Jim Morrison: Principal Design Engineer in Asheville, NC

- Responsible for the design and development of critical products - Provides leadership and mentoring to other engineers, product managers, and senior management to bring to market reliable, attractive products for the discerning cyclist

Led a team of six engineers and technicians in the development, sourcing, and manufacturing of the company's first suspension fork. Succeeded in delivering on high expectations for quality and reliability despite extremely limited resources - Spearheaded the development of product improvements that resulted in a 67% savings in warranty expenses in 2017 and 46% savings in 2018 (ytd) - Guided the expedient extension of several product lines through simple and cost-effective design modifications - Oversaw the expansion of the company's product line to include new product segments requiring the development of new vendors, testing equipment, standards, and procedures - Traveled regularly to Taiwan to perform critically needed intervention in sourcing operations to repair damaged vendor relationships and restart stalled projects - Integrally involved in the company's executive search and hiring process and supported new President's initiatives in company turn-around

Dual-role performed concurrently while Director of Engineering - Volunteered for role to address recurring problems of stock-outs and end-of-month chaos - Led a cross-functional team to identify problems and implement solutions for improved communication from long-range forecasting through manufacturing and shipping - Developed and executed ERP system training program for production scheduling - Acted as a cultural bridge between executive management and shop-floor managers to get buy-in, improve communication of strategic goals, and bolster employee morale - Devised and implemented improved labor and inventory accounting practices, resulting in a 25% increase in labor efficiency - Identified and developed underutilized employee in the CNC area that resulted in an elimination of overtime pay while improving on-time delivery of goods and freeing-up machine time for production of R&D prototypes

Led change management to unify a dysfunctional engineering group into a motivated, collaborative team - Implemented a "Scrum" style project management system to provide visibility of R&D progress to team members, executive management, sales, marketing, and purchasing departments - Reevaluated legacy design decisions on the company's first suspension fork and refocused design efforts, decreasing time to market and reducing development expenses - Oversaw the installation of large, legacy capital investments in the form of a Roehrig EMA shock dynamometer and a custom-built universal test machine

Developed C-Quent damper design that represented the company's first ground-updamper in 10 years - Responsible for taking patented Climb-Switch damper technology from proof of concept to production in less than six months with the introduction of the DBAir CS shock - Created and brought to market a bicycle headset design with an integrated adjustable steering damper, patent pending (US20180043960A) - Led continuous improvement of product reliability through warranty analysis and post release testing - Researched and designed advanced damper concepts outside of new product development projects that furthered institutional knowledge of damper function and performance - Served as primary point of contact for product quality and led the fire-brigade to quickly and efficiently solve problems with products in all stages of production and in the field

- Responsible for all headset product management, sourcing, quoting, and graphic design - Brought to market the industry's first modular bicycle headset product line - Created new headset bearing design utilizing a tapered bushing instead of ball bearings to create the world's lightest bicycle headset - Conceptualized and developed industry-wide headset naming convention to simplify headset purchasing decisions for consumers, dealers, and OEMs - Drove and developed high-profile headset projects to enhance brand image: 110-Reserve, 110-World Bicycle Relief - Met with US dealers and OEMs as well as Taiwanese manufacturers to educate them on headset fitment and nomenclature - Worked closely with sales and marketing teams to provide accurate technical information to ensure headset fit and function across brands and platforms