Douglas Bruey

Doug joined Synapse in 2015 as an electrical engineer with 12 years of experience in electronics design and manufacture. He gained expertise in distributed embedded systems and mixed signal circuit design developing professional audio products for Rane Corporation. As the chief architect on many products he also honed skills in product definition, system architecture, and project management. Starting his career managing a manufacturing test department gave him a foundation in design for manufacturing and design for test. After a two year stint teaching math in Liberia, Doug is enjoying exciting and varied projects at Synapse. For the past three years, he has focused primarily on virtual reality products.

Doug began his VR work improving the performance and manufacturability of Valve’s SteamVR Tracking base stations, which were adopted by HTC for their market-leading Vive VR system. Moving from the base stations to the tracked objects, Doug then architected the next generation of SteamVR Tracking electronics and led the development of the SteamVR Hardware Development Kit. Early adopters of Valve’s SteamVR Tracking System were interested in accelerating their time to market. So, Doug developed a three day technical training course, and delivered the training to 150 engineers and technical officers from companies around the world that aim to lead their markets with VR solutions. With a foundation in SteamVR Tracking, Doug has also helped other companies ideate around VR product offerings and evaluate the benefits of other tracking systems. Some of those applications include VR arcade and arena systems, training and simulation, retail experiences, and theme parks.

When not working on product development, Doug enjoys hiking, playing saxophone, learning about web development, and managing a not for profit organization dedicated to improving conditions for displaced peoples globally.