Alan graduated from Glasgow University in 1989 with a B.Eng (Hons) in Electronics & Electrical Engineering and then joined National Semiconductor in Greenock as a Product Engineer. In 1994 he joined Seagate Microelectronics in Livingston as a Senior Device Engineer, working on BiCMOS & Bipolar and technologies. In 1999 Alan then moved to Semefab as Product and Test Manager, which includes responsibility for all test production, development and Product/Device Engineering activities.