Defence and security expert joins Belfast cybersecurity company as director of engineering

Belfast-based cybersecurity company Angoka has appointed Dr David Wilson as director of engineering as the firm moves towards the next stage of growth and the productisation of its technology.

David brings a wealth of expertise and an impressive background in creating and delivering products that will be invaluable for Angoka as it progresses to its next growth stage.

David will lead Angoka’s engineering strategy, processes and team, and will strategically manage the delivery of a portfolio of innovative projects.

With over 20 years’ experience in flagship organisations such as Thales, Lockheed Martin and Sensata, David’s roles have spanned across systems engineering and technical leadership within the defence and security industries, leading technical teams from ideation to product at both start-ups and multinationals.

Most recently, David has been the director of engineering at QUB’s ECIT Institute, responsible for reconfiguring the team’s processes and structure to support the Institute’s new strategy and expanded remit.

David, a chartered engineer, holds a degree in electrical and electronic engineering as well as a PhD in AI modelling from QUB.

Welcoming David to the team, Angoka chairman Steve Berry said: “Angoka is proud to bring in someone of David’s calibre, and to strengthen our team at the technical leadership level. This is a really exciting time for Angoka, we’re continuing to grow to bring new methods of secure, automated transport and mobility systems to the industry, and David’s skills and knowledge will be invaluable to us moving forward.”

David added: “I am very much looking forward to embarking on this journey with Angoka. We are both likeminded in that we want to pave the way for innovation in the IoT sector and play a pivotal role in ensuring product safety and network trust.”

The Belfast firm has partnered with a number of projects in the UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge including Skyway in which air traffic corridors in the south of England have been designated for drones and unmanned aircraft. Angoka supplies the hacker-proof security for automated, teleoperated and unmanned aircraft using these corridors.   

Angoka recently consolidated its position as a supplier of critical systems for advanced mobility by securing central roles in three major ground transportation projects. This followed a successful public competition issued by the Centre for Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). 

The three projects include ‘Harlander’ which is providing an autonomous passenger transport system working with Belfast Harbour Commissioners and BT among others; ‘V-CAL’, a collaboration led by the North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) located at Nissan Motor Company in Sunderland and focused on autonomous and remote operations of heavy goods vehicles; and the ‘Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle’, a project defining the future of urban passenger transport.