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Meet Colin
There are few on Earth who can match Colin’s flight hours when it comes to on-orbit software. As Avionics Architect, Colin brings deep, hard-won experience to designing the intelligence behind Benchmark’s modular propulsion controller, MAAVRIC. From the earliest phases of a program where broad thinking drives critical decisions on system architecture and communication protocols, to the final stages of qualification requiring an emphasis on execution and documentation, Colin is hands-on every step of the way.
Time at Benchmark:
3 years
What is your role at Benchmark?
As Benchmark’s avionics architect, I draw on more than a decade of software-engineering experience in space-bound embedded systems supporting the design and validation of hundreds of satellites and subsystems. Having served both as an embedded-systems engineer and as a customer of subsystem providers, I understand the challenges our clients face and the standards they demand. I leverage this dual perspective to guide my team toward thoughtful, reliable designs which I’m confident our customers will find straightforward to integrate and fly.
What projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently spearheading MAAVRIC, our next-generation modular avionics platform that will underpin Benchmark’s space propulsion systems. This project has enabled me to consolidate my preferred approaches to complex system design into a single, cohesive system and I look forward to seeing it deliver exceptional performance for our customers.
What's been a highlight of your career at Benchmark?
One of my proudest achievements at Benchmark was leading a bespoke EMC campaign for our Xantus Metal Plasma Thruster. By teaming with Scottish Enterprise and AQL EMC, we devised a novel glass bell-jar rig inside an anechoic chamber capturing pulsed-emission data at just 1/20th the cost of traditional tests. This innovation delivered the critical EMC insights our customers demanded and cemented market confidence in Xantus’s performance.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
There’s never a dull moment working from home with twin-boys to try and keep entertained but when I get the chance I like to spend my evenings keeping my mind and body active either bouldering or doing a bit of amateur astronomy.
