Background on the Applications lab

I joined Raydiance Inc. as an Applications Engineer in August 2007. I was hired by George (NOT his real name), the principal applications engineer and lab manager, and together we set up the Applications lab for Raydiance in Petaluma, CA. According to my recollection, Tintin (NOT his real name) and Carolyn Martinez (REAL name) joined the lab towards the end of 2007. See THIS page for the structure of the Aplications group.

Carolyn, Tintin and I have complementary skills. I was the only person with the proper expertise in laser interactions with matter, other than George who left the company on June 5, 2008. These skills are crucial in the context of our work. I was viewed by my team and by other important individuals in the organization as a very important asset for the company. I pioneered many applications for Raydiance, and submitted 3 ROI-s (Report Of Invention) in one year. I had an excellent review on 27 February 2008. I was trusted and empowered to design experiments and organize my work. I trained Tintin and Carolyn Martinez when they joined the lab. During the last months, in the midst of a general political crisis that the company was going through, I was wrongfully criticized and accused on many occasions of poor performance and insubordination.

My working relationship with Mike Armas (REAL name) deteriorated rapidly after George’s departure form Raydiance, to the point where I feared for my job. This fear of losing my job peaked on two particular occasions, and I raised my concerns to the attention of a few coworkers that I trusted. Mike’s management style and personality was not only affecting me, but also the rest of our group, as well as other engineers within Raydiance. Without disclosing names publicly I can only insure you that many of my coworkers were expressing their discontent openly, and in my opinion they would testify to this if not bound by the fear of losing their job. More precisely though, in an email* addressed to me Carolyn Martinez shows that she was aware of the unreasonable pressure that Mike Armas exerted on us: “he must BACK OFF on you and Tintin, and go though me” she stated. Carolyn did not criticize Mike Armas openly.

After George’s departure from Raydiance (June 5, 2008) our group was chronically suffering from lack of leadership and lack of focus, which affected our productivity. I publicly stated on many occasions that I did not intended to take George's position of lab manager, mainly because I considered that I did not possess the proper skills. We were in a slow process of finding a replacement for George, but in my view the situation became critical and I decided to bring this issue to the attention of the higher administration. Mike Armas, now directly in charge of the lab, appointed Carolyn Martinez as temporary lab manager immediately after I raised these concerns. I welcomed Mike’s decision, not because I thought that Carolyn was fit for the job, opinion that I share with many of my former coworkers, but because I thought that she was a better fit than I to fill in the gap while we were looking for someone with the proper skills. Carolyn was very aware of my opinion.

My working relationship with Carolyn Martinez deteriorated after she was promoted by Mike Armas. In my opinion, this was caused mainly by work pressure. Another possible reason why Carolyn might have changed her attitude towards me is that she felt that I would not support her transition from a temporary lab manager position to a permanent one. She was very clear in many occasions that she was looking forward to secure this promotion, and I made myself clear that neither of us were capable of managing the Applications operations. This second possible cause only reflects my opinion. Email communication* between Carolyn and I clearly shows my honest intention and efforts deployed to reestablish our work relationship. The dynamics changed when Carolyn took our problem to the HR, without letting me know. When Kathi Safford (HR) got involved as a mediator, I realized that Carolyn had sent her a lot of information about our discussions, and this made me feel betrayed. I became extremely cautious with what I was saying and doing. I can demonstrate from email communication* that during this difficult period with Carolyn, Mike Armas was most of the time ignoring my calls to intervene and resolve important work-related and communications issues, and whenever I insisted and he responded, he took Carolyn’s side, or diverged from the real topic. After the "beef liver" and the "beef bone" incidents* the situation deteriorated to the point where I made a decision to step aside, find another job, or work in another department. I communicated this decision to the HR and to our VP of R&D, identifying Mike Armas and Carolyn Martinez as the source of my problems. This happened a week before I was accused by Carolyn of hostile workplace/sexual harassment.

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* Contact me for elements of evidence. Cut and paste the context from the text above in order to identify the piece of evidence you are looking for. Everything I wrote here can be substantiated by written documents or supported by a witness.