Summary
Stephen Cool is a senior optical engineer with 11+ years of experience translating thin-film research into robust manufacturing at companies including Apple, Seagate, and display startups. He combines deep hands-on expertise in vacuum deposition (IBD, PVD, CVD, MBE), optical coating design, and materials characterization (XPS, SIMS, SEM, XRD, AFM, and magnetic probes) with proven process engineering skills—DOE, Six Sigma, FMEA, and SPC—to scale R&D into high-yield production. His career includes leading major equipment acquisitions and integrations, developing patented phosphors and sputtering/anneal processes, and shepherding GMR head technology into volume manufacturing. Colleagues trust him as a dependable project leader who mentors technicians and engineers while tackling unfamiliar challenges. Based in Cupertino, he pairs practical shop-floor savvy (wirebonding, equipment design, tool calibration) with a curiosity for novel materials and travel-driven perspectives.
11 years of coding experience
10 years of employment as a software developer
M.Sc., Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, M.Sc., Experimental Condensed Matter Physics at McMaster University
Burnaby Central Secondary School
B.Sc., Physics, B.Sc., Physics at Simon Fraser University
English, French, Japanese