# James Penny > Sr. Manufacturing Engineer Location: Santa Cruz, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/jamespenny I am a Product Developer and Mechanical Design Engineer operating at the intersection of rigorous engineering and resource efficiency. My career spans academia, agile startups, and mature corporate consumer brands, giving me the ability to navigate fast-paced hurdles while maintaining the structure required for large-scale production. I specialize in taking products from "scratch" to shelf, ensuring that mechanical precision and project goals never drift apart. My approach to solving complex technical challenges is best illustrated by my recent work in heavy-lift UAS (Parallel Flight Technologies) and scaled green hydrogen production (Verdagy). What I am looking for: I am seeking a role with a company tackling modern challenges: resource scarcity, market differentiation, and climate-conscious design. Innovation in Action: Beyond the office, I apply my engineering and business skills to marine conservation. I am currently developing a proprietary method for sea urchin removal and land-based aquaculture, turning an ecological problem into a commercial product (uni) to support kelp forest restoration. ## Work Experience ### Sr. Manufacturing Engineer @ Verdagy Jan 2022 – Present | Moss Landing, California, United States Water electrolysis technology for the very large-scale production of green hydrogen. ### Manufacturing Operations Lead @ Parallel Flight Technologies Jan 2021 – Jan 2022 | La Selva Beach, California ### Capital Development Manager @ Greenway Partners Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | Arcata, CA & Santa Cruz, CA Capital Manager at Greenway Capital, a development group specializing in conceiving, testing, and implementing novel, financially profitable programs that provide social impact for rural communities in Northern California. My team focused on the discovery, analysis, and design of a suite of development projects ranging from creating affordable housing in urban areas to environmental kelp habitat defense and restoration utilizing next-generation technologies. The company now has designed and built rural community projects worth over $95 million, with over 120 unique development projects and programs either completed, underway, or near completion. ### Sr. Product Developer @ BRG Sports, Inc. Jan 2012 – Jan 2016 | Scotts Valley, CA Advanced Concepts Team member 5 years for Vista Outdoor Products – Action Sports Bell Moto, Road, Mountain, and mass-market helmet lines; Giro’s Snow and Road helmet lines, and Riddell Football helmets. Led design winning helmet development and testing – including Giro’s Avance ski helmet, Bell’s Momentum all EPP mass consumer helmet, and Riddell’s custom-fit helmets for NFL players - producing world-class helmets spanning multiple customer categories, retail price ranges and profit margin targets protected under strong intellectual property patents. ### Marketing and Mechancial Design Consulting @ Simpson Lumber Company Jan 2008 – Jan 2012 | Arcata, CA Repositioning a 120-year-old commodity company, The California Redwood Company (a Simpson Investment Company subsidiary) as the West Coast resource for branded outdoor lifestyle redwood products and services. The implementation of this aggressive campaign involved rebranding, public relations broadcasting, interactive website building, and product-retooling. The project demonstrated positive sales growth of 40% over 3 years, in spite of the economic downturn in housing construction during the Great Recession. ### Senior Project Manager @ element7design Jan 2004 – Jan 2012 | Santa Cruz, California Drive, imagination, and resourcefulness are at the core of what guides my professional direction and contributes to my continued success. These core attributes form a bridge between my varied professional experiences- from work in genetic engineering to solving a range of complex design, manufacturing and operational challenges for product-driven companies, to re-branding and overhauling a company within a struggling industry. Not just a change-agent or team-builder, I can successfully define critical strategic goals, build collaborative teams with the required capabilities, and manage projects that exceed expectations. I currently manage operations for a consulting firm responsible for all phases of development and design for various international manufacturing clients. I am competent and comfortable working on various levels of a project: market research, establishing product design plans, prototyping, safety, and performance testing, monitoring costing updates, and establishing & maintaining excellent communication with both domestic and international manufacturing partners. I excel at working with cross-functional teams where there is a primary commitment to bringing together shared knowledge, experiences, and opinions so those project goals are reached, the goods delivered on time, on cost, and to specification. I am fluent in understanding the intense time and cash-burn demands on today's management leadership as they work hard to deliver great products and services to specifications, on time and budget. ### Renewable Energy Product Development and Marketing Consultant @ Idealab Jan 2006 – Jan 2007 | Pasadena, CA Conceptualized, designed and manufactured a series of innovatively designed and field-tested solar tracking PV modules, roof interface and array interconnection components for a high concentration photovoltaic system for Energy Innovations. Delivery of successful system design was crucial for proving a validation step for the business model and eventual installation of Google’s first roof-top photovoltaic system. ### Product Design & Development - Special Products @ Yakima Products Jan 1999 – Jan 2004 Successfully led the launch of a new product line of soft-goods for Yakima Products. As a design and manufacturing manager, I delivered a profitable line featuring innovative designs, developed in collaboration with new manufacturing partners located in China, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines. Project goals were realized with the successful and profitable launch of product lines across divergent categories within the outdoor industry. ### Product Development & Design Manager @ The North Face, Inc. Jan 1997 – Jan 1999 | Alameda, CA & Carbondale, CO Managed The North Face’s A5 rock climbing division. Under my guidance, this product line regained manufacturing consistency, implemented a comprehensive R&D strategy with sponsored climbing team members, and expanded its product line to keep in time with changes in consumer expectations and corporate sales goals. ### graduate student @ Caltech Jan 1992 – Jan 1993 ## Education ### BS in Genetics University of California, Berkeley ### PhD Candidate in Molecular Biology Caltech ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/james-penny-helpthekelp --- Source: https://flows.cv/jamespenny JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/jamespenny/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-08