Ben Haldeman

“I worked with Ben in a few different capacities at Planet over the last few years. Early on we worked as mechanical engineers on the Dove spacecraft. Ben immediately came in with invaluable insights and outside the box thinking that enabled us to solve some tricky mechanical issues that would have otherwise caused major problems down the road. He led the development of new cutting edge payloads that made our satellite a major step forward in earth observation capability. He coupled his strong optomechanical background with an enthusiasm for implementing new technologies and an excitement to try out new ways of working and improve on our engineering agility. Later on, I worked with Ben as he accepted the challenge of acting as the product owner for a new satellite development project. Along with championing the project from it's inception, he thoughtfully orchestrated our development processes, guided the team through milestones, interfaced with funders, and acted as the voice of our potential customers in translating product to engineering requirements. With Ben in this role we benefitted from his rare combination of technical understanding, product vision, and customer empathy.”

“I worked directly with Ben on a number of projects over the course of five years. I was very impressed to see how he started as a bright mechanical designer and then proceeded to teach himself circuit design, motor control and PC board layout so that he could take control of the complete electro-mechanical design of his instruments. Ben works on a quick time scale. More often than not, a design that we agreed upon one day would turn into drawings to review the next day and then out to the vendor the following day. When it came time for production, Ben's documentation and assembly drawings were top notch. Assemblies could be built to his documentation with minimal input from Ben which enabled him to get on to the next design task and maximize his productivity for the company. Ben was one of the first engineers at LCO to grasp the power of the production planning and documentation system that we had in place but was little used. Ben's leadership skills and his willingness to work with other engineers one-on-one provided the catalyst for real organizational change. The engineers have now bought into the process which in-turn has increased the quality and service life of our products. Ben is someone you want to have on your team, his strong competitive spirit and work ethic in life translates exceptionally well into the work environment. He will be a great addition to your company. Regards, Rich Lobdill Principal Electrical Engineer Las Cumbres Observatory”