Diverse. Collaborative.
The Innovation Factory is an eclectic place that houses a cross-disciplinary team with varied interests, skills and expertise. United by the passion for improving the human experience through thoughtful design, each individual balances a breadth of interest and capabilities with a depth of expertise.
By building trusting and cooperative relationships amongst ourselves, we help our members to become product owners and build stronger relationships with their customers. Drawing on our vast network of research institutions and collaborators, we work together to solve complex problems and design innovative, sustainable solutions that move our clients and our world into the future.
Our Culture :
Autonomous. Empowering. Safe. Playful.
The Innovation Factory team taps on the traits of both clan and adhocracy cultures to spur innovation. Innovation strives when the team adopts a psychologically safe and collaborative culture that leverages the strong bonds between each member, while granting autonomy and empowering each individual to take initiatives and responsibility for their projects.
Forging a tight knit team that encourages members to be empathic to each other's weaknesses and strengths is paramount to the adoption of this culture.
Business & Operations Team
Rayner Ng
Director
Rayner joined the Innovation Factory in February 2020 and prior to
that, he was responsible for the development of industrial automated solutions
for smarter factory at Venture Corporation. In 2017, he led the National
Robotics Programme (NRP) efforts to drive a vibrant and innovative robotics ecosystem
that can provide solutions to fuel the Smart Nation initiative.
Before returning to Singapore, Rayner worked in Foshan and Guangzhou, China as Engineering Director for DENTSPLY
Sirona. In that role, he led
R&D and Product Management operations and pursued Manufacturing Operations
Transformation that embarked on Industrial 4.0. In addition, he has held other
key R&D positions at Hill-Rom and Welch Allyn.
Rayner holds Masters Degrees in Technological Design (Rapid Product
Development) from NUS & Technische Universiteit Eindhoven,
Biomedical Engineering from NTU and a MBA from California State University. He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Sheffield.
Joyce Ling
Senior Industry Development Manager
Joyce is Innovation Factory’s Senior Industry Development Manager, and
actively promotes SIMTech’s capabilities, identifying industry partners and
securing industry collaborations. Joyce provides industry needs to researchers
to develop technology capabilities in manufacturing processes related to aerospace/automotive
components, focusing on light weighting and product life enhancement. Joyce also engages government bodies, non-profit organizations and industry partners on
SIMTech’s sustainable development initiatives.
Athelin Mok
Graphics Design & Communications Executive
Athelin is a versatile and imaginative designer who never ceases to challenge herself to approach her work with unique perspectives. With exposure to a variety of industries, she has honed her ability to adapt her style to different projects and industries. One of her strengths is helping clients clarify their objectives and translate them into visually compelling graphics that accurately conveys the desired message. Her expertise spans graphic design, illustration, posters, e-media, visual identities, and print.
Athelin holds a BA (Hons) degree in Communication Design from Glasglow School of Arts (GSA) Singapore, where she developed a strong foundation in design and creative thinking skills. When she is not busy working on design projects, Athelin dives into her passion for doodling, where she enjoys the unbounded freedom of creative expression.
Research & Development Team
Ang Boon Khai
Systems Engineer
Prior to joining Innovation Factory in September 2022, Boon Khai worked in American medical technology provider Hillrom, to design new medical products. Over a span of 15-years, he held key R&D positions to lead new product development projects from concept to market. In 2015, he was posted to Suzhou for 5 years to drive the local engineering ecosystem for surgical tables. Boon Khai was also an academic lecturer and an entrepreneur in the R&D industry early in his career.
Boon Khai has been a Project Management Professional (PMP) certified project manager since 2018, and holds Masters Degrees in Knowledge Engineering from National University of Singapore, Telecommunication Engineering from Malaysia Multimedia University, and a MBA from Anglia Ruskin University.
Jasper Chua
Build Lab Manager (Joint Appointment)
Jasper is an experienced Senior Research Engineer in 3D printing
technologies, specialising in Metal Laser powder-bed fusion technology (L-pbf)
and Design for Additive Manufacturing. He is currently serving as the
Innovation Factory Build Lab Manager where he provides in-depth manufacturing
know-how and design experience for Innovation Factory related projects.
He has led multiple Innovation Factory projects, showcasing Additive
Manufacturing (AM) technologies to the industry from as a tool for prototyping
to production. He has worked with Industries ranging from Aerospace,
Semi-conductor to Consumer products and has a wide range of design and manufacturing
experience in these industries. He is also highly skilled in Engineering Design
and Computer-aided Design (CAD).
His current interests revolve around using AM technologies to develop
Sustainable alternatives to manufacturing through upcycling and reduction of
waste materials.
He graduated from NTU with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering
in 2016 and is currently pursuing a Masters in Innovation by Design in SUTD.
Duane Lye
Industrial Design
Trained in Industrial and Graphic Design while having a background in both Mechanical Engineering and Business, has allowed Duane to approach problems from a multi-faceted perspective. At heart, he is essentially an innovator, problem solver, entrepreneur and designer.
An award winning designer who has an insatiable thirst for challenges, he has won multiple international design awards over the years and represented SIMTech A*STAR to win the internationally acclaimed A' Design Award in 2019 and 2021. Using his experience of more than 8 years in industrial & graphic design, he transforms ideas to reality while pushing concepts to new frontiers by generating innovative and aesthetically pleasing award winning solutions which fundamentally centres around user experience and functionality.
In SIMTech he bridges the gap between A*STAR’s patented cutting-edge technology and clients though the marketing and packaging of technologies into easily adoptable and convincing products. A resourceful team player who enjoys being at the leading edge of new ideas, innovation and technology.
Audrey Ng
Product & UI/UX Design
Audrey is a product designer who often uses creative approaches to solve
problems, always energetic and eager to learn new skills. Audrey's curiosity
led her to look at the world through a creative lens, contemplating her work
with multidisciplinary approaches. She has always considered that joy,
knowledge, and creativity go hand in hand. Therefore, she had studied
engineering, product design and pursued her master research in alternative
sustainable material. She is determined to create impacts through her research
in the sustainable design industry.
Currently, Audrey is focusing on product development and media design.
Her work mainly revolves around user experience projects with problem solving,
creation and awareness through different mediums. She fully utilises her design
expertise in product design, visual direction and research skills set in every
project she does.
As a result, she published a paper and was granted with Best Design
Exhibition Award of International Symposium on Wearable Computers (ISWC) 2017
in Hawaii, USA, two International 3D Printed wearable design awards and several
international design exhibitions on her research outcomes. Besides, she has
been actively involved in artistic projects. One of her collaboration projects
is Pulse, a big scale outdoor installation exhibited at Singapore Night
Festival 2018.
Leng Wai Hoong
Industrial Design & Human Factors
Wai Hoong is a trained Industrial Designer with nearly 20 years of
industry experience, and graduated from Swinburne University of Technology in
Industrial Design and also holds a MBA from Northampton University. He has
designed and developed a wide range of consumer, commercial & medical
products that have been successfully launched in the market.
Wai Hoong’s areas of expertise lie in product aesthetic/styling, CMF, User
Interface, Ergonomic & Human Factor, Branding, Labelling and Packaging and also
conducts quantitative and qualitative research that helps translate customer
insights into various design opportunities.
Rachel Ng
Industrial Design
Rachel has a cheerful
personality, and loves meeting new people and sharing new experiences with
others regardless of age - allowing her to work in tandem with others. Having
worked in various media and design fields coupled with her product design
experiences, she draws inspiration from her environment, using daily life as a
muse and seeking creative and innovative ways to express them.
Trained in product design,
Rachel avoids limiting herself to only digital mediums and often finds ways to
balance out traditional medium and media design. She enjoys working on unconventional
projects that are shunned due to their sensitive nature (be it "taboo"
topics or quirky themes), and in the process creating an innovative product and
graphic designs portfolio.
Rachel currently works as a
product designer and research engineer at Innovation Factory, and uses her
experiences to solve problems and create innovative designs that are ready for
the market.
Tan Yen Kheng (Dr)
Electronics Design
Yen Kheng is an expert in Electrification and Digitalization, with more than 20 years of experience in power electronics engineering practices. He joined Innovation Factory’s Technical Team as a Senior Engineer and has led many high-value projects.
Yen Kheng’s core strengths lie in the fields of research, design and productization of mechatronic systems, and holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Electrical and Computer Engineering awarded from the National University of Singapore.
Han Chin Siew
Electronics Design
Chin Siew started his career over 30 years ago as a R&D engineer, designing award-winning consumer electronics for the global audio and video consumer market. Over his years dedicated to the consumer electronics industry, Chin Siew has amassed an extensive skillset required of a competent design engineer, ranging from product concept, architecture, development, and global manufacturing to field support.
Chin Siew’s core capabilities encompass electrical/electronic design, new product introduction, large-scale manufacturing, customer quality management, automotive electrification, and environmental testing.
Chin Siew holds certifications in Quality Management/Operational Excellence and is a Lead Auditor in various Quality Management Systems. He also graduated from Edith Cowen University with a degree in Engineering (Communication Systems).
Pamela Tan
Mechanical Design
After graduating from Singapore University of Technology and Design
(SUTD) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering - specialising in Healthcare
Engineering Design in Engineering Product Development, Pamela currently sits in
the Mechanical Engineering department of Innovation Factory as a Research
Engineer. Previously, Pamela was project lead in the development of a staircase
cleaning robot at ROAR Lab-where cleaning and maintenance robotic solutions
were developed-in SUTD over a year.
Lua Ying Han
Mechanical Design
Lua Ying Han graduated from Nanyang Technological University as a
Mechanical Engineer, and has since developed multiple patented products from the
conceptual stage to mass production over the past 8 years in the consumer
industry. Ying Han is also an
experienced R&D consumer product engineer, managing and overlooking various
product creation processes and projects. This cultivated a mind-set of being a
cost-effective innovator with a strong understanding in the needs and wants of
consumers and various stakeholders, thus creating high customer satisfaction
products.
With a vision of bringing positive impacts to the world, Ying Han looks
toward a more sustainable future through the design and development of leaner
and greener products, from the initial phase through to the end of life.
Jonathan Hawkins
Mechanical Design
Jonathan Hawkins (Jonny) graduated from Portsmouth University with a
Masters in Mechanical Engineering. Post-graduation, he has worked on delivering
small and large-scale projects, from wind turbines to aircraft shims, as a
researcher and project manager.
Jonny is also an experienced design engineer for medical respiratory
devices. This work has given him a wide understanding of the need for
innovation in a fast-paced environment. He delivers precision and reliability
under tight regulations and circumstances as well as the need to ensure total
user satisfaction at time of project completion. Jonny has a passion for conceptualising new ideas and solutions for the
needs of an ever-changing future.