Who We Are
Team Spotlight
Conner Hoggard
Electronic Product Designer
Conner achieved a First in Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at the University of Bath in 2018. Soon after, we snapped him up for his first full-time job, as Software and Hardware Engineer at EMP Designs.
Conner is the creative force behind much of our software programming and his bespoke solutions ensure our products remain inventive. Working closely with Dan and Zoe, he incorporates leading edge technology innovatively into client briefs.
Connor is one of the engineers responsible for turning ideas into working products at EMP Designs. Combining electronics design, embedded software development, prototyping, and problem-solving, his role sits at the heart of the product development process. Whether he's designing hardware, writing firmware, investigating bugs, or researching new technologies, Connor enjoys the challenge of making complex systems work reliably and efficiently.
What a typical week looks like?
No two weeks are really the same. Most of my time goes on getting hardware working and writing the firmware that makes the boards do what we want. The rest is a mix: creating specifications for new projects with Dan and clients, researching new tech and ideas for future products, bug fixing, looking after our IT infrastructure, and helping the team with their software problems.
On a project I'm proud of:
The pixel control boards are a favourite of mine. It's satisfying work, pushing a lot of data through and turning it into a large pixel display, and unlike most embedded work you can actually see the result in front of you. When it all comes together and the display lights up the way you intended, it's a good feeling.
On the technical side of things:
Pretty much every problem ends up on my desk eventually. A lot of the job is working out whether something's a hardware or software fault and then proving it. There's plenty of freedom to prototype and try ideas out, and things move quickly from bench to product.
On what people tend to misunderstand:
People underestimate how much work goes into making these tiny controllers do what they do. There's a lot of engineering hidden inside something that ends up looking simple. They'd probably also be surprised by the pace. It's fast-moving and a bit chaotic, with a lot going on at once.
On what keeps the work interesting:
Two things mainly. The people, more than anything. And the feedback you get from a physical system. There's something about working with real hardware and seeing it respond that you don't get from a screen. It's why I do embedded work rather than pure software engineering.
On who tends to do well here:
People who do well here are adaptable and fairly light-hearted, which you need given the pace. The best fit is someone who can take ownership of a problem and run with it, but who also knows when to ask for help and asks sensible thought out questions when they get stuck. And my hot drink of choice is a decaf coffee with a splash of milk.