SYNAPSE - Key Persons
Amy has worked at Synapse since 2009, where she has held multiple positions and currently serves as a Senior Program Manager.
Having extensive leadership experience in the areas of product development, operations, human resources, finance and customer service, Amy brings with her the ability to guide and motivate diverse teams with a strong focus on client relations.
Throughout her time at Synapse, Amy has played a pivotal role in the development of several processes, and has a true passion for continuous improvement. Her leadership abilities, combined with her strong organizational skills, focus on efficiency, and knack for balancing multiple demands, has helped Amy to ensure project teams consistently deliver results that exceed client expectations.
Amy received her Bachelor of Arts, Sociology and Master of Education degrees from the University of California, San Diego, where she was awarded Provost's Honors multiple times.
In her free time, Amy enjoys swimming, exploring the walking trails near her home on Bainbridge Island, cooking, and traveling.
Daniel is a problem-solver first, engineer second, who is passionate about engaging with clients and helping drive towards user-centric solutions. Daniel joined Synapse in 2019 after graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Harvard and learning the ropes of electronics design interning and working in the medical device industry.
At Synapse, he has worked on engineering projects including fitness data loggers and low-power consumer devices, and been responsible for electrical verification and manufacturing test fixtures, low-power embedded circuit design, and trying to catch as many schematic bugs as possible. He loves being challenged in his role and being exposed to different types of consumer technologies, and helping clients understand the various design tradeoffs in product development.
Daniel's interests include the intersection of technology, data, and sports. While in college, his undergraduate thesis focused on designing a wearable-assisted posture correction device for athletes. Outside of work, he enjoys planning West Coast road trips, backcountry skiing, hiking, climbing, and rooting on his hometown Seahawks.
Helena is a Mechanical Engineer who loves working collaboratively with driven teams that strive for excellence. She enjoys putting her mechatronics background to use on multidisciplinary projects.
Helena earned her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (concentration in Mechatronics) and B.S. in Biomechanical Engineering from Stanford University. At Stanford, she did research in bioengineering in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab and engineering education in the Designing Education Lab.
She is a 2016 Olympian in Sailing, having reached the Olympic finals at Rio 2016 in the Women's High Performance Skiff class. She is also a Pan American Games medallist and two-time National Champion. When not in the office, you can find her sailing her 70 lb, fully carbon-fiber hydrofoiling (flying!) boat solo on San Francisco Bay.
Job Titles:
- Head of Marketing
- Marketing Manager
- Senior Designer
Jackie Johanson joined the Synapse team as Senior Designer and Marketing Manager in 2012. She collaborates with the marketing, sales, leadership, project teams, recruiting, and IT departments to drive brand integrity across all touch points; both internal and external. Jackie's background as a fine artist and ability to draw inspiration from unlikely places have been significant contributors to the artistic & conceptual strength of her creative work.
Jackie graduated from Central Washington University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. She has received the Richard Warren Design Graphic Arts Award in 2012 and was recognized for the National Award for Third Place in Four Color Posters.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
John has over 20 years of experience in business development and program management with leading semiconductor, wireless, and product development organizations, including Texas Instruments Inc., Elektrobit Ltd., and now Synapse Product Development.
After 10 years in multiple account management positions with TI, John moved to Elektrobit as the Director of Business Development for North American operations, where he established new relationships with key clients including Intel, Nokia, Motorola, Broadcom, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
Following two years in France with Elektrobit where he managed key account relationships in central Europe, John returned to Seattle to manage execution of client programs that included mobile handset designs, Android-based tablets, and wireless semiconductor platforms for OEM device development.
John was thrilled to join the smart and enthusiastic team at Synapse in 2011. Since joining Synapse, John has served in multiple roles in program management and business development, and currently is a business development manager and account director for strategic clients.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
Jonathan brings over 14 years of experience in the product development and design space-ranging from computational fluid dynamics in mechanical engineering to ownership of multi-year end-to-end development programs with over 100 team members. He combines backgrounds in mechanical engineering, humanities, and summer camps to bring you proof that engineers are often just as excited to discuss moral relativism and the musings of philosopher Malcolm Young as they are in rebuilding your engine. Jonathan holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters of Engineering Management from the Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Jonathan embraces the title of 7th most tenured Synapster, having joined the company in 2006 as a mechanical engineer. While always enjoying the careful attention to detail that a technical role afforded, he quickly found that leading ever larger multi-disciplinary teams was both a good fit for himself as well as a key need for Synapse's rapidly expanding business over the last decade. During his tenure, he has served integral business and technical roles-leading Synapse's largest programs in medical devices, consumer products, and experience delivery ecosystems. Jonathan imbues Synapse with a strong sense of community, a clean workspace, and can always be found at the front of the line for FUN.
Job Titles:
- Director of Mechanical Engineering / Seattle
Larry has over 30 years of experience developing innovative products. With a strong foundation in Mechanical Engineering and system level development, he is able to lead dynamic multi-functional technical teams. He has worked for companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 companies. As director, he is responsible for leading the development and adoption of standards and best practices for the department. His strengths include building and maintaining engineering capability road maps, facilitating the growth of engineering capabilities within the department, and guiding the improvement of product development process to drive consistency of approach and quality of outputs. Additionally, he organizes and supports technology exploration initiatives and develops key technologies as deployable elements to the business units.
Larry has been building strong client relationships and developing high tech products at Synapse since 2010. Multiple high production volume products have benefited from his strong engineering and technical capabilities. During the development of these products he has provided production ramp support in China and Korea.
Larry spent his early career designing high speed printers for industrial use and energy based systems for industrial and medical applications for which he holds two patents. These energy based systems involved state of the art laser, radio frequency, and ultrasonic technologies. He applies his broad understanding of materials and manufacturing processes to the early identification of critical product features. Larry received his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington.
Job Titles:
- in 2019 As a Program Manager
- Senior Program Manager / Seattle
Leslie joined Synapse in 2019 as a Program Manager. With exposure to a wide variety of engineering disciplines and a background in leadership, Leslie takes pride in bringing clients and teams together to deliver high-impact results. She is passionate about applying systems engineering to product development, merging process and structure with the creativity that thrives at Synapse.
Previously, she joined the founding team at a VC-funded startup company as the first employee and spent over a decade leading efforts to scale the electrochemistry-based nanostructured material process from R&D to production to a globally licensed product. Prior to this, she worked for a contract-funded startup specializing in functional polymer composites for radionuclide decontamination. Early career work included NASA, the federal government, and a family-run civil engineering firm.
Leslie holds an MS in Systems & Industrial Engineering from the University of Washington and a BSE, Magna Cum Laude, in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering with a Certificate in Robotics from Princeton University.
Outside of work, Leslie volunteers as an art docent and a STEM workshop instructor, enjoys gardening, and running, and loves to spend time with her family.