Meet the team
Tom Oakley
Director
MEng, University of Cambridge
A dedicated and widely skilled engineering consultant with flair for innovative design and business development.
Tom consistently delivers projects that produce high quality safety-critical designs for mass production.
Keith Turner
Director
PhD and BA in Physics, University of Oxford
Experimental problem solver and innovator in all sorts of physics systems such as thermal, fluidics, mechanics and materials. Loves “getting things to work”, especially for medical devices that improve people’s lives.
Liam Malone
Principal Physicist and Management Team Member
PhD in Physics, University of Bristol
With his background in fundamental physics research, Liam loves applying scientific principles to research and development problems. He is experienced at rapidly developing initial concepts into innovative and exciting new products ready to be handed over to manufacture.
Adam Nightingale
Principal Mechanical Engineer and Management Team Member
MEng, University of Cambridge
Adam is a Chartered Engineer with a background in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. He has worked on products from early-stage R&D all the way through to production and has a broad range of experience in consulting and start-ups, including in drug delivery devices and microfluidics.
Alex Vasiev
Head of Biointerface and Management Team Member
PhD & MEng, University of Glasgow
Alex is a chartered engineer with a broad skillset spanning mechanical and biomedical engineering and years of experience in product development. His interests lie in engineering design, innovation, and problem-solving. Before joining Springboard, he led the front-end innovation function at a device development company.
Alex Cheng
Year in Industry Student
Alex is a Year in Industry student excited to work on practical problems and develop a range of technical skills. He has a particular interest in physics and its applications.
Andy Taylor
Engineer
Andy is a Chartered Engineer with a background in product development across medical, consumer and industrial sectors, including expertise in front-end innovation, mechanical design and sustainability. He takes a human-centred approach to design, ensuring that solutions meet the needs of the end user while maintaining technical feasibility.
Bradley Sawyer
Consultant Mechanical Engineer
MEng, University of Cambridge
Bradley is a mechanical engineer with experience of learning and projects from various engineering disciplines. With interests in product design, materials, and all things practical, he brings an innovative and systematic approach to his work.
Elena Guss Tarazona
Consultant Mechanical Engineer
MRes Biomedical Engineering, University College London
Elena’s background in mechanical engineering and research brings a flexible approach to problems. She enjoys applying her strong practical skills and solution-based focus to projects, finding efficient ways to get results.
Ethan Miller
Senior Physicist
PhD in Physics, University of Durham
Ethan is an experimental biophysicist with a background in developing synthetic biological systems and high-resolution imaging. He can quickly grasp new concepts and break down complicated problems allowing him to discover creative solutions.
Finn Heraghty
Consultant Mechanical Engineer
MEng, University of Cambridge
Finn is a mechanical design engineer with a keen interest in materials and innovative products. His strong background in practical work has led him to enjoy designing parts for manufacture whilst working alongside clients to refine their ideas.
George Bird
Engineer
MEng, University of Cambridge
A creative problem solver keen to find novel solutions, George has a wide ranging theoretical background in vibration theory, fluid mechanics and structural mechanics. He has experience in setting up physics models from scratch, particularly to aid experimental work.
Hollie Jennings
Industrial Design Engineer
Hollie is an Industrial Design Engineer dedicated to solving complex challenges through innovative, user-centered design. Passionate about improving patient outcomes, she creates aesthetic devices which prioritise safety, usability and empathy to enhance the user experience.
Joe Batley
Principal Physicist
PhD in Physics, University of Leeds
As an experimental physicist, Joe’s experience spans engineering and fundamental science. With a critical eye, he is adept at breaking down technical scenarios, identifying constraints and developing practical solutions from the lab to the nanoscale.
Julie Garner
Administrator
Julie is part of our finance team, dealing with accounts payable functions, processing invoices and helping to maintain an efficient finance department. She is also responsible for a variety of front-of-house tasks.
Liam Ranebo
Mechanical Engineer
Liam is a dedicated mechanical engineer with a strong foundation in practical problem-solving and innovative design. He enjoys leveraging practical methods, enabling smart, optimised solutions.
Kamaal de Silva
Principal Mechanical Engineer
MEng, Imperial College London
Experienced engineer specialising in medical device design – keen to discover problems in the industry and construct innovative mechanical or digital solutions. From connected app development to the mechanics of drug delivery, Kamaal adds flexibility and expert knowledge to Springboard.
Kiara Taylor
Design Engineer
MEng, Loughborough University
Kiara is a Design Engineer with a keen interest in sustainability and user-centred design. Drawing from a broad understanding of engineering, design, human factors and manufacturing principles, Kiara enjoys working with clients to develop innovative solutions.
Kristien De Clercq
Senior Aeronautical Engineer
MSc, Delft University of Technology, NL
Kristien is an experienced engineer with a keen interest in biomechanics and aerodynamics. With a very hands-on approach she quickly gets ideas off the ground.
Marcus Agunloye
Head of Human Factors
BA (Hons) Brunel University
Marcus is a human factors engineer with a background in drug device combination products. He is experienced in leading human factors programmes and turning user insight design inputs. He enjoys researching and advocating for user populations and working to deliver the best products for all.
Matthew Latham
Consultant Mechanical Engineer
MEng, University of Cambridge
Matthew enjoys using the practical problem solving skills required to find solutions for clients, which he backs up with his strong theoretical understanding of engineering concepts.He has a range of interests across engineering disciplines with a background in fluid dynamics and mechanics.
Leanne Yip
Head of Industrial design and UX/UI
MEng, University of Bath
Her work involves combining the usability, user experience and functionality of a product throughout the product development process. She can produce outputs ranging from photorealistic renders, surface models and UI prototypes.
Philip Howie
Principal Materials Scientist
PhD, University of Cambridge
With a broad scientific background, Philip is ideally placed to carry out in-depth investigations that deliver solutions. He adds breadth to Springboard’s team, bringing specialist knowledge of the properties and testing of engineering materials.
Phoebe Buckley
HR Manager
Phoebe is a skilled HR generalist with 10 years’ experience. Providing specialist knowledge and supporting growth, she enjoys partnering with colleagues across the business. Phoebe is passionate about people and helping them thrive at work.
Sally Maclachlan
Marketing Manager
B Com Marketing and HR
Sally has worked in a number of business marketing roles over her marketing career with a particular interest in communication and content marketing. She has focussed on wearable medical technology over the last few years and brings this experience to Springboard.
Sammy Hassan
Electronics Engineer
Sammy is passionate about innovation and thrives on solving challenges in product development by integrating hardware and software solutions for industrial and technological advancements.
With a strong background in mechanical and a keen interest in electronic engineering, he specialises in embedded systems and modern C++ development. His expertise spans power electronics, PCB design, and microcontroller firmware, including Linux-based operating systems.
Sam Johnstone
Principal Product Developer
MEng, University of Southampton
Sam is an experienced product developer who enjoys managing large multi-disciplined engineering teams. Sam believes in taking a practical, risk-based approach to create innovative devices that succeed in the real world.
As an engineer, Sam has strong mechanical and systems engineering skills and is proficient in several software languages including python, C, C++ and MATLAB.
Sam Swann
Year in Industry Student
Sam is a YINI student who likes working at the ground level of product development and testing, contributing his insight and producing data that helps clients refine their products.
Phil Wright
Software and Firmware Contractor
BEng, University of Leeds
Phil has more than 20 years in writing and testing embedded firmware and, before that, electronics design. Phil enjoys solving all sorts of engineering problems and has specific experience in developing firmware for healthcare and medical products, in embedded Internet-of-Things platforms, and digital signal processing.
Jon Dibben
Electronics Independent Consultant
BEng, University of Reading
Jon has more than 30 years’ experience in specifying, designing and debugging electronics hardware. He has a wide range of skills including microprocessors, embedded software, FPGAs, mechatronics, analogue, RF and PCB design. He enjoys working with the client to create the right solution for their needs.