Finlay Small

Meaford, Ontario
519-731-5590
fin@small-solutions.ca
https://www.small-solutions.ca

Profile

Technical leader, systems architect, and applied researcher working across embedded systems, analytics, instrumentation, and production operations. I do my best work where complex technical programs need to become durable operating systems: low-power hardware in the field, distributed sensing, geospatial and spatiotemporal analysis, decision-support platforms, and experimental systems that need stronger operational footing.

Focus

• Embedded systems, instrumentation, sensor fusion, and low-power hardware
• Applied analytics, geospatial and spatiotemporal analysis, and decision-support systems
• Technical leadership across R&D, operations, and product development
• Translating experimental or research-driven systems into durable operating capability

Selected Experience

Co-Founder

Avenue Intelligence | Vancouver, BC | January 2023-Present

• Built and advanced a distributed sensing and analytics platform spanning ultra-low-power embedded devices, communications, geospatial context, contextual prediction, and production data systems
• Developed privacy-preserving sensing hardware and supporting analytics for real-world deployments with weak connectivity and demanding field constraints
• Led platform evolution from prototype systems toward object-storage-first data architecture, analytical workloads with ClickHouse and DuckDB, and more durable orchestration patterns
• Supported executive, technical, scientific, and business development work across product, IP, and deployment strategy

Chief Scientific Officer

Saed Technologies | Cambridge, Ontario | October 2020-Present

• Designed and produced a custom plant finishing and acclimatization system combining chamber design, embedded control, instrumentation, and firmware
• Led domestic and offshore manufacturing coordination for deployable systems rather than one-off prototypes
• Improved acclimatization outcomes substantially through tighter environmental control and plant-response-driven tuning

Research Program Manager

Private Company | Guelph and London, Ontario | November 2021-January 2023

• Led a genetics center of excellence spanning tissue culture, analytical chemistry, production support, and applied R&D
• Designed and operated an analytical chemistry lab, including method development, data systems, dashboards, and workflows for faster cultivation and genotype decisions
• Built internal technical workflows that connected experimental work, instrumentation, and production decisions more tightly
• Led facilities, staff, projects, and technical operations closely enough to connect research decisions with production behavior

Scientist / Research Coordinator

Private Company | Puslinch, Ontario | November 2019-November 2021

• Developed internal data collection and dashboarding systems that helped prevent more than $2M in yield loss in 2021
• Designed and executed research trials in vertical farming and photobiology, including work that more than doubled productivity in some operating contexts
• Supported production decisions through experimental design, data analysis, and system evaluation

Scientist / Special Projects

Private Company | Puslinch, Ontario | April 2019-October 2019

• Evaluated, commissioned, and improved systems used in production and R&D environments
• Developed tissue culture media and propagation protocols that supported a functioning clean plant program

Technician

University of Guelph, Gosling Research Institute for Plant Preservation | Guelph, Ontario | September 2017-2019

• Commissioned a Health Canada licensed tissue culture laboratory
• Developed LED lighting systems for photobiology research and initiated spectrum optimization work using machine learning
• Contributed to published work on light spectrum optimization for growth and regeneration

Technical Tools

• C/C++ for embedded systems, Python, R
• Linux, NixOS, Docker, AWS
• ClickHouse, DuckDB, PostgreSQL, InfluxDB, MongoDB
• Grafana, Tableau, Power BI
• PCB design and fabrication with KiCad and Eagle
• ESP32 and related embedded platforms
• Fusion 360 and 3D-printed component design

Education

MSc, Plant Science
University of Guelph | 2017

Publications

• Nesbitt, J., Small, F.A.A., Zheng, Y., Habash, M. (2022). Assessment of four biocontrol agents for their suppression of Fusarium proliferatum on Cannabis sativa plants in a soilless cultivation system.
• Pepe, M., Hesami, M., Small, F.A.A., Jones, A.M.P. (2022). Comparative analysis of machine learning and evolutionary optimization algorithms for modeling Cannabis sativa tissue culture based on light and carbohydrate source optimization.
• Small, F.A.A., Bray-Stone, D., Chen, X., Jones, A.M.P., Wolyn, D.J. (in progress). Efficient micropropagation of Asparagus officinalis using a liquid culturing system.