Global innovation centre Sensor City is developing its technical expertise with a host of new hires to its engineering team. Daniel Watson has been appointed to head of engineering, while James Nixon joins Sensor City as prototype engineer.
Former CTO of GasX and lab engineer at Barclays Eagle Labs, Daniel has extensive multidisciplinary knowledge in mechanical engineering, digital manufacturing, design and CAD. As head of engineering at Sensor City, Daniel will lead the technical team in harnessing over £1m of state-of-the-art in-house laboratory equipment to give SMEs, start-ups and larger companies the tools to go from novel concept to working prototype with speed and accuracy.
Commenting on his vision for Sensor City, Daniel said: “It’s an exciting time for sensor technology. We’re seeing more sensors in more things – think street furniture and housing infrastructure – and as resilience builds, we’ll start to see even greater integration.
“As this happens, the Sensor City technical offering will continue to grow and provide unrivalled skills and expertise to SMEs and large organisations looking to explore what sensor and IoT technology could mean to their business.”
James Nixon has been appointed as prototype engineer, having spent the last two years working at the Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) Design School as a digital fabrication technician. This role will see James deploy his expertise to bring the ideas of the tenants and the wider tech community to life, quickly and effectively.
“I am a maker at heart and so having the opportunity to build in a real state-of-the-art workshop is fantastic,” James said. “What I’m looking forward to most is working with a wide range of companies and sectors to help businesses to move from idea to prototype as quickly as possible.”
Joanne Phoenix, interim executive director at Sensor City said: “We are thrilled to see Daniel make the move to head of engineering and welcome James to the team. They both bring with them an eclectic mix of experience which, when working in tangent, will really help businesses think outside of the box when it comes to the unique projects they are undertaking. Not only that, these new appointments will further cement Sensor City’s position as a centre of engineering excellence within Liverpool City Region, the UK and beyond.”
In addition to Dan and James, Sensor City also deploys eight student interns to work in their laboratories and directly with member companies, three of which are from Liverpool John Moores University, four from the University of Liverpool and the final from the NHS Leadership Academy.
The on-site lab facilities at Sensor City include an Electrical/Electronics Prototype Development Laboratory and Virtual Reality Suite which house the latest technology in PCB and CAD design, 3D printing, optical imagery and analysis, circuitry design and electronics prototyping and testing. Sensor City also has a Specialist Laboratory which boasts a range of environmental testing chambers and machining equipment – including CNC machining, milling and laser cutting machinery – and an Optics Laboratory for specialised laser/optics testing and assessment.
To contact a member of the team or more information about Sensor City, please visit: www.sensorcity.co.uk
