & taught graduate engineering courses in instrumentation, numerical methods, fluid mechanics, and aerodynamics. Performed & guided research in fluidics (fluid control systems) and systems engineering

In-plant technical representative on several military (Secretary of the AF Special Programs) satellite projects. Unique opportunity for early in-depth involvement with finance, accounting, legal, contracts, & other business considerations.

Ph.D. (specialty in Automatic Control), Purdue University, 1972
M.S. Aerospace Eng. (with Distinction), AF Institute of Technology, 1966
B.S. Mechanical Eng. (with High Honors), University of Arkansas, 1964

Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon honorary societies
Registered Professional Engineer
Five USAF Meritorious Achievement & Commendation Medals
Ten refereed Journal articles
Reviewer for Applied Mechanics Review and ASME Journals
Member & Section Officer of ASME and AIAA
Elected to honorary Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering

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