Rich Varone

Leadership & Product Ownership

• Led development of a custom bootloader deployed across all of the company's ARM products, with field firmware updates, multiple boot partitions, startup built-in test (SBIT), and FPGA programming.
• Led design and development of a modular, multi-function I/O framework spanning multiple hardware and software architectures, architected from the ground up for DO-178C certification to maximize artifact reuse and enable rapid, low-boilerplate development of new I/O modules.
• Led full-lifecycle development of a cPCI multi-processor power supply, a compact 3U single-slot, 150 W four-rail design with 150 ms hold-up, across two design generations, owning the software, electrical, and mechanical work including schematic design, PCB layout, thermal management, and qualification testing.
• Led development of a 6U VME relay motherboard built on a Xilinx Zynq-7015 SoC with multiple Altera MAX CPLDs, handling schematic and layout review, board bring-up, FPGA (VHDL) and CPLD logic design, the bootloader, and the RTOS and Linux software.
• Mentored interns and junior engineers, reviewed candidate resumes, conducted technical and fit interviews, and helped onboard new team members.

Firmware, Drivers & Board Bring-Up

• Delivered firmware and drivers across 30+ board and system designs spanning multifunction I/O motherboards, single-board computers, and rugged integrated systems in 3U/6U OpenVPX, cPCI, VME, and PCIe form factors, plus the 100+ configurable smart function modules they host.
• Brought up many new board designs from power-on, writing low-level bootstrapping code, bootloaders (including U-Boot), and drivers across NXP QorIQ PowerPC (T2080, P2041), NXP Layerscape LX2 (Cortex-A72), Intel Core i7 and Xeon W, and Xilinx Zynq-7000 and Zynq UltraScale+ platforms.
• Led development of multi-architecture board support packages (BSPs), drivers, and applications across VxWorks (6.x, 7.x), VxWorks Cert Edition, Wind River Helix Virtualization Platform, DDC-I Deos, NXP Linux, PetaLinux, Wind River Linux, bare-metal, and Windows.
• Developed the CIU (COSA Integration Unit) low-level software across its Cortex-A53 and Cortex-R5 cores: the A53 bootloader and bare-metal environment, the R5 BSP, memory-windowing logic, and a bare-metal AMP split distributing I/O module functions across two R5 cores; profiled and optimized boot and runtime performance.
• Brought up multi-OS support on the 68INT6 SBC across DDC-I Deos (including 64-bit), Linux, VxWorks 7, and Wind River HVP, writing UART drivers and Ethernet PHY bring-up code, plus a bare-metal diagnostic system and Windows drivers.
• Developed firmware for 35+ smart function module families (100+ variants) spanning analog, discrete, relay, synchro/resolver, LVDT/RVDT, RTD/thermocouple, strain gauge, inertial, encoder, camera/vision, and time-of-flight sensor interfaces.
• Developed communications interfaces and drivers across MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, CAN, Ethernet, and RS-422/485 serial protocols.
• Implemented built-in test (BIT) startup, background, and continuous modes for fault detection and health monitoring in fielded products.

Verification, Test & Process

• Developed and documented software to the DO-178C (DAL A) and DO-254 (DAL A) safety-critical avionics standards.
• Performed schematic and layout reviews and debugged boards on the bench with oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and logic analyzers; built automated ATP and DVT test tooling in C#.
• Supported qualification and environmental testing of ruggedized products, including MIL-STD-461 EMI, temperature, vibration, shock, humidity, and lightning, plus environmental stress screening, under SWaP constraints.
• Handled ITAR-controlled and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) technical data in accordance with export-control and data-handling requirements.
• Managed software configuration at the project and program level and drove design changes through the formal engineering change order (ECO) process, supported by ATP and DVT testing.
• Practiced Agile development, ran static analysis, updated the software coding standard to C90/ANSI C requirements, and drove defect analysis and resolution to closure.

• Serve as team lead for a high-school robotics team, administering the program and overseeing all aspects of competition preparation across 16 years of mentoring.
• Guide students through defining team, season, and robot requirements and through planning and executing the competition build season.
• Lead the CAD, mechanical, and machining areas, teaching Autodesk Inventor, Onshape, and Fusion 360 along with CNC and manual machining and 3D printing.
• Maintain the team's robot codebase and lead student software research projects during the off-season.
• Built spec-driven, closed-loop AI development workflows using agentic coding tools and LLM-based agents (LLM APIs, RAG, prompt engineering, MCP) to accelerate student software research and codebase tooling, and mentor students in these tools.
• Developed computer-vision pipelines (OpenCV) for robot perception and object detection.
• As a student member (2005-2009), served as lead student programmer for three years and team captain for two, writing software for five competition robots under the supervision of a senior software engineer from BAE Systems.

• Founded and lead a 501(c)(3) public charity supporting STEAM education, backing FIRST Robotics Team 271 and a high-school manufacturing club, with a focus on Title 1 and underserved communities.
• Incorporated and registered the organization end-to-end: IRS Form 1023-EZ and determination letter, Form 990-N, board formation and bylaws, and multi-state charitable registration; earned the Candid/GuideStar Silver Seal of Transparency (2025).
• Architected and deployed the organization's IT as infrastructure-as-code on Microsoft Azure: a self-hosted Mattermost collaboration platform and a Nextcloud file server on Ubuntu VMs with managed PostgreSQL and MySQL, VNet/NSG/private DNS, Microsoft 365 email, OAuth, and a role-based member-onboarding bot.
• Built the fundraising, grant, and sponsorship engine: dine-out and retail fundraiser partnerships, grant awards including the Gene Haas Foundation, and corporate sponsorships, toward a ~$75,000 annual goal covering registration, materials, equipment, and travel.
• Created the brand identity and marketing (Adobe Illustrator collateral, Mailchimp campaigns, social media) and established tax-exempt purchasing across 40+ vendors.

• Founded a machine-tooling and manufacturing startup on a mission to make CNC machining affordable and accessible for students, educators, makers, and small businesses.
• Designed a line of precision carbide end mills (part-numbered SKUs across helix and point-angle geometries) in Autodesk Inventor; authored an end-mill selection guide and technical product marketing.
• Developing FIRST Robotics starter tooling kits; designed and built production machinery and shop equipment in Inventor.
• Maintain product and technical documentation as a docs-as-code Hugo static site; manage international sourcing, importing, customs, and logistics.

• Built and ran a laser-engraving and 3D-printing maker and e-commerce business with a 30+ category catalog, with peak holiday days topping $2,000/day in revenue.
• Operated a CO2 laser cutter and 3D printers; built a coded 40-option wood and finish material library and iterated product designs in Autodesk Inventor.
• Automated personalized artwork with an Adobe Illustrator variable-data importer (JSX scripting) and ran full e-commerce operations from listings through fulfillment and customer service.