09/30/2024 updated
100 % available
PCB Designer; Research and Development engineer
Zagreb, Croatia
Worldwide
Master of Science (MSc) in Electrical Engineering and Information TechnologyAntennaARM ArchitectureAutomationPrinted Circuit BoardComplianceEmbedded SystemsUser Interface DesignHigh-Level ArchitectureManufacturingProject ManagementResearch and DevelopmentDesign EngineeringSystems ArchitectureTestingRf Circuits
I have more than 10 years in Embedded Hardware design. Through that time, I finished over 100 projects. Areas of expertise:
- System architecture design (high-level architecture compliant with functional and power requirements)
- Design and verification of power supplies (linear and switching-mode)
- Design and verification of analog, digital and RF circuits
- MCU-based low-power (battery-operated systems) - optimized power consumption
- High-speed interface design (DDR memories)
- RF circuitry design - embedding off-the-shelf antennas, designing own antennas, antenna matching via VNA
- Various RFID/NFC protocols hardware (and SW in small portion) design - understanding of the protocols
- PCB design
- 2-layer or multi-layer designs,
- Rigid, flex or flex-rigid PCB
- Met regulatory compliance standards on 2-layer PCBs regularly
- Design for manufacturing practices - my modules were manufactured in 500k+ pieces
- Design for testing practices - enabled ICT and FCT testing
- EMC testing
- Design of automated production test systems and procedures
- Certification / type approval (CE/FCC/IC)
- Project management
- Mentoring younger colleagues
- Working with the customer to meet the best possible solution
Experience
Professional experience10+ years
Freelancer since2018
Languages
EnglishFluentCroatianNative speaker
Project history
- Access control platform including:
- multi-channel door controller with Ethernet/Wifi connection to the cloud platform
- PoE or DC-powered contactless NFC/RFID/Bluetooth reader with Eth/WiFi connectivity and user interface
- Powerline communications (PLC) addon that enables users to re-use the existing wiring infrastructure (one-pair wires)
- Compliant with UL294
- Lead hardware engineer, coordinate with mechanical engineers and consultations with software engineers to develop the complete physical product.
- Worked on achieving the best possible solution according to the client’s needs
- Controller
- Integrated in off-the-shelf enclosure
- Request-to-exit inputs
- Door sensor inputs (including end-of-line detection resistors)
- 4-channel outputs (wet or dry, 12 or 24 V locks support); complete protection implemented (overcurrent, inductive load support, overvoltage…)
- Ethernet and WiFi connectivity
- 24V DC power inputs with hot swap support (undervoltage, overvoltage, inrush current protection)
- Reader
- Power-over-Ethernet or DC input power support (custom cable solution is designed)
- Tight mechanical constraints resulted in thin customized PoE DC/DC regulator solution (using the pulse transformers and forward converter-based DC/DC conversion)
- Infrared-emitter-based proximity sensor
- Support of almost all low (125 kHz) and high-frequency (13.56 MHz) RFID protocols (I designed and am familiar with demodulation of these protocols)
- EM4100
- Various HID protocols
- MiFare and Ultralight
- Custom-designed RGB diffusor for RGB user indication
- Custom plastic and metal enclosure solution; the requirement was a modern design, easy installation and vandal-proof design
- Requirement for a dark (black on visible light) plastic cover, but transparent for IR light (proximity sensor) with translucent circle for RGB indication
- Optimized and industrialized the design to enable the mass manufacturing
- Connections with plastic injection molding and metal die casting manufacturers
- Powerline communications (multiple generations) addons
- Multiple generations designed (HomePlug 1.0, IEEE1901)
- Enables the end users to re-use their existing ona-pair wiring infrastructure, while maintaining high-bandwidth connection
- Railroad safety standard compliant isolated RS-485 to CAN converter
- Redundant (two-channel) architecture, implemented via Altium Designer multi-channel support
- Based on Xilinx XA Zynq-7000
- 8-layer PCB
- DDR3 memory interface
- Battery-powered device used as a sports tracker, tracking the location and biomedical parameters
- Connected to a training T-shirt via four buttons
- Heart rate and breathing (capacitive) sensing electrodes implemented in a shirt
- Discretely implemented GNSS tracker based on u-Blox solution
- BLE connectivity with chip antenna
- Heart-rate monitor based on AD8232
- Breathing rate monitor based on a capacitive sensor
- Tight mechanical constraints; developed a complete system architecture to maximizie GNSS and BLE performance while maintaining maximum possible battery lifetime (maximizing battery volume)
- Tight cooperation with mechanical engineers, who implemented the design with inputs from industrial designer
- 4-layer PCB, which complied with CE testing
- Complete product is IP65 compliant
- Designed a prototype product, done industrialization (including BOM optimization, PCB panelization, added production testing support…)
- Developed a production testing procedure and a test jig
- Product is manufactured and sold in over 10k pieces