Digital ResumeJordan HicksEntrepreneur & Chief Janitor
Twenty-five years turning hard problems into systems that ship, from embedded firmware to enterprise platforms, and building the teams that run them.
Calgary, Alberta
Introduction
Introduction
I am a co-founder of H2 Innovations, based in Calgary. I draw straight lines through complexity: bring me a hard problem and I will take you from it to a working system, whether that system is embedded firmware, a cloud platform, an ERP, a mobile app, or an enterprise integration. I pair deep technical execution with commercial awareness, and I build strong, passionate teams while I do it.
Over twenty-five years across industrial automation, software engineering, and business leadership, I have delivered systems for Fortune 500 clients, rebuilt entire business organizations, and led the sales and business development behind major strategic deals. I do not just architect systems. I ship them, scale them, and make them profitable.
I am an extrovert engineer, which breaks the stereotype, and I build high-trust teams that value execution over ego. I think in systems and communicate in outcomes. Whether the work is unifying siloed teams, designing a secure API, or writing ESP32 firmware, I take on the hard problems other people route around.
I hold a Computer Engineering Technology diploma from NAIT, a Red Seal Journeyperson certification in Instrumentation, and I completed the Emerging Leaders program at the Haskayne School of Business. My stack spans Next.js, Node.js, C++, C#, Flutter, PostgreSQL, Docker, AWS, ESP32, and PlatformIO, along with industrial protocol design and integration, from HART and Modbus through to RetroConnect, my own lightweight protobuf-based protocol.
I thrive in ambiguity and build clarity from it, with a wide appetite for change. Not change for its own sake, but the kind a world that only keeps accelerating demands. If something is broken, I will fix it. If it does not exist yet, I will build it.
Career
Work Experience
H2 Innovations2023 to Present
Co-founder, Entrepreneur & Chief Janitor
- Co-founded H2 Innovations and built a connected industrial product ecosystem end to end: hardware, firmware, protocol codecs, cross-platform apps, cloud services, and the deployment pipelines that ship them
- Zer0 and RetroConnect: designed battery-powered hardware that clips onto a field instrument and translates its wired signal (Bell 202 FSK, RS-232, RS-485) to a secure wireless link, paired with one Flutter app across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS that turns the phone in your pocket into the field communicator, replacing the multi-thousand-dollar handhelds the industry relies on
- Built an internal local-first tool that reads an industrial protocol's specification manual and generates an accurate protocol specification, so new protocols (HART, Modbus, ROC+, DNP3) snap into the platform instead of being hand-built over months
- RetroRelay: a drop-in industrial edge controller on a single ESP32-S3 that reads Modbus field devices, runs deterministic control logic on-device, and bridges the site to SCADA and MQTT with a modern web dashboard, no PLC and no cloud dependency
- RetroSimulation: a high-fidelity digital twin of natural-gas field equipment that serves realistic process data over native ROC Plus, Modbus TCP, MQTT, and Sparkplug B at once, so the whole stack can be built, demonstrated, and trained without physical hardware, validated by independent third-party protocol clients
- FlightPlan: an AI-driven scheduling platform built on a real constraint solver that turns a complex roster and hard rules into fair, conflict-free schedules in seconds, running live for a physician group across a hospital and two clinics
- Shipped beyond industrial as well: EMR Nest, a FHIR-native electronic medical records platform, and the RetroRespawn line (Redstone Console and Game Manager) for self-hosted game servers, spanning mobile, desktop, web, and embedded
- Built the production discipline behind it all: a field-data-to-firmware feedback loop driven by systematic field-failure analysis, CI/CD, SSH and PM2 deployment engines, and automated post-deploy smoke tests
LCO Technologies2023 to 2026
VP, Systems Architecture & Technology
- Architected and deployed a complete ERP system from scratch (CRM, quoting, pricing, inventory, production scheduling, order management) using Next.js, Node.js, PostgreSQL, and Drizzle ORM, replacing 15+ years of manual Excel processes with scalable cloud infrastructure
- Built secure OAuth2/TLS infrastructure with JWT authentication, role based access control, and a microservices architecture for the ERP and internal business systems, enabling secure external API integrations
- Migrated legacy Windows desktop applications to cloud native web platforms, improving accessibility, reducing support burden, and enabling remote work capabilities
- Built internal tools for technical documentation management, version control workflows, and automated testing pipelines, accelerating development velocity across the team
Spartan Controls2011 to 2023
Business Unit Manager (2018-2023) | Strategic Account Manager (2014-2018) | Technical Sales (2011-2014)
- Unified previously siloed teams (process automation, electrical, and field services) into one cohesive, high trust organization with shared systems, clear accountability, and a common way of working
- Owned the business unit P&L with full responsibility for pricing strategy, resource allocation, hiring, performance management, and cross functional coordination across engineering, sales, operations, and finance
- Chaired Emerson North American Advisory Board representing the distribution partner network, influencing product roadmaps, pricing strategies, and go to market programs, while training internal staff on systems thinking and commercial awareness
- Designed and implemented an internal quoting system, pricing discipline framework, and forecasting methodology, sharply reducing quote turnaround time while improving margin accuracy
- Trained and mentored technical staff in consultative selling, solution architecture, and commercial negotiations, creating a talent pipeline that filled subsequent management positions internally
Previous Roles2005 to 2011
Instrumentation Technologist & Field Service Engineer
- Performed commissioning, calibration, and troubleshooting of industrial control systems across oil & gas, petrochemical, and water treatment facilities
- Specialized in DCS systems (Emerson DeltaV, Honeywell Experion), field instrumentation (pressure/temperature/flow transmitters), and safety instrumented systems (SIS) for process industries
- Earned Red Seal Journeyperson certification in Instrumentation, demonstrating mastery of industrial measurement, control loops, valve automation, and process safety standards
- Provided 24/7 emergency on call support for critical process shutdowns, troubleshooting complex electrical, pneumatic, and digital control system failures under high pressure conditions
Foundation
Education & Certification
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)Computer Engineering Technology (CET), Full Diploma
Red Seal JourneypersonInstrumentation (Canada-wide Certification)
University of CalgaryEmerging Leaders Program, Haskayne School of Business
Capability
Technical Skills & Expertise
Full-Stack Web DevelopmentProduction web applications: modern frameworks, type-safe data layers, and responsive interfaces across the frontend, backend, and database.Next.jsReactNode.jsTypeScriptSCSSTailwind CSSDrizzle ORMshadcn/ui
Backend & APIsREST and real-time APIs, authentication, microservices, and constraint-solving services: the backends that move data and make decisions.PythonFastAPIExpress.jsGoogle OR-ToolsConstraint ProgrammingOAuth2JWTWebSocketsMQTT
Cross-Platform & MobileNative-feel desktop and mobile applications from a single codebase: diagnostic tools, dashboards, and configuration interfaces.FlutterDartReact NativeMaterial 3Bluetooth LE
Embedded Systems & FirmwareReal-time firmware on the microcontroller, written and proven against real hardware.ESP32ESP32-S3CC++FreeRTOSArduino Frameworknanopb
Protocol Engineering & AI ToolingRecreating industrial protocol stacks from their specifications, and the local-AI tooling that automates the work.Protocol BuffersprotocPythonPyQt6Local LLMsOllamaDocument Intelligence
Industrial Automation & ControlsProcess control systems, DCS platforms, field instrumentation, and safety systems. Red Seal certified, with hands-on experience across oil and gas facilities.HARTModbus RTU/TCPDNP3OPC UAEmerson DeltaVHoneywell Experion4-20mA LoopsSIS/SIL
Infrastructure & DevOpsCloud infrastructure, containerization, CI/CD, monitoring, and secure deployment.DockerLinuxNGINXAWSGitHub ActionsPM2GrafanaSSH Automation
Database & Data ArchitectureRelational and time-series data, query performance, and data modeling for systems that run real operations.PostgreSQLTimescaleDBRedisSQLiteSQLDrizzle ORMFHIR
Business & Product StrategyP&L ownership, strategic account planning, pricing strategy, go-to-market execution, and organizational transformation. Led business units and closed major strategic deals.P&L ManagementStrategic PlanningEnterprise SalesProduct StrategyTeam LeadershipChange Management
If something is broken, I will fix it. If it does not exist yet, I will build it.
Have a hard problem worth solving? Let us talk.
