Jade Ballinger

Programme Management for Robotics Innovation and Research, coordinating a Global team of over 100 Engineers and Scientists. Notable achievements include:

• Agile Transformation: Led the adoption of Jira and Confluence, designing streamlined systems to consolidate digital project management tools. This initiative created a central source of truth and facilitated a department-wide shift to Agile methodologies. Currently overseeing the implementation of this system across all categories for New Product Innovation and Research.
• Strategic Direction: Initially responsible for guiding and maintaining the Feature roadmap across all Robotics projects alongside the Director of Innovation. Now supporting other NPI teams through adoption of Feature based delivery and building a strategic pipeline across the next 5 years.
• Project Delivery: Owned and maintained integrated project schedules, introduced and embedded robust risk management processes, built and coordinated a Cross Functional leadership team to leverage expertise across the business, facilitated Stakeholder reviews and implemented continuous improvement activities.
• Leadership During Change: Guided the team through a period of significant uncertainty and large-scale redundancies, offering steady leadership, rebuilding processes, and redefining the project portfolio within a newly adopted company delivery model.

End-Stage Project Management role focused on Operations & Manufacturing of a new Connect Hair-Styling Device. Notable achievements include:

• Critical Path Management: Conducted Critical Path Analysis to identify high-priority tasks, optimizing rig allocation and implementing staggered build plans to recover a 10-week delay and meet key launch milestones.
• Cross-Functional Conflict Resolution: Successfully resolved conflicts between operations and electronics hardware teams by navigating complex dependencies and creating cohesive build and test schedules for PCB development.
• Digital & Physical Product Alignment: Aligned software & core design teams on ways of working and delivery timelines, resolving internal conflict and enabling delivery of a cohesive offering between the Physical & Digital product offerings.
• Executive Reporting & Action Planning: Led status review meetings with department executives, delivering clear progress updates and drafting action plans to implement proposed changes and drive project delivery.

Designed and developed manipulation hardware for household robotics, employing iterative design to enhance performance, robustness, and reliability, and creating custom test methods for rigorous functionality evaluation. Engineered motor circuitry for prototype rigs, programming development boards and motor drivers using STM32Cube to ensure precise control and seamless system integration. Additionally developed user journeys for novel robotics applications to inform designs.

Career break post graduation before moving into full time Engineering role. Time spent travelling around USA and Europe whilst pursuing passion for film photography.

Conducted static and dynamic finite element analyses (FEA) to identify failure zones and guide design modifications for the Dyson Zone™ (Air Purifying Headphones). Developed Python scripts for ANSYS to optimize material models, used modal analysis for resonance in compressor assemblies, and created a MATLAB UI for real-time impact force visualization during drop testing.

Completed six engineering placements across Mechanical, Electronics, Software, Research, and NPI teams while balancing a Bachelor's in Engineering by attending lectures two days a week and working in RDD three days a week.