About us
We're a small team of chemists, physicists, and engineers in Mountain View, California. Our founders helped pioneer the cavity-enhanced spectroscopy techniques our instruments are built on — and we've spent years hardening that science for the DoD, from submarine atmosphere monitoring to the atmospheric scattering for directed-energy systems.
Meet the Team
CTO & Co-founder
Dr. Manish Gupta
Dr. Manish Gupta is the Chief Technology Officer and a co-founder of Nikira Labs. He’s pioneer in the development of optical analytical technologies, having successfully commercialized a variety of cavity-enhanced optical spectrometers, including Off-Axis Incoherent Cavity Output Spectroscopy and Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy. Manish is an established expert in lasers and optics, as well as various subfields of analytical and environmental chemistry with over 200 peer-reviewed papers, presentations, and book chapters. As a part-owner and Chief Technology Officer of Los Gatos Research, he was responsible for developing, manufacturing, and promoting novel laser-based analyzers to research, industrial, medical, and military customers, including a nitrous oxide analyzer that won the R&D 100 award. In that role, Manish helped grow LGR from a small startup focused on academic research to a successful company that was acquired by ABB in 2013. Dr. Gupta has served as a principal investigator on numerous projects funded by NSF, DOE, NIH, DOD, NASA, EPA, and other federal agencies. He is a member of ACS, OSA, APS, AGU, AAAS and has served as a reviewer for several scientific journals.
manufacturing & instrument assembly technician
Manesh Chhotu
Manesh has over 18 years of experience building sensitive, optical instruments. From alignment to manufacturing, he helps assure that Nikira Labs products meet stringent quality guidelines.
Financial Controller
Keith Berte
Keith has over 30 years of finance experience across various industries which he brings to Nikira Labs. He has a BS from Bentley University in Accountancy and an MBA from Western New England University. Throughout his career he has been involved in most all of the accounting roles needed to support the financial needs of the businesses. He has worked in large international companies, ( ABB and Alstom Power) to smaller start ups like Nikira. His goal is to support the financial needs of his customers and improve the financial processes across the organization.
Material Manager / Supply Chain
Marty Johnson
With over 30 years of expertise in Materials Management and Supply Chain operations, Marty brings a wealth of strategic and hands-on experience to Nikira. Marty's career spans critical domains including MRP management, contract manufacturing oversight, and end-to-end forecasting and planning. A master of scheduling and BOM control, Marty excels in ECO implementation and supplier relationship management, ensuring seamless procurement and logistics execution. Marty's data-driven approach to metrics and continuous improvement has consistently optimized performance across complex manufacturing environments.
Dr. Leen spearheads the product innovation roadmap at Nikira Labs. As the former Director of Research at Los Gatos Research/ABB Silicon Valley, Brian focused on improvements and applications of integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes. As part of his work, he has developed and field-deployed instruments to measure trace gases on-board land vehicles, aircraft (DOE G-1, NSF C-130, NASA WB-57), in the deep sea and in the breath of ICU patients (VOC’s). This work has resulted in multiple grant awards, myriad publications, two granted patents, and an R&D100 award. Brian's scientific goal in life is to quantify the physical world using optical measurements and Nikira Labs is his current vehicle to reach this destination throughout the multiple gas sensing innovation projects that he's leading.
Director of R&D
Dr. J. Brian Leen
Ian brings over 10 years of manufacturing automation experience to Nikira Labs. Previously at Los Gatos Research/ABB Silicon Valley, he was a key contributor in the production team for integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzers for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes. At Nikira Labs, Ian is key to streamlining the product manufacturing and final tests and qualification for scaling Nikira Labs’ production capacity to meet the pent-up market demand for Nikira’s products.
Ian Astley
Senior Automation Engineer
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Bryan is an honors graduate from UC Riverside with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He brings experience in mechanical design & prototyping from his work in both academic research labs and industry, where he developed gas delivery systems, automated testing equipment, and precision mechanical assemblies. With a strong foundation in CAD, rapid prototyping, and product design, Bryan is passionate about building innovative solutions that bridge research and real-world applications.
Bryan Chen
Mechanical Design Engineer
Project Manager
Nikash graduated Cum Laude from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Finance. He brings experience in financial analysis and project management, combining quantitative problem-solving with structured execution to drive projects from development through delivery. His expertise includes Excel, financial modeling, forecasting, and data analysis, focusing on translating quantitative data into actionable insights. At Nikira Labs, he manages project schedules, cross-functional deliverables, and contract requirements to ensure projects stay aligned from development through delivery.
Nikash Gupta
CEO & Co-founder
Rupal Gupta
Rupal is the CEO, President, and cofounder of Nikira Labs. Her technical background is in mechanical engineering with over 25 years of diversified experience. Much of that time was invested in HW product design, manufacturing processes, and operations. Rupal has developed laser-based optical analyzers, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and medical devices. In addition to her technical expertise, Rupal has co-initiated and served as the managing member of several corporations. Her business acumen has led to many successful ventures and partnerships. Rupal brings this extensive experience and leadership to Nikira Labs with a focus on operations and growth.
Sr. Manufacturing & Production Engineer
Aaron Gardner
Aaron brings to Nikira Labs over 20 years of experience in design and manufacturing of optical and photonics instrumentation. His expertise spans the breadth of product manufacturing from integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzers for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes to free-space optical communication applications. At Nikira Labs, Aaron is instrumental in defining the appropriate manufacturing processes for scaling Nikira Labs’ production capacity to meet the pent-up market demand for Nikira’s products.
Logistics & Inventory Controller
Reggie Dolack
Reggie is in charge of the supply chain logistics, inventory management, and shipping & receiving .
Manufacturing Engineer
Sean Uyehara
Sean is an experienced production and manufacturing engineering manager with a demonstrated history of working on high performance gas phase instrumentation. He has over 20 years of experience in building optical instrumentation for a wide array of applications.