Wearables are disrupting healthcare through novel devices and state-of-art algorithms that can assist patients self-monitor their symptoms.
Utsav Gupta, our next pathbreaker, works as Electrical Engineer at STAT Health (Boston), a seed-stage startup that is developing the world’s smallest wearable health monitor.
Utsav talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about working on challenging problems such as improving battery life of the products and enhancing signal quality of sensors for better diagnosis.
For students, whether it is Electrical Engineering or Computer Science, they need to come together to create innovative products that improve the quality of life for patients !
Utsav, Your background?
I was born and raised in New Delhi, India. Delhi is my home and I spent my first 18 years here. I attended Ryan International School in Rohini from kindergarten to 12th grade and graduated from school in 2016. During school I participated in and organized Model UN conferences, was a part of student government from 9th grade to 11th grade in various roles, wrote columns for the school magazine and was actively involved in the amateur astronomy club.
As a kid, I was always interested in science. I started learning about astronomy as early as the 6th grade – my school was one of the first few schools in Delhi to have its own amateur astronomy club. My parents were supportive and began buying me encyclopedias and books at a very early age. I was a voracious reader and would sometimes read a book a day.
What did you do for graduation/post graduation?
I graduated from Olin College in Boston, MA with a Bachelor in Sciences in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
I took the SAT and the ACT. My drive for an overseas education was driven by my need for hands-on learning. I tremendously respect the IITs, IIScs and other Indian engineering institutes but I knew that they practiced more theoretical education than I preferred. That said, I applied to BITS and Ashoka University as my two preferred universities in India.
In fact, at the beginning, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to afford an overseas education. My parents are regular middle-class folks so it was clear to me that I needed scholarships to make it work. Thankfully, Olin covered more than 85% of my education and a small loan covered the rest.
Can you talk about some of the influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and uncommon career?
It’s funny I arrived at Olin thinking I’d study computer science and work as a software engineer after graduation. But during my first semester, I joined the student-run Formula Electric team and fell in love with electrical engineering. Olin provided tons of opportunities to hone my electrical skills in project-based courses, research labs, and independent studies. Finally, Olin was also the first home for me here in the US.
Olin’s Formula SAE (FSAE) Electric team, Olin Electric Motorsports, is an undergrad-only student team that develops F1 racing vehicles with an electric engine. These competitions promote project-based student learning with tangible goals in the context of racing. The teams have to build their vehicle from scratch, except the motor and motor controller that can be bought from the market. Each part of the vehicle must meet very stringent requirements similar to what an engineer faces in the industry. Each team brings one vehicle to the competition that is manually inspected by FSAE officials to ensure it follows all the rules and is safe to drive. The teams compete in events like time-trials, on metrics like water ingress and on presentation skills. If a team does not meet even a single rule, they may be disqualified from the competition.
The teams also have to fund their project development on their own which effectively translates to fund-raising from private sponsors as well as corporations. At Olin, we are proud to have Bose, Nissan, Tektronix, Blue Origin, and Autodesk as some of our sponsors.
At Olin Electric Motorsports, my first project was a redesign for a high voltage sensor board aimed at resolving thermal issues. This was an excellent intro to PCB design and schematic capture tools, and was my first exposure to professional engineering tasks. I worked here for two years total, made several PCBs and learnt a great deal about real-world electrical engineering.
How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path
I did not plan a single step to get into my current career or job.
I went to Olin thinking I would be a software engineer and ended up graduating as an electrical engineer with a background in satellite systems and wireless communications.
Cooper Perkins (CP) was my first engineering employer in the US. I worked here as an Electrical Engineering Intern during my sophomore year and reported to Klaus Renner, the Director of Electrical Engineering. At CP, I assisted real engineers with product testing, created a guide on motor selection criteria, developed a prototype for linear and rotary stage motor controls, and developed a demo system for long distance IoT communications. I fondly look back at the skills I gained at CP and I really liked working with the team here.
After graduation, I joined a local consumer electronics fitness tracker startup, Whoop, as a Platform R&D Electrical Engineer. While I did not get the chance to work on any R&D projects, I did learn a lot about batteries and health sensing. Soon after, I was laid off along with 20% of the company. Next, I joined Nuro, a self-driving vehicle startup in Mountain View, CA as a System Integration Engineer leading human-computer interaction, thermals, and sensor systems teams. My stint at Nuro lasted only two months and I was laid off again, this time with almost the entire hardware team estimated to be 40% of the company.
My next job search was different. I had lots of coworkers supporting me and a lot of interest from startups in the Bay Area. I had not heard of Stat Health at that point. I reached out to Daniel Lee, the CEO, on LinkedIn as I kept on getting ads from Stat on my LinkedIn account. Daniel liked me, he thought I had relevant skills, and introduced me to the team. And here I am.
How did you get your first break?
One day I was walking around Fenway Park and saw a large neon sign that said “Whoop”. Once home, I googled the company, learned they made fitness trackers and were looking for entry-level electrical engineers. I applied through their website, had an interview with the hiring manager and a panel interview with the team. Soon after, they offered me a job.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
I’ve been affected by reduction-in-force (layoffs) twice in my short career as an Electrical Engineer. There was no way I could’ve predicted where I would land. At each of those turning points, I looked out for the best opportunities I could find. I was looking for roles that excited me, offered me lots of room to grow, a fair bit of independence, and preferably a city I was familiar with.
Where do you work now?
I am currently working at Stat Health as the Lead Electrical Engineer. Stat is a seed-stage startup that is developing the world’s smallest wearable health monitor. Our product is designed for the dysautonomia community and monitors the user’s heart-rate, blood oxygen and blood flow to the brain.
What problems do you solve?
As an Electrical Engineer, I design circuits for electronics that power our product. An important problem I’m currently solving is improving the signal quality of our sensors. Additionally, as an ultra-low power product, battery life of the device is quite important and is one of the biggest problems in the wearable industry. These are some of the technical problems I deal with though they aren’t the only issues that I’m tackling.
Outside of EE, I’m currently developing a manufacturing line for our products. This includes writing test plans and ensuring full test coverage for all possible failure modes during assembly, designing the test fixtures themselves, and overseeing the manufacturing of the fixtures.
If I zoom out of core engineering, most of my problems require trade offs among monetary cost of the solution, quality of my deliverables, and time needed to implement the solution. (is this sentence complete? IT IS NOW COMPLETE)
What skills are needed for the job? How did you acquire the skills?
Success in my job requires, at a bare minimum, solid understanding of electrical concepts, an affinity for circuit design, and strong lab skills like soldering, prototyping, and testing. As a tech lead, I also create product delivery timelines, define product architecture, manage engineering risk, and manage contractors.
Electrical engineering however is just a small part of my job. I also fill in as a manufacturing engineer, test engineer and supply chain manager. In that capacity, I work closely with overseas manufacturers to create the best solution for our niche fabrication and assembly requirements. I regularly collaborate with manufacturers representatives, distributors, application engineers, and account executives to procure components, create delivery schedules, and forecast future needs.
What’s a typical day like?
At Stat, no two days are the same. Some days I spend all my time in the lab putting together devices for testing or reworking old boards. Other days I barely leave my desk and spend all my time designing a circuit board or developing a test plan. Most days involve some prototyping, a bit of soldering and some level of testing.
I usually arrive in the office at 9am and spend the first hour or so catching up on emails and getting up to speed on orders, manufacturing issues and open tasks. From there on, I prioritize my task list and tackle the important and/or urgent tasks, depending on my deadlines. Lunch takes about 30 minutes and that’s when I catch up with the team! I review my task list again after lunch and may switch the tasks I’m doing after noon. I also usually spend some time everyday with the mechanical engineers on the team – our work is intertwined and we need to be in lock step about every decision each of us makes. I have at least one meeting a day, so some of my time is spent there as well.
How does your work benefit society?
I am fortunate enough to be in a role where all of my work is devoted to improving the lives of people. The devices we’re designing at Stat are aimed towards symptom monitoring and health management for patients suffering with ME/CFS, orthostatic intolerance, dysautonomia and long covid. All these conditions cause dizziness, mental fog, fatigue and sometimes syncope (fainting) and are marked by changes in cerebral blood flow. There is no foolproof way, method, process or device in the world that can consistently and reliably detect these symptoms as everything we have – like blood pressure cuffs, heart rate monitors, blood oxygen sensor – monitor changes in our torso. The one tool that doctors use is the tilt table but even that is unreliable. This means that doctors cannot reliably diagnose patients, and the severity of their condition results in a lot of patients getting denied for disability.
Stat is here to change that. With our novel devices and state-of-art algorithms, we can detect changes in cerebral blood flow and use it, along with other metrics, to assist patients self-monitor their symptoms. We do this by learning what signals from your body are normal for you, and highlighting when there are deviations from your normal so that you can take preemptive action.
While we’re initially focused on creating a consumer digital health app that enables better self-management of symptoms to improve quality of life, our long-term vision is to increase accessibility by being a regulated medical device that is reimbursed by health insurance.
Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!
As an Electrical Engineer, I design circuits for electronics that power our product. An important problem I’m currently solving is improving the signal quality of our sensors. Additionally, as an ultra-low power product, battery life of the device is quite important and is one of the biggest problems in the wearable industry.
Your advice to students based on your experience?
Be curious and follow your passion.
Future Plans?
I’d like to continue working at Stat Health and grow with the company.