Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Frank Smith

Acoustic Telemetry Data Specialist focused on dataset construction, underwater fine-scale positioning, method development, and data-processing and visualization software

I construct coherent, quality-assessed datasets from acoustic telemetry study data; develop and evaluate methods for underwater fine-scale positioning; and build data-processing and visualization software for defined workflows. Data wrangling, management, and exploration are technical components of that work.

Domain
20 years in acoustic telemetry
Scope
Methods, data, and softwarefrom research through release
Approach
Evidence-led deliverydocumented assumptions, limits, and verification
Current work
Specialist services and softwarethrough Frank Smith XYZ Inc.

Experience

Frank Smith XYZ Inc.

Acoustic telemetry data services and data-processing and visualization software

Halifax, Nova Scotia

topresent

Acoustic Telemetry Data Specialist

  • Designed and built ReceiverLogs, desktop software for exploring acoustic receiver-log data.
  • Deliver specialist projects in dataset construction, method development, and data-processing and visualization software for acoustic telemetry.
  • Use AI-assisted workflows for software research and delivery, while retaining responsibility for domain decisions, review, verification, and final acceptance.

Innovasea and predecessor companies

VEMCO and AMIRIX Systems · Acoustic telemetry software, data products, and positioning

Halifax, Nova Scotia

to

Director of Software UX Design

  • Established user-experience capabilities for the Fish Tracking business.
  • Led UX design for Fathom across desktop, mobile, and cloud tools, creating coherent workflows for acoustic telemetry data management and visualization.

to

Director of Software and Data Products

  • Built and led a team of more than 10 software developers delivering the Fathom product suite.
  • Led the Fathom product suite’s cloud and data architecture, user experience, and user data model.

to

Director of Data Analysis

  • Led the software development and data analysis team that delivered the VEMCO Positioning System as a commercial processing service.

to

Principal Software Designer

  • Developed the algorithms and software for VPS, a fine-scale underwater positioning system using detections from autonomous acoustic receivers.
  • Led an embedded-software team porting TimeSys Linux to single-board computers.

 to 

Senior Software Designer

Selected work

Product engineering

ReceiverLogs

I designed and built ReceiverLogs, desktop software that turns folders of receiver logs into explorable data. The work spans telemetry-domain modelling, product design, data architecture, desktop UX, validation, documentation, and release engineering.

Visit ReceiverLogs (opens in a new tab)receiverlogs.com (opens in a new tab)
ReceiverLogs Data Explorer SyncTag map showing receiver stations connected by colour-coded detection-rate links, with map controls, a detection-rate legend, and receiver diagnostics.
ReceiverLogs Data Explorer: colour-coded SyncTag links between receiver stations, with receiver diagnostics.

Fine-scale positioning

VPS software, service, and research

My work on the VEMCO Positioning System (VPS) spans core algorithms, production software, commercial service delivery, and published research on positioning-system design, field validation, and uncertainty.

Explore selected publicationsfranksmithxyz.com/publications/
A conventional fish aggregation device with one receiver, a moored vertical array of three receivers, and the same three-receiver array suspended beneath a drifting buoy.
Vertical receiver-array configurations used to estimate radial distance and depth in deep, open water. Schneider et al. (2025), CC BY 4.0.

Technical expertise

Telemetry & positioning
Underwater fine-scale positioning and acoustic localization · Receiver timing and synchronization · Acoustic telemetry data wrangling · Data quality, provenance and uncertainty
Data & software
Scientific data management, exploration and visualization · Desktop applications and research-software UX · Data pipelines, databases, Apache Parquet and cloud architecture · Embedded Linux systems
Product & delivery
Solution architecture and product strategy · Requirements, verification and release workflows · Technical leadership and cross-functional UX design

Education

Technical University of Nova Scotia now Dalhousie University
Master's degree, Computer Science
1988–1992
Saint Mary's University
Bachelor of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science
1984–1988

Professional contact

Let’s talk about acoustic telemetry work.

I’m open to conversations about Dataset Construction, Method Development, Software Development, and research collaboration.

Discuss your work