LEADERSHIP
The people building the next generation of motion in machines.
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration
B.S., Mechanical Engineering
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
“Revolutionizing motion in machines.”
Wes Brown is the co-founder and CEO of Tension Dynamics, where he leads the company’s mission to revolutionize motion in machines. He has spent two decades turning advanced technology into fielded products, from combat vehicle systems to robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence.
Wes served more than 12 years as a U.S. Army officer, commanding units of up to 242 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan before moving into acquisition. There he managed the Army’s $655M robotic and autonomous systems portfolio and helped lead its $754M remote weapon systems program. As Deputy Director of Product Development at the Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center, he helped lay the foundation for the Army’s AI technology roadmap in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University.
Before founding Tension Dynamics, Wes was a technical program manager at Carnegie Robotics, where he grew the company’s defense work into long-term programs, including a three-year, $10M+ contract extension. He continues to serve as an acquisition officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.
EXPERTISE
Pittsburgh, PA
Years as a U.S. Army officer
Army robotics & autonomy portfolio managed
Remote weapon systems program
MBA, Tepper School of Business
TENSION DYNAMICS
2024 – Now
CARNEGIE ROBOTICS
2022 – 2023
ARMY AI INTEGRATION CENTER
2020 – 2022
U.S. ARMY
2006 – Now
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
“Making cool stuff for the future.”
Jason Economou is the co-founder and CTO of Tension Dynamics, where he leads the engineering behind the company’s technology. An innovator with a broad background in design and engineering, he has spent his career turning ambitious ideas into hardware that can actually be built.
Jason began in his family’s contract engineering business before launching a high-end composites consulting and fabrication shop in Pittsburgh, which grew into a contract design practice as client needs evolved. His work spans linear actuation systems for space applications, vaccine and inoculation machinery, oil and gas equipment, and mechanical design for the world’s largest vertical farm.
He is known for matching materials and processes to a design’s intent, reducing cost, complexity, and barriers to production, and for teaching clients the strengths and limits of each manufacturing method. Jason also serves as CTO of Tronix3D and as co-founder and CIO of Revobo.
EXPERTISE
TENSION DYNAMICS
2024 – Now
TRONIX3D
Current
REVOBO
Current
CARBOTRON COMPOSITES
2005 – 2021
EDUCATION
Mechanical Engineering
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
“A rising tide floats all ships.”
Mike Vindler is the co-founder and Chief Development Officer of Tension Dynamics, which is building an all-electric linear actuator to replace hydraulics, starting with flight simulation. An engineer, entrepreneur, and builder at heart, he has been working with additive manufacturing since 2005, back when most people saw 3D printing as a toy for prototypes.
Mike spent more than 15 years as a development engineer at Siemens Energy, where he pioneered some of the company’s first additive parts approved for production components and helped other engineers learn where the technology made sense. In 2021, he and business partner Jason Economou acquired Tronix3D, the Pittsburgh additive manufacturing company he had long been a customer of. As owner and CEO, he has grown its revenue several times over and expanded its work into aerospace, defense, medical, robotics, and energy.
Tronix3D has since become a launch point for new ventures, including Tension Dynamics and Revobo, where Mike serves as co-founder and CEO. In 2025 he was named a finalist for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year (East Central) and for CEO of the Year at the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Tech 50. He holds multiple patents in machinery and tooling and a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
EXPERTISE
Working with additive manufacturing since
Years as a development engineer at Siemens Energy
Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist, East Central 2025
CEO of the Year finalist, Pittsburgh Technology Council 2025
TENSION DYNAMICS
2024 – Now
TRONIX3D
2021 – Now
REVOBO
2025 – Now
PGH|MFG
2026 – Now
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
“Deploying robots for the backbone of critical industry.”
Spencer Krause is the co-founder and COO of Tension Dynamics, where the team is developing low-cost precision linear actuators using advanced technology. His career has centered on helping organizations, from startups to Fortune 10 companies, understand, evaluate, and develop advanced robotics.
Since founding SKA Robotics in 2015, Spencer has led the company as President and CEO, designing, building, and deploying field robotics for energy, mining, infrastructure, and other high-stakes environments where traditional solutions fall short. His team is often brought in to take over technical development when other teams are stuck.
Spencer was a visiting researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Field Robotics Center and later directed advanced projects at Formlogic. He also hosts the podcast Collaborative With Spencer Krause, a no-nonsense look inside the minds of people pushing the limits of technology, research, and entrepreneurship.
EXPERTISE
EDUCATION
Master’s, Robotics Systems Development
B.S., Computer Science and Business
HAS BUILT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR
Google · Siemens Energy · Caterpillar · Sarcos · RE2 Robotics · RedZone Robotics
TENSION DYNAMICS
2024 – Now
SKA ROBOTICS
2015 – Now
FORMLOGIC
2021 – 2022
CMU FIELD ROBOTICS CENTER
2015 – 2019
THE COMPANY
Tension Dynamics was born from a nearly decade-long pursuit to redefine the fundamental limits of linear actuator technology. It started with a problem documented by the U.S. Air Force: today’s solutions can’t realistically simulate real-world helicopter dynamics.
That focus on an unaddressed, high-stakes motion problem produced a breakthrough: a fully electric linear actuator that integrates force and acceleration into a single component, delivering 3x efficiency gains over hydraulics with superior reliability for aerospace, defense, and advanced robotics.
Efficiency gains over hydraulic systems
Force and acceleration integrated into a single component
Patent pending since May 2025, with functional prototypes built
WHY THIS TEAM
Taking a new actuator from prototype to the markets that need it takes more than one kind of expertise. Each founder brings a piece of the path.
01
JASON ECONOMOU · CTO
Two decades of mechanical design, composites, and linear actuation work, from space applications to industrial machinery. Jason turns breakthrough concepts into hardware that can be built.
02
MIKE VINDLER · CDO
An additive manufacturing pioneer who runs Tronix3D, a growing Pittsburgh manufacturer serving aerospace, defense, medical, and robotics. Mike knows what it takes to go from prototype to production.
03
SPENCER KRAUSE · COO
More than a decade leading SKA Robotics, putting field robots to work in energy, mining, and infrastructure. Spencer brings the operational discipline to get technology deployed in the real world.
04
WES BROWN · CEO
A former Army officer who managed hundreds of millions in robotics and weapons programs. Wes knows how advanced technology gets funded, tested, and fielded in aerospace and defense.
Together they cover the full path from invention to deployment: designing the actuator, manufacturing it, putting it to work in robotics, and bringing it to aerospace and defense customers.
GET IN TOUCH
Whether you’re exploring a partnership, an investment, or an application for our actuator, we’d like to hear from you.
