Benjamin Shockley
Lead Aviation Programs Engineer Manager
Olathe, Kansas, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolBenjamin Shockley is a seasoned aerospace engineering leader with over two decades in aviation product development and 11 years in program leadership roles, currently serving as Lead Aviation Programs Engineer Manager at Garmin. He combines deep hands-on systems and structural engineering experience from Boeing, Cirrus, and Garmin with program management skills—driving hardware/software integration for certified and experimental flight decks like G1000 NXi and G3X Touch. Benjamin has a strong academic foundation (MS, Washington University in St. Louis; BS, University of Kansas) and a track record of delivering rapid design iterations, supplier cost reductions, and production-ready solutions. Unusually for a senior avionics manager, he also contributes to embedded open-source projects such as CircuitPython and the Mu editor, adding microcontroller board support and IoT-focused firmware features. Based in Olathe, KS, he pairs practical manufacturing and flight-test experience with a curious, maker-oriented streak that keeps him engaged in both high-level program strategy and low-level hardware/software details.
11 years of coding experience
21 years of employment as a software developer
University of KansasAndroid Nanodegree, Android Development, Android Nanodegree, Android Development at UdacityIndependent Study, Independent Study, Independent Study, Independent Study at Kansas State UniversityMaster of Science (MS), Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Master of Science (MS), Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis
English, Spanish
Github Skills (23)
samd2110
editors10
py10
python10
hardware-interface10
spi10
microcontroller10
editor10
integrations10
sam10
flash10
sys10
samd5110
system-integration10
micropython10
Programming languages (7)
Github contributions (5)
adafruit/circuitpython
Sep 2018 - Jan 2025
CircuitPython - a Python implementation for teaching coding with microcontrollers
Role in this project:
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT Developer
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT DeveloperContributions:13 PRs, 5 comments, 1 issue in 6 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Benjamin primarily contributes to the CircuitPython project, focusing on porting and adding support for specific hardware. Their commits demonstrate adding support for external flash memory devices, specifically the IS25LP016D, and subsequently the W25Q16JV-IM, including modifications to QSPI write capabilities. They also work on board definitions, including the initial setup of the Mini SAM M0 and Mini SAM M4 boards, defining pin mappings and hardware configurations, and updating MCU types. Additionally, the user introduces support for new hardware features, such as the Neopixel and W25Q16JV IQ.
pythonpython-implementationteachingmicrocontrollerpython3
mu-editor/mu
Jun 2019 - Jul 2019
A small, simple editor for beginner Python programmers. Written in Python and Qt5.
Role in this project:Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:14 commits, 6 PRs, 6 comments in 13 days
Contributions summary:Benjamin primarily focused on updating and refactoring code related to the CircuitPython mode within the Mu editor. Their work involved renaming files and classes from "Adafruit" to "CircuitPython," reflecting a shift in focus. They also made minor updates, corrected typos, and adjusted code for improved compatibility with different CircuitPython boards. These changes are critical to the editor's support for CircuitPython development.
pythonpython-beginnerpygameqt5simple-editor
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