Patrick A. Hillberg Ph.D.
Biography and Head Shots

For Speaking Events:

​As author and speaker Pat discusses the technical and organizational issues which impact product lifecycles and advanced manufacturing. He brings decades of industry experience leading IT deployment teams, teaching graduate-level engineers, and as an advocate for developing the advanced manufacturing workforce. 

He teaches graduate courses in engineering management at Oakland University and was recently the Workforce Development lead for Siemens PLM. He collaborates with industry, academia and workforce organizations to develop talent management strategies, and advises to education and workforce committees. 

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Patrick Hillberg Ph.D. | LinkedIn

Managing Product Lifecycles | Patrick Hillberg

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For Consulting Projects 

Patrick has decades of industry experience in designing, developing and leading teams in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Digital Twins, Digital Manufacturing, Process Planning, Robotics and Machine Vision applications in Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Automotive, Construction, Packaging and other industries. He is an adjunct professor at Oakland University, near Detroit, where he teaches a graduate course in engineering management (called "Product Lifecycle Management") and is an Industry Advisor to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

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His most recent professional roles were at Siemens Industry Software, where he was a Lead Solution Architect in Teamcenter implementations and was later the US Lead for Academic and Workforce Development. In both roles he focused on the importance of collective an organizational learning. 

He has degrees in:

• B.S. in Computer Science from Michigan Technological University,

• M.S.E. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, 

• Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Oakland University.

 

Patrick Hillberg Ph.D. | LinkedIn

​Managing Product Lifecycles | Patrick Hillberg

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As an Expert Witness

BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS (August 2022)

1. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Michigan Technological University in 1984. I earned a Master of Science in Engineering in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1989. I earned a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Oakland University in 2004.

2. I have been a Software Developer in Factory Automation Systems, specializing in Robotics and Machine Vision Systems from 1984 to 2001. At this point in my career, I devoted my efforts to my Ph.D. dissertation, titled “Opportunistic Preventive Maintenance” (2004). This work contemplated a digital reliability twin of a factory assembly line, collecting data from factory controllers (PLCs) to program artificial intelligence to recognize gaps in production flow and improve throughput. Following this, I was a data modeling architect, a solutions architect, and a sales lead for academic and workforce development.

3. From the time I completed my bachelor’s degree in 1984, I worked for the companies Automatix, Synthetic Vision Systems, Trellis Software, and FANUC Robotics, primarily as a software developer for robotic and vision systems. From 2004 to 2010 I was a data architect for Dassault Systemes DELMIA brand, developing software to ingest and retrieve data in their PLM database. From 2011 to 2017 I was a Solution Architect for Siemens PLM division, leading teams in the implementation of large-scale engineering databases. From 2017 to 2019 I was the Academic and Workforce Development Lead for Siemens PLM, where my role was to help schools in teaching advanced engineering and manufacturing software.

4. During my tenure with FANUC, Dassault, Siemens, and Oakland University, I developed significant experience in many aspects relating to software development in automation, controls, and digital twin technology.

5. Since 2012, I have held the role of Adjunct Assistant Professor at Oakland University School of Engineering and Computer Science, where I disclose the course “Product Lifecycle Management.” I am semi-retired and now professionally devote my time to teaching, mentoring, academic writing, and occasional consulting.

6. My continued involvement in the art of Digital Twins and Product Lifecycles is due primarily to teaching, academic writing, mentoring, and consulting.

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