Helder Carvalheira
Curricula Vitae
Professional History
Plantronics – Santa Cruz, CA 2000 – Present
Designer & manufacturer of communication headsets for consumer and professional applications
Director of New Product IntroductionJanuary, 2003 – Present
Senior Program Manager, Bluetooth Wireless ProductsMay, 2000 – December 2002
Silicon Valley Group (formerly Watkins-Johnson) – Scotts Valley, CA 1994 – 2000
Designer & manufacturer of semiconductor wafer thermal processing equipment
Director of Systems EngineeringMarch 2000 – May 2000
Sr. Group Manager & Project Manager, Systems Engineering January 1998 – March 2000
Supervisor & Project Manager, Robotics Platform Development January 1996 – January 1998
Mechanical & Systems Engineer, Chemical Delivery & Exhaust SystemsNovember, 1994 – January 1996
Etec Systems – Hayward, CA 1984 – 1994
Designer & Manufacturer of electron-beam lithography equipment for semiconductor wafer production
Mechanical Engineer, Electron Beam R&D and Mechanical EngineeringJune 1991 – November 1994
Manufacturing Engineer, Production and System TestFebruary 1984 – June 1991
Education
B.A. Business Management, 1994 With Honors St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA.
A.A. Electro-Mechanical Engineering, 1984 With Honors Chabot College, Hayward CA.
Certificate in Vacuum Technology, 1987 Chabot College, Livermore CA.
Various Professional Courses
Engineering: Design for Manufacturability, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, Tolerance Stack-up Analysis, Data Acquisition, Control Systems Theory and Application, Wireless Telecommunications Systems and Infrastructure, and others.
Project Management: AMA Project Management, Cadence Project Management, Managing Project Managers, Program and Portfolio Management, and others.
Patents and Publications
U.S. Patent #(I don’t have this with me right now): “Semiconductor Wafer Processing System with Vertically Stacked Process Chambers and Single-Axis Dual-Wafer Transfer System”.
U.S. Patent #(I don’t have this with me right now): “Communications Headset with Microphone and Control Subsystems”.
Technical Paper: “Process Equipment Architecture using Desktop Throughput Simulation”, IEEE/Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference, September 1999.
Technical Paper: “Characterization of In-Line Film Thickness Measurements for CVD”, Advanced Equipment Control & Advanced Process Control Symposium XI, September 1999
Selected Professional Achievements
Systems Engineering / Design Engineering
Led the overall system development and integration for a new Plantronics Wireless Bluetooth headset platform, including software/hardware and mechanical/ergonomics. Tactically led the mechanical development subproject. This product is currently the world’s best-selling Bluetooth headset.
Developed and refined systems specifications for Watkins-Johnson wafer handlers and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems. Technically guided the engineering staff’s subsystem development projects.
Developed a methodology for modeling Watkins-Johnson production equipment throughput. Coded software models, trained systems engineers, then directed the modeling project which resulted in a new system architecture.
Researched and developed new ozone generation systems to reduce contamination in Watkins-Johnson wafer processing equipment. Resulted in increased tool uptime, $3.6M annual savings in repairs, and $2M in system sales.
Engineered and implemented system design solutions to reduce metal contaminants from chemical vapor deposition films on Watkins-Johnson systems. This on-wafer contamination reduction directly resulted in $20M in new sales.
Led prototype system integration projects at Etec, Watkins-Johnson, and Plantronics. Troubleshot system-level issues during first integration. Teamed with other engineers to resolve complex mechanical, electrical, or process problems.
Designed a laser-based sub-micron wafer height and tilt sensor for Etec’s E-beam lithography systems.
Engineered many vacuum, vibration isolation, and precision mechanical subsystems for various Etec electron beam and Watkins-Johnson Chemical Vapor Deposition applications.
Project Management
Led the 40-member worldwide Plantronics Bluetooth wireless development team to design a new Bluetooth wireless headset platform in record time (12 months) with aggressive performance, cost, and design targets. Coordinated SW, HW, mechanical, quality, and manufacturing teams throughout North America and Europe. Primary OEM customer interface. Employed strong manufacturing involvement in conceptual design to improve manufacturability.
Led the Plantronics M205 development team to design and manufacture the company’s first earbud-style mobile headset. Developed a new method to develop low cost products, combining US design with turnkey manufacturing in China. This was also the division’s first implementation of a controlled product development process with phase exits and controlled releases. Within one year of launch, it became the fastest selling mobile headset in the company, as well as the #1 mobile headset in the US (ranked by sales dollars between May 2001 and April 2002 by NPD Techworld, reported in TWICE magazine, 7-22-02, page 44).
Engineering project manager for the Plantronics MX100 mobile headset, becoming the first low-cost headset manufactured in the company’s own captive factory. This design also included a newly-developed patented ear interface design.
Project manager for the development of two new Watkins-Johnson $2.5M chemical vapor deposition systems. Teamed with key engineering colleagues to develop a patented system architecture. Led the 58-member team to develop a system from concept to first operation in 10 months while meeting cost targets.
Created a joint development program with a robotics vendor to develop a new Watkins-Johnson wafer handler system with a low R&D investment while meeting product needs, completing its first automated operationon schedule. Led a 12-member cross-functional team.
Created and led cross-functional development teams to implement wafer contamination solutions on Watkins-Johnson Chemical Vapor Deposition systems. Interfaced with sales, marketing, and customers to establish project direction and implementation. Managed equipment production release, beta testing, field support, and manufacturing support.
Led the Etec Thermal Field Emission Source manufacturing test system project, including product definition, design, and production implementation. Completed on schedule and on budget.
Functional Management
Restructured and re-developed the New Product Introduction Management team at Plantronics. Redefined the NPIM role, coached and trained the staff on project management techniques. Developed new internal processes for project management, such as NPD product costing, NPD pilot build material tracking, and others. Expanded the scope of the NPIM function by coordinating and consolidating similar functions at worldwide development sites (Mexico, UK, and Taiwan).
Successfully created, staffed, and managed a new Watkins-Johnson systems engineering department. Established charter, objectives, and responsibilities. Directed the 11-member staff to establish systems engineering as a key discipline for the company. Successfully positioned staff for success by coaching and assigning projects matching their skills and desires. Maintained a 6% turnover rate (industry average was >15%).
Created a new Watkins-Johnson wafer handling engineering department, leading 5 engineers and technicians to develop wafer handling automation technologies.
Developed mission statement, charter, roles and responsibilities, and reporting methods for Plantronics mobile headset project managers. Mentored junior- and mid-level project managers.
Product Development Process Generation
Developed a new portfolio management process for Plantronics mobile headset projects, incorporating labor, expenses, sales volumes, and strategic criteria to rank all new mobile headset programs. Developed an extensive Excel-based analysis and report format to collect and analyze program data.
Working closely with corporate finance analysts, developed a new finance-based method of selecting Plantronics’ manufacturing partners for low-cost mobile headsets. This analysis resulted in the placement of the first low-cost mobile headset in the company’s captive factory.
Initiated and developed a monthly program review process for new Plantronics mobile headset products. Developed presentation formats and coached other program managers on presentation content.
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