Drive System Design (DSD), a company specializing in the rapid engineering and development of electrified propulsion systems and associated technologies, has added several new members to its team following significant electrification business growth.

Among the six new team members at its Farmington Hills, Michigan, facility are individuals who have strong backgrounds at Tier One suppliers and original-equipment manufacturers. Specialties range from motor controls to transmission systems, e-axles and more.

“There has been a tremendous amount of growth, both in personnel and diversification of business, taking place at Drive System Design and we’re excited to add these exceptionally talented engineering experts to our team,” said Jon Brentnall, President at Drive System Design. “Collectively, their impressive backgrounds will help us further broaden and enhance our electrified propulsion expertise as we continue to tackle a range of electrification initiatives spanning automotive, defense, aerospace, commercial vehicle and marine sectors.”

With the addition of the new team members, DSD now has 35 employees at its Farmington Hills facility, with expectations of adding another half a dozen team members by the end of 2022.

Information about each of the new team members can be found below.

AK Arafat, Principal Controls Engineer

As Principal Controls Engineer, AK Arafat will be responsible for executing motor control projects and helping shape DSD’s development of motor design, analysis and test processes through continual R&D investment. Most recently a Technical Specialist in power electronics at Cummins, where he worked for three years, AK Arafat brings a breadth of experience in high power electric power conversion, motor controls, inverter software creation and optimization, and electric machines to DSD. He has invented 17 technologies and published 29 research papers on motors, controls and diagnostics throughout his career. Additionally, he has led cross-functional and global teams in a variety of initiatives, including investigating existing motor drive functionalities and failure modes. He has also tested, calibrated and validated multiple electric drive units for heavy-duty EV commercial applications.

Arafat earned a master’s degree in electric engineering from the University of Akron, Ohio, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

Taechung “TC” Kim, Chief Technical Specialist

Joining DSD as a Chief Technical Specialist, Taechung “TC” Kim, will be responsible for leading full-scale electric drive unit design and analysis projects, while mentoring the team around him. With a strong engineering background, Kim is able to draw from extensive experience with e-axles and simulation for NVH and transmissions. Prior to joining DSD, Kim worked as a Lead Transmission Engineer at Wrightspeed Powertrain Inc. He also previously worked as a Senior Principal Engineer of model-based design for Toyota Motor North America in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Senior Manager and Senior Research Engineer of powertrain CAE for Hyundai and Kia Motors in Korea. During his career he was the Design Lead for an EV commercial vehicle e-axle with range extender options project, in which he developed a high ratio four-speed co-axial transmission for durability, NVH and controls for a Class 7 and 8 vehicles.

Kim earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York.

Andrew Jamieson, Principal Engineer

Andrew Jamieson has been hired on as a Principal Engineer. He brings more than 15 years of experience as a Design Engineer, Senior Design Engineer and most recently Technical Specialist at MAHLE Powertrain. Jamieson has had a vast amount of experience with engines and mechanical systems from automotive to marine to defense applications throughout his career. He has designed and developed a novel crank train arrangement for a powerboat engine and led a team designing the housing assembly for a military cross-drive transmission, among other projects.

He earned a master’s degree in automotive product engineering from Cranfield University in the U.K. and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Napier University in the U.K.

Mario Escareno, Senior Control Engineer

As a Senior Control Engineer, Mario Escareno will work on an array of control software development, demonstrator vehicle calibration and system simulation projects at DSD. Most recently, Escareno served as an Electrified Controls Systems engineer for Ford Motor Company, where he worked for nearly a decade. During the course of his career, Escareno has developed control systems for electric and hybrid vehicle high level functions, managed controls integration and program management for more than 24 programs, and worked on various functional safety and failure protection assignments.

Escareno earned a professional certification in architecture and systems engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a master’s degree in business administration from TecMilenio University and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the National Polytechnique Institute in Mexico City.

David Loki, Transmission Engineer

David Loki is joining DSD as a Transmission Engineer, following a Product Engineering role for eAxle Pursuit at Linamar. Previously Loki has worked to design and develop a differential disconnect mechanism for use in AWD electric vehicle applications and as an analyst and build coordinator for a dual motor, hybrid multi-speed transmission in a commercial vehicle application.

Loki earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of California, Davis.

Matt Emmerson, Transmission Engineer

Coming to DSD with a substantial background in testing and development, Matt Emmerson will now take on the role of Transmission Engineer. Most recently he worked as an 8-speed Transmission Development Engineer for GM. Emmerson brings a breadth of experience in design and analysis engineering as well as testing. Additionally, he has created and coded many universal advanced data post-processing development tools as well as several automatic transmission tests and tools that supported advanced transmission functionality and controls.

Emmerson earned a master’s degree in industrial & systems engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.