Experience

Sean Sheedy is the founder of PhoneDeveloper, LLC. He has over twenty years experience in the wireless industry, in a variety of roles including hardware and software development, developer evangelism, product development, and platform management.

Prior to founding PhoneDeveloper, Sean spent ten years at Sprint Nextel in product management and engineering roles. During this time he co-founded Nextel's Application Developer Program, and was the platform manager for Nextel's Java ME and browser platforms. He helped launch the first US Java handsets, wrote the first Java ME applications for these handsets, and initiated Nextel's Open Windowing Toolkit, one of the first open source mobile Java toolkits. He was presented an "Innovator Award" for work in the development of user experience technology, and led Nextel's product management organization to WLNP (wireless local number portability) compliance.

Sean's insights as a technical expert were frequently tapped for efforts such as validation of Nextel's first GPS handsets, Nextel's Flarion 4G network, development of Nextel's product management strategy, the public launch of Nextel's first web portal, and assistance with feature requirements for a number of iDEN handsets. After the Sprint/Nextel merger, Sean led meetings to help unify the Nextel and Sprint Java teams, and then led Sprint's representation in the Java Community Process (JCP), personally participating in MIDP3 (JSR-271) and MSA (JSR-248 & 249), and coordinating Sprint's presence in other JSRs.

As a consultant prior to joining Nextel, Sean developed test plans and software that was used by Nextel to validate Motorola's iDEN packet data service. Before this, he worked for Pacific Communication Sciences, Inc, where among other things, he developed a portable CDPD base station and the networking equipment to support its operation.

At Hughes Aircraft Company, Sean was a systems engineer and software/firmware developer. Among a number of hardware and software projects, he produced an operating prototype of a spread spectrum data radio, managed the vendor responsible for turning it into production hardware, and was responsible for attaining FCC certification. He also wrote firmware implementing custom communications protocols for a hybrid TDMA/CDMA/FDMA data/position location radio. Before Hughes, Sean had a number of roles in a small company that produced sound systems for motion picture theaters and provided four channel sound encoding services for a number of Hollywood films.

Sean's recent consulting work led him to develop new features for a preloaded phone application, assist in the business development and prototyping of a mobile location gateway, evaluate traffic information provided by various media and devices in different US cities, and perform a design review of a mobile location application. This work was done for a range of customers ranging from a small business in the Midwest to an international mobile operator, and indirectly as a subcontractor, for a San Diego wireless firm, a major foreign automaker, and a large US software developer.

Sean also represents mobile Java developers in an elected position on the Java Community Process (JCP) ME Executive Committee, the organization responsible for the stewardship of, and approval of standards for Java ME (Mobile & Embedded).

Sean graduated from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California with a degree in engineering. Currently living in Northern Virginia, he is a Southern California native. Sean is married and has four children, all sharing the same birthday. He enjoys travel, has a private pilot license, and holds amateur radio callsign AI4ID.