Meet our team
We work hard and we play hard. We've got some fun people running things at Arctic Rays. Get to know them!
Lights, lumens and leadership: This is Dirk Fieberg’s career in a nutshell.
Dirk’s career in engineering began in the defense industry, where he worked on command and control systems. Transferring that electrical expertise to the lighting industry, he has spent more than two decades focused on lighting in a wide array of applications, from architectural illumination to industrial and commercial lighting to now underwater applications.
Although an engineer by trade, Dirk has a mind for business. Throughout his career, he has taken on increasing levels of business management, effectively managing people, projects, finances and new business development. Not only has his leadership helped his direct reports thrive in their roles and careers, but his volunteer mentorship of a children’s center helped guide the school through business challenges to success.
In 2016, Dirk’s engineering and business proficiency led him to co-found Arctic Rays, specializing not only in deep-sea lighting but also imaging devices, surveillance and asset tracking systems and more.
Dirk earned his master’s degree in engineering management and his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, both from Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida. He holds six patents and is trilingual, fluent in English, German and Spanish.
He lives in Indialantic, Florida with his wife, two children and dog. When he is not at work, he can usually be found at a theme park or working on projects in his home.
Lee Frey is a leading subsea engineer, innovator and deep-sea explorer. He has spent over two decades developing novel technologies to enable ocean research and exploration. Lee also has extensive field experience, logging over 1,000 hours as a manned-submersible pilot and leading over 50 seafaring expeditions all around the world.
A Philadelphia native, Lee developed his love for the oceans at an early age, spending time along the southern New Jersey shore. At university, he combined his fascination with science with his passion for the water, obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ocean engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.
Over the course of his career, he has held engineering, operations and leadership positions in various organizations such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Australian Oceanographic Foundation, OceanX and others.
In 2015, Lee’s entrepreneurial drive and extensive experience in design and deployment of underwater vehicles and optics led him to partner with his longtime colleague, Dirk Fieberg. Together, they founded Arctic Rays, a small, energetic, high-tech start-up company based on Florida’s Space Coast that designs and manufactures cutting-edge underwater lighting and imaging systems. Lee lives with his family in Melbourne Beach, Florida.
✉️ lee@arcticrays.com
LinkedIn @lee-frey-2634125
A passion for perfection is what drives Stephanie R. Herndon, a marcom professional with a keen eye for precision, a need for strategy and a thirst for clean, data-driven designs.
She lent her talents to the fields of transportation, education, manufacturing and media before joining the marine engineering world as director of marketing and communications for Arctic Rays.
Stephanie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business & marketing communication from Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida. A lifelong learner, Stephanie is currently pursuing her MBA in marketing from Florida Tech. She serves the American Advertising Federation as the District 4 governor-elect and treasurer and is a trustee and past president of AAF Space Coast.
Stephanie is the recipient of 22 American Advertising Awards, nine GDUSA Awards, four CASE District 3 Institutional Awards, an INMA Global Media Award, a UCDA Design Award honorable mention and the AAF District 4 Governor’s Cup.
A former Texan who now resides on the Space Coast of Florida, Stephanie lives mostly behind an iMac screen, occasionally coming up to breathe, have a taco and spend time with her husband and their two daughters and two pups. She enjoys sleeping in, wearing warm sweaters and pretending she’s a mixologist.
✉️ stephanie@arcticrays.com
LinkedIn @stephanierherndon
An aptitude for electrical engineering and a passion for the ocean have converged in Mat Jordan’s career in deep-sea technology design. After a short time in special projects for military and defense instrumentation design, Mat found his calling in the ocean as an ocean engineer.
He has designed life-critical electrical systems for manned submersibles, going on test dives both as passenger and as pilot, before moving into engineering management and production management over the electrical team. Mat designed the landers for the Triton Hadal Exploration System and was part of the team that designed and built The Limiting Factor, the world’s deepest-diving submersible.
Now the senior electrical engineer for Arctic Rays, subsea technology manufacturer, Mat performs system design and overall systems integration.
A night owl renowned for his patient personality, he is an amateur blacksmith and carpenter.
He and his wife hold the world record for the world’s deepest wedding, held 1,000 meters below the ocean’s surface, off the coast of Nassau. They and their newborn daughter reside in Vero Beach, Florida.
Alex is a Minnesota native who came to Florida in search of warmer weather and all of the innovation the Space Coast has to offer. He spent the first few years of his career working in startups in the robotics, aerospace and marine engineering fields. His diverse experience includes R&D, design and prototyping, composite manufacturing, unmanned vehicles, machining, fabrication, field testing and deployment. His recent work involved R&D in ocean data collection and monitoring, as well as work with ROVs and USVs.
Alex has always enjoyed working on innovative projects. Whether it is building carbon-fiber drones, building concrete construction 3D printers, designing a wall-climbing drone or even putting a turbo-diesel Smart Car engine in a snowmobile, he’s always up for a challenge.
Alex has quickly developed a passion for SCUBA diving and deepening his understanding of the ocean. He loves to kayak and bike and is always looking for new ways to enjoy and explore the beauty of Florida!
✉️ alex@arcticrays.com
LinkedIn @alex-herrmann-
Toby is a submersible pilot and technician with a background in marine science and a passion for subsea mechanical design. He grew up on Australia’s east coast, where he was drawn to the ocean from an early age. His underwater fascination was cemented when he learned to scuba dive a year out of high school.
After completing a degree in marine science at the University of Queensland, Toby began his
career working as a technician with a deep-sea research and exploration group, Australian Oceanographics. He quickly recognized that the technical aspects of subsea engineering were just as fascinating to him as were the ocean’s natural wonders. Combining these two interests, Toby began work as a manned submersible pilot and technician with OceanX. He now has over a decade of experience with hundreds of hours spent subsea on projects all around the world.
Toby’s interest in design and efficiency is evidenced by his workshop at home, where everything has its place. Outside of work, he enjoys tinkering on projects in the shed, diving and spending time in nature.
✉️ toby@arcticrays.com
LinkedIn @toby-mitchell-97b81a33
Lawrence “Ladd” Borne has over 25 years of experience in the design, construction and operation of subsea systems, including manned and autonomous underwater vehicles, environmental sensor platforms and ocean renewable energy devices. He has managed multi-million-dollar projects including the world’s first DNVGL-classed, two-person, full ocean-depth submersible, the Triton Limiting Factor. Ladd was previously the president and chief editor of Ocean News & Technology Magazine and Environmental, Coastal and Offshore (ECO) Magazine, and he was the engineering manager at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.
Ladd has a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds a professional engineering license in the state of Florida.
With over 15 years of administrative experience in office management and customer service, Sara assists in the development and implementation of policies and procedures, maintains accounts payable and receivables and serves as the facilities manager. Sara received her bachelor’s degree in marine biology/aquaculture and her master’s degree in communication from Florida Institute of Technology.
Recently moving back to Florida after raising her family in Massachusetts for the past 13 years, Sara enjoys hanging out with her kids, her husband and their family dog. She has an affinity for volunteering and serves in her children’s school PTOs. She also has a deep passion for dancing and theatre.