Our Team
Mission Driven
BladeRunner is led by a mission-driven team which is committed to reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. Access to clean, affordable electricity is critical for all people which is what drives the team.
Moriel Arango, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO
Moriel is a mechanical engineer focusing on processes and technology for renewable energy generation. Moriel brings experience in resource and technology assessment for hydrokinetic deployments, industrial installations, system controls, and data acquisition. Additionally, Moriel’s native bilingual (Spanish-English) skills are an asset for reaching emerging markets in the Americas.
Moriel received his Masters of Science degree from the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Washington, where he participated in the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) under the direct supervision of the then co-director of NNMREC, Dr. Philip Malte.
Matt Ross, Co-Founder and COO
Matt has a strong background in energy, technology and how the two combine for new business opportunities. His roles have spanned sales, consulting, project management and product development which has provided perspective in overcoming typical startup challenges. Matt uses these experiences to drive growth by anticipating bottlenecks and developing internal processes to maximize scalability while balancing available resources. Most importantly, Matt has an immense passion for sustainability and has dedicated his life to speeding up the energy transition with affordable clean energy solutions.
Matt graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Environmental Science and minor in Physics.
Austin Payne, Mechanical Design Engineer
Austin is a mechanical design engineer with a background in aerospace design. Austin has had extensive training in various CAD programs and brings that experience to drive the design and development of the BladeRunner Energy components. Austin sees a future where most, if not all, of the energy we use is derived from clean energy sources, and he wants to do all that he can to help make that future possible.
Austin holds a B.S. in Engineering Technology from Wichita State University, with a concentration in Renewable Energy and a minor in Math.