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I'm helping to build a scalable system for delivering high value and life saving medical supplies to hard to reach places via autonomous aircraft. The system is

I'm helping to build a scalable system for delivering high value and life saving medical supplies to hard to reach places via autonomous aircraft. The system is currently operating in Rwanda and Ghana, and aggressively expanding over the next couple years. Specifically, I spend a lot of time thinking about and writing embedded software. The aircraft is fully autonomous and needs to be able to fly home safely even after suffering major component failures. I split my time between improving core architectural components, implementing new features, designing abstractions, and adding testing and tooling to make our ever-growing team work more efficiently. I did FIRST robotics in high school where I mainly focused on controller firmware. I studied computer science in college while building the embedded electronics for solar powered race cars, and also worked part time on research projects at Toyota. After graduating with a Master's degree, I stumbled into a job at SpaceX where I worked a lot on the software for cargo Dragon, then built out a platform for microcontroller firmware development. I decided to leave SpaceX while happy, and spent a couple years working on the self driving car prototype (the one that looked like a koala) at Google. Coming up on my third year, I was itching for something less comfortable and decided to join a scrappy small startup with a heart of gold. Now it's in the hundreds of employees and getting crazier and crazier.

pjbk 7y ago
Zipline?
- Operyl 7y ago
  Given that the two markets he listed are the markets I know Zipline is in, I’m willing to bet yes.
lww515 7y ago
Mind if I contact you and ask you questions about this? I’m interested.
- sgtnoodle 7y ago
  Sure, or just ask them here if you think they would be of general interest.
  - belzebalex 7y ago
    I'm looking for an internship in July-August. I've built a lot of model planes younger and what you're doing seems amazing! Is there any way we could talk further?
    - sgtnoodle 7y ago
      The best way to get into the system is by submitting your resume on the careers page. I'll give a heads-up to the recruiting team to look out for any submissions mentioning hacker news.
      - belzebalex 7y ago
        Thank you! I'll do it by this week end.
  - jmorgancusick 7y ago
    Going to piggyback on this comment, sorry I am a few days late. Where did you get your masters? I have an EE & CS B.S. from RPI plus 3 years of application development experience in the Fin Tech industry. I am strongly considering swapping industries to Embedded Control--that is what I enjoyed most in college--but I am unsure how to break into the industry. Do you recommend a masters or just sending some apps out? I have a good deal of C++ and micro-controller experience, but none commercial.
    - sgtnoodle 7y ago
      I got my bachelors and masters from University of Michigan. It was really just an excuse to stick around for a couple more semesters and do another solar car race. After a few years of experience, the masters doesn't really matter beyond what you personally gained out of the education. There are tons of embedded software projects that lack software engineering rigor. If you're good at unit testing and mocking, for example, there's no reason why you can't unit test embedded code. Applying general software engineering practices to embedded code (effectively) is a good way to differentiate yourself.
jlevers 7y ago
That's exactly the type of project I'd like to be working on -- embedded programming that literally saves lives. Thank you for sharing. Your path to where you are now is crazy...sounds like you've had an exciting career!
johnmorrison 7y ago
Are you working on Zipline [1] ? [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEbRVNxL44c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEbRVNxL44c
- iandanforth 7y ago
  Pro Tip: Search "<HN handle> + github" frequently gets a real name, and if not current job, then look on linkedin. The answer to your question is: Yes.
- jborichevskiy 7y ago
  That's what I thought of as well. Great video explanation for anyone interested in learning more.
- NetOpWibby 7y ago
  Just finished watching the video. Wow. Incredible.
- andrei_says_ 7y ago
  This is incredible and gives me engineering fomo! * higher purpose project saving lives and helping people: check * well-engineered, reliable, smart solutions quadrupling efficiency: check * planes, Africa, autonomous flight, landing and take off hacks, app based pre-flight checks, oh my! * all for peaceful, life-supporting, humane purposes!!!
exdsq 7y ago
You have basically had, in my opinion, the perfect career so far. Well done! :)
a_diplomat 7y ago
I've been to your airfield in Rwanda! It's such a great company.
- sgtnoodle 7y ago
  I'm jealous, I haven't actually made it out myself yet! I've got a little baby to come home to. It's been a very supportive company in terms of work/life balance as well.
  - a_diplomat 7y ago
    Totally understand. I have to say that watching the drones getting captured when landing is one of the most futuristic things I've seen. You guys have done some great things in Rwanda - I lived there over the past 4 years, so I have firsthand knowledge.
rozularen 7y ago
It's crazy the kind of jobs there are in the USA that are very interesting and in the vanguard of the technology while me (Spain) get to work on banking. Here we don't have anything close to Toyota, Google or SpaceX. The career path for someone that has a passion for its craft can't be compared between the USA and many other countries. Such a shame... I wouldn't say I am qualified for a job related to embedded programming (even though I know how to code and it's my job) but even if I was there wouldn't be any opportunity for me to bounce between companies like those in a million years. PS: Sorry for the spelling, not native.
- xwowsersx 7y ago
  To be clear, I think the overwhelming majority of jobs in the US fall into your uninteresting category, e.g. banking, adtech, etc.
- sgtnoodle 7y ago
  There's a handful of places in the USA with thriving tech industry, and there's plenty of opportunity in general, but quite often people have to relocate for the really exciting opportunities. I haven't been to Spain, but my understanding of European culture is that folk generally stick around where they grew up. There's plenty of cool embedded stuff going on in Europe if you look for it. For example, I am aware of a lot of really neat drive-by-wire actuator development.
- kirso 7y ago
  I feel you, unfortunately, your location matters in terms of your network/opportunities and even a spouse. Frankly, because I realized this I started searching for cool companies to work for that nobody knows and made a side project around this!
auiya 7y ago
By "hard to reach places", are you referring to difficulty due to geographic positioning, or geopolitical concerns?
- sgtnoodle 7y ago
  Mainly geographic positioning due to lack of road infrastructure and reliable utilities. Roads are massive capital investments regardless of tech ability, and lots of populated places in the world are still hard to get to quickly. Many medical products are generally available but have a very short shelf life, and so our delivery service helps make them reachable to significantly more people.
kirso 7y ago
That's awesome! Where I can learn more? I am building a job marketplace and curator for cool "unknown" companies that people can explore and would love to feature this! A plus point for the impact part of it!

pjbk 7y ago

Zipline?

Operyl 7y ago
Given that the two markets he listed are the markets I know Zipline is in, I’m willing to bet yes.

lww515 7y ago

Mind if I contact you and ask you questions about this? I’m interested.

sgtnoodle 7y ago
Sure, or just ask them here if you think they would be of general interest.
- belzebalex 7y ago
  I'm looking for an internship in July-August. I've built a lot of model planes younger and what you're doing seems amazing! Is there any way we could talk further?
  - sgtnoodle 7y ago
    The best way to get into the system is by submitting your resume on the careers page. I'll give a heads-up to the recruiting team to look out for any submissions mentioning hacker news.
    - belzebalex 7y ago
      Thank you! I'll do it by this week end.
- jmorgancusick 7y ago
  Going to piggyback on this comment, sorry I am a few days late. Where did you get your masters? I have an EE & CS B.S. from RPI plus 3 years of application development experience in the Fin Tech industry. I am strongly considering swapping industries to Embedded Control--that is what I enjoyed most in college--but I am unsure how to break into the industry. Do you recommend a masters or just sending some apps out? I have a good deal of C++ and micro-controller experience, but none commercial.
  - sgtnoodle 7y ago
    I got my bachelors and masters from University of Michigan. It was really just an excuse to stick around for a couple more semesters and do another solar car race. After a few years of experience, the masters doesn't really matter beyond what you personally gained out of the education. There are tons of embedded software projects that lack software engineering rigor. If you're good at unit testing and mocking, for example, there's no reason why you can't unit test embedded code. Applying general software engineering practices to embedded code (effectively) is a good way to differentiate yourself.

jlevers 7y ago

That's exactly the type of project I'd like to be working on -- embedded programming that literally saves lives. Thank you for sharing. Your path to where you are now is crazy...sounds like you've had an exciting career!

johnmorrison 7y ago

Are you working on Zipline [1] ? [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEbRVNxL44c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEbRVNxL44c

iandanforth 7y ago
Pro Tip: Search "<HN handle> + github" frequently gets a real name, and if not current job, then look on linkedin. The answer to your question is: Yes.
jborichevskiy 7y ago
That's what I thought of as well. Great video explanation for anyone interested in learning more.
NetOpWibby 7y ago
Just finished watching the video. Wow. Incredible.
andrei_says_ 7y ago
This is incredible and gives me engineering fomo! * higher purpose project saving lives and helping people: check * well-engineered, reliable, smart solutions quadrupling efficiency: check * planes, Africa, autonomous flight, landing and take off hacks, app based pre-flight checks, oh my! * all for peaceful, life-supporting, humane purposes!!!

exdsq 7y ago

You have basically had, in my opinion, the perfect career so far. Well done! :)

a_diplomat 7y ago

I've been to your airfield in Rwanda! It's such a great company.

sgtnoodle 7y ago
I'm jealous, I haven't actually made it out myself yet! I've got a little baby to come home to. It's been a very supportive company in terms of work/life balance as well.
- a_diplomat 7y ago
  Totally understand. I have to say that watching the drones getting captured when landing is one of the most futuristic things I've seen. You guys have done some great things in Rwanda - I lived there over the past 4 years, so I have firsthand knowledge.

rozularen 7y ago

It's crazy the kind of jobs there are in the USA that are very interesting and in the vanguard of the technology while me (Spain) get to work on banking. Here we don't have anything close to Toyota, Google or SpaceX. The career path for someone that has a passion for its craft can't be compared between the USA and many other countries. Such a shame... I wouldn't say I am qualified for a job related to embedded programming (even though I know how to code and it's my job) but even if I was there wouldn't be any opportunity for me to bounce between companies like those in a million years. PS: Sorry for the spelling, not native.

xwowsersx 7y ago
To be clear, I think the overwhelming majority of jobs in the US fall into your uninteresting category, e.g. banking, adtech, etc.
sgtnoodle 7y ago
There's a handful of places in the USA with thriving tech industry, and there's plenty of opportunity in general, but quite often people have to relocate for the really exciting opportunities. I haven't been to Spain, but my understanding of European culture is that folk generally stick around where they grew up. There's plenty of cool embedded stuff going on in Europe if you look for it. For example, I am aware of a lot of really neat drive-by-wire actuator development.
kirso 7y ago
I feel you, unfortunately, your location matters in terms of your network/opportunities and even a spouse. Frankly, because I realized this I started searching for cool companies to work for that nobody knows and made a side project around this!

auiya 7y ago

By "hard to reach places", are you referring to difficulty due to geographic positioning, or geopolitical concerns?

sgtnoodle 7y ago
Mainly geographic positioning due to lack of road infrastructure and reliable utilities. Roads are massive capital investments regardless of tech ability, and lots of populated places in the world are still hard to get to quickly. Many medical products are generally available but have a very short shelf life, and so our delivery service helps make them reachable to significantly more people.

kirso 7y ago

That's awesome! Where I can learn more? I am building a job marketplace and curator for cool "unknown" companies that people can explore and would love to feature this! A plus point for the impact part of it!