Julianna Downes

Julianna Downes has a wealth of experience in the engineering and technology field. Julianna began their career in 2011 as a Junior Book Keeper at BlueStrike Consulting Inc. In 2017, they joined Erwin Hymer Group North America as an Innovation Engineer, where they researched and developed a lane detection prototype for an Autonomous RV using C++ and Python. Julianna also prototyped a facial recognition and tracking device with Arduino, motors, and C++ for use in RV's. In 2018, they held two positions: a Mechatronics Engineer - Robotics at ARGO XTV - A division of Ontario Drive & Gear Ltd. and a Use-IT Lab HoloLens Developer at the Usability and Interactive Technology Lab, University of Waterloo. At ARGO XTV, they were the acting Lead of assembling autonomous robots, including designing new components, improving assembly quality, and setting in place tools and procedures. At the Usability and Interactive Technology Lab, they executed design process and prototyping of applications for the Microsoft HoloLens (Augmented Reality). In 2019, they joined Christie Digital Systems as a Systems Engineer - Advanced Research and Collaboration, where they did research on LiDARs, projectors, cameras, colour theory, and object detection. Julianna also designed and created an object detection algorithm for the Livox LiDAR, using C++, ROS, and Linux. In 2020, they held two positions: a Biomedical Engineer - Electrical at Hyivy Health, and a Mechatronics Engineer at tinymile.ai. At Hyivy Health, they were the electrical engineering lead for designing and prototyping a new medical device. At tinymile.ai, they led the design, prototyping, and testing of different components of the autonomous food delivery robot, such as the wheels, chassis, computer and camera mounts. In 2021, they returned to Hyivy Health as a System Engineering Manager.

Julianna Downes received their Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2021. Prior to that, they obtained their Ontario Secondary School Diploma from Corpus Christi Secondary School in 2016.