Michael Head, PhD

My work sits at the intersection of physical systems and production software. A decade building laser and binder jet manufacturing platforms, then shipping distributed cloud infrastructure at scale. That mix shapes how I approach problems: with an understanding of both what the software needs to do and what the hardware will actually tolerate.

I did my PhD at Liverpool, where I developed a novel in-situ surface finishing process for laser metal 3D printing, and led the Velocipede human-powered vehicle team to five world speed records in parallel. Since then I've worked across the full deep tech stack - from machine firmware and embedded controllers through to cloud systems and distributed infrastructure, and from early-stage R&D to production deployment.

Currently a software engineer building distributed systems at Axle Energy and taking on deep-tech consultancy through Machinor Systems. I'm drawn to problems that require digging deep, the kind where the answer is buried in a log file, or hasn't been built yet.

Michael Head

Expertise & Background

PhD in Advanced Manufacturing

In-process laser surface finishing of L-PBF parts. 85% improvement in surface roughness (~2 μm Ra), 12× dimensional accuracy.

5 Land Speed World Records

Led engineering for record-breaking human-powered vehicles at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge.

4 Patents

2 granted, 2 published. Advanced manufacturing processes and inkjet printing methods.

Software Engineering

Distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and hardware control software across embedded, desktop, and cloud.

Published Research

Publications in additive manufacturing, powder rheology, and human-powered vehicle engineering.

Timeline

2025 – Present

Axle Energy

Software Engineer

Built and scaled distributed backend infrastructure controlling EV chargers across multiple OEM platforms. Real-time command dispatch, constraint-based scheduling, and fault-tolerant state management. Much of the work has been deep in production: diagnosing incidents, redesigning systems under load, and building the observability tooling to see what's actually happening at scale.

2025 – Present

Machinor Systems

Founder

Engineering and additive manufacturing consultancy. Technical advisory at the hardware–software intersection.

2024 – 2025

Dyndrite

Application Engineer

Led a US engineering team for a metal additive manufacturing software platform, developing the Python API and creating novel laser scanning and process optimisation algorithms. Served as the sole UK technical presence, working directly with defence and aerospace customers on complex, first-of-kind manufacturing challenges. Python and C++.

2022 – 2023

Atomik AM

Head of Engineering / Senior Engineer

Led the engineering team delivering next-generation binder jet additive manufacturing machines, managing a £400k R&D portfolio and overseeing everything from mechanical design through to system validation. Built control systems, computer vision tooling, and data infrastructure from scratch, contributed to the company's patent applications, and wrote open-source Python libraries for hardware control systems.

2021 – 2022

Meta Additive

Design Engineer

Led development of a £250k multi-material binder jet printer from concept through to validation, owning the full engineering stack; mechanical design, process development, and software across Python, C++, and C#. Worked closely with a cross-disciplinary team on a genuinely novel system, and supported the technical due diligence process ahead of the company's acquisition by Desktop Metal.

2016 – 2021

University of Liverpool

Teaching Assistant / PhD Candidate

PhD in Advanced Manufacturing: in-process surface finishing of L-PBF parts using a MOPA pulsed laser. Led the Velocipede Team (ARION1–ARION7) to five land speed world records. Provided technical support to both staff and students, ranging from VR engineering, to 3D printing, to design.

2016

University of Liverpool

MEng Mechanical Engineering

Masters of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.