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CLK 2.4 GHz NODE 7 nm UPTIME ∞ STATUS online LOC Dallas, TX SIG hardware · firmware · automation CLK 2.4 GHz NODE 7 nm UPTIME ∞ STATUS online LOC Dallas, TX SIG hardware · firmware · automation
[00] / HARDWARE · FIRMWARE · MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION

Saumya·
Shah

> specializes_in:PCB Manufacturing Automation

I build the process-automation tooling and inspection systems that turn raw design data into production-ready boards on the assembly floor — Gerber automation, panelization, and Automated Optical Inspection — backed by a foundation in embedded firmware, FPGA, and digital design from RTL to GDSII.

view_works download_cv
// CORE.0
ACTIVE
I/O 256-bit
// BUS.HIGH
// FAB.7nm
OPTIMAL
[01]

Identity

// who.is

I work at the intersection of hardware, firmware, and manufacturing — where Verilog meets timing closure, where a Gerber file meets a production line, where firmware meets a shipping product. My range covers the full digital stack: from RTL through GDSII, from FPGA fabric to embedded firmware, from a customer's CAD output to a populated PCB on its way out the door.

Across nine engineering projects and three roles, I've designed and verified a 7nm stereo audio ASIC through the full Synopsys flow, accelerated Sobel edge-detection on FPGA with ARM HPS co-design (14% latency cut via HLS), built a custom 8-bit RISC processor and FPU with pipelining and hazard detection on GF65 cells, hardened fault coverage by 10–12% through Synopsys DC + TetraMAX ATPG, analyzed branch predictor and cache strategies in GEM5, shipped an ESP32-S3 IoT firmware platform with FreeRTOS + MQTT + OTA + BLE Wi-Fi provisioning, ran multi-sensor acquisition on STM32F7, built a 4-wheel holonomic robot on STM32F4 with fuzzy-logic navigation, and laid out custom KiCAD PCBs for the embedded systems they sit on.

Today, I'm a Development Engineer at Express Fab USA, building the internal tooling that makes customer PCB designs production-ready — a Python Gerber automation engine that adds panelization rails with curved trapezoidal profiles and native-geometry barcodes, robust multi-CAD file parsers, and the company's Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) capability built from the ground up, with CAD-driven program generation, line setup, and result analysis tuned for low false calls. Prior: Embedded Engineer at Winwinlabs (ESP32-S3 firmware, OTA, custom production PCB), and an early R&D internship at Thruster instrumenting an STM32F4-based SRM motor-driver assessment rig. M.S. Electrical Engineering, UT Dallas · B.E. ECE, Nirma University.

EXPERIENCE
0+ yrs
PROJECTS
0 shipped
ROLES
0 to date
// SILICON · ASIC
RTL → GDSII Flow
7nm stereo audio processor with custom two-channel FIR + memory controller in Synopsys DC (ASAP 7nm); TCL-automated PnR, STA, and power optimization. Fault analysis across combinational + sequential designs with Synopsys DC + TetraMAX ATPG — coverage improved 10–12%.
// FPGA · COMPUTE
Accelerators & Processors
Sobel edge-detection accelerator via HLS, integrated with ARM HPS — 14% latency reduction, cycle-accurate verification. Custom 8-bit RISC + FPU in Verilog with pipelining, hazard detection, GF65 cells; deployed on FPGA and Cadence Innovus. GEM5 branch predictor + cache analysis with Python scripting (30% benchmark speed-up).
// EMBEDDED · IOT
Firmware & Real-Time
ESP32-S3 IoT platform — event-driven firmware, DS18B20/DHT22 acquisition, MQTT + WebSocket streaming, OTA updates, BLE Wi-Fi provisioning, LittleFS UI, NVS storage. STM32F7 + FreeRTOS concurrent sensor acquisition piped to ESP8266 over USART. 4-wheel holonomic robot on STM32F4 + Arduino with SPI/I²C/USART drivers and fuzzy-logic autonomy.
// MANUFACTURING · AUTOMATION
PCB Tooling & AOI
At Express Fab USA: Python Gerber automation that adds panelization rails with curved trapezoidal profiles, dynamic neck sizing for narrow boards, mouse-bite / V-score breakaway support, and native-geometry barcodes on the silkscreen for end-to-end traceability. Robust multi-CAD file parsing with high-resolution mm output. Designed and built the company's Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) capability from the ground up — workflow, quality standards, CAD-driven program generation, line setup, and result analysis tuned to cut false calls while improving real-defect detection.
// PCB · HARDWARE
Boards & Bringup
Custom development boards in KiCAD around LPC17xx and STM32F4 for robotics and embedded targets, integrating sensors and motor control. Product-PCB design at Winwinlabs — schematic capture, layout, and hardware validation for an ESP32-S3 IoT product brought to production.
// METHOD · MINDSET
From Intent to Operation
The connective thread across all of this is the same: take a digital system from intent to silicon to operation. Whether that's a Verilog module headed for tapeout or a Python pipeline shaping a customer's Gerber set into a manufacturable board — the work is making hardware behave, predictably and at speed.
[02]

Experience

// log.career
// ACTIVE DEC 2025 — PRESENT

Development Engineer

Express Fab USA

Develop internal tooling, process automation, and inspection systems that make customer-supplied PCB designs production-ready and ensure assembly quality in a high-mix manufacturing environment.

  • Built a Python automation tool that programmatically adds tooling rails to customer-supplied Gerber files, bringing incoming PCB designs into compliance with panelization and pick-and-place (PnP) assembly requirements across a wide range of board geometries.
  • Engineered adaptive rail profiles with curved trapezoidal edges and dynamic neck sizing to handle narrow-board edge cases, while supporting both mouse-bite and V-score breakaway tab conventions.
  • Generated machine-readable barcodes rendered directly as native board geometry on the rail silkscreen layer — enabling automated panel identification and end-to-end assembly traceability.
  • Built robust file-parsing and file-type classification logic with standardized high-resolution millimeter output, ensuring reliable processing of fabrication, assembly, and position/BOM files exported from multiple CAD tools.
  • Designed and built the company's Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) capability from the ground up — defining the inspection system, workflow, and quality standards used to verify assembly across production.
  • Automated AOI program generation from CAD and Gerber data, configured and set up inspection on the line, and analyzed inspection results to reduce false calls while improving real-defect detection.
Python Gerber Processing Panelization AOI Machine Vision DFA PCB Automation
// PRIOR APR 2025 — JAN 2026

Embedded Engineer

Winwinlabs

Designed embedded hardware and firmware for a production IoT product — from custom PCB bringup through real-time firmware and OTA delivery.

  • Built a real-time data acquisition and communication system on the ESP32-S3, using timing analysis and resource optimization to ensure consistent performance across deployments.
  • Implemented automated OTA updates, configuration handling, and debug tooling — improving firmware maintainability and streamlining development workflows.
  • Designed and brought up a custom production PCB — schematic capture, layout, and hardware validation in line with embedded design best practices.
ESP32-S3 FreeRTOS OTA PCB Design Schematic Capture
// INTERN MAY 2021 — JUL 2021

Research & Development Intern

Thruster · India

Built motor-driver characterization hardware and the analysis tooling around it for a Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) evaluation workflow.

  • Designed a circuit with the STM32F4 (Arm Cortex-M4) to drive a motor controller and capture coil current and voltage data for later analysis.
  • Developed tailored algorithms to refine the SRM motor driver assessment process — cutting evaluation time by 30% and improving decision-making reliability.
STM32F4 Cortex-M4 SRM Motor Control Data Acquisition
[03]

Works

// archive.9
ID.01FPGA / HLS

Sobel Edge-Detection Accelerator

Implemented a Sobel filter accelerator on FPGA using HLS, integrated with ARM HPS for HW/SW co-design. Achieved 14% latency reduction and verified cycle-accurate timing and resource utilization.

FPGA HLS ARM Image Processing
ID.02ASIC / ATPG
FAULT.COV +12%

Design & Fault Analysis of Digital Circuits

Designed combinational and sequential circuits in Verilog, synthesized with Synopsys Design Compiler, and enhanced test coverage with ATPG in TetraMAX. Improved fault coverage by 10–12%.

Verilog Synopsys DC TetraMAX ATPG
ID.03ASIC / 7nm

Mini Stereo Digital Audio Processor (7nm)

Designed RTL architecture with custom two-channel FIR filter and memory controller. Synthesized in Synopsys DC (ASAP 7nm), automated PnR, STA, and power optimization with TCL scripts.

Verilog ASAP 7nm Synopsys EDA Flow
ID.04CPU / GEM5

Branch Predictor & Cache Analysis

Analyzed cache strategies and branch predictors using GEM5. Derived optimal CPI configuration and built Python scripts to speed up benchmark execution by 30%.

GEM5 CPU Architecture Python Performance Analysis
ID.05RTL / RISC
IF ID EX WB

Custom RISC Processor & FPU Design

Built an 8-bit RISC processor and a floating-point unit in Verilog with hazard detection, pipelining, and GF65 custom cell libraries. Deployed and verified on FPGA and Cadence Innovus.

Verilog FPGA Cadence GF65
ID.06IOT / FW

ESP32-S3 Multi-Function IoT Firmware

Developed an event-driven firmware platform on ESP32-S3 for DS18B20 and DHT22 sensor acquisition with MQTT + WebSocket streaming. Integrated OTA updates, BLE Wi-Fi provisioning, LittleFS web UI, and NVS storage.

ESP32-S3 FreeRTOS MQTT OTA
ID.07EMBEDDED
CLOUD

Sensor Data Acquisition & Cloud Integration

Built a concurrent STM32F7 system running FreeRTOS for multi-sensor acquisition, transferring data to ESP8266 via USART. Optimized multitasking for smooth real-time data handling and transmission.

STM32F7 FreeRTOS USART ESP8266
ID.08ROBOTICS

4-Wheel Holonomic Robot

Built a STM32F4 + Arduino based holonomic drive robot. Implemented SPI, I2C, and USART drivers, integrated PS4 controller, and designed fuzzy logic algorithms for autonomous navigation.

STM32 Arduino Fuzzy Logic Robotics
ID.09PCB

Custom PCB Design for Embedded & Robotics

Designed custom development boards using LPC17xx and STM32F4 microcontrollers. Created PCB solutions for robotic and embedded applications, integrating sensors and motor control systems.

KiCAD STM32F4 LPC17xx PCB Design
[04]

Stack

// tooling.map

/01 HDL Languages

Verilog SystemVerilog VHDL UVM Chisel

/02 Programming

Python C / C++ SQL TCL Bash Perl

/03 EDA Tools

Synopsys DC PrimeTime TetraMAX Cadence Virtuoso Cadence Innovus ModelSim VCS

/04 Embedded & IoT

ESP32 / S3 STM32 FreeRTOS OTA Updates Arduino LPC17xx

/05 Protocols

I²C SPI UART / USART MQTT HTTP / WS REST APIs BLE Wi-Fi

/06 PCB & Manufacturing

KiCAD Gerber / RS-274X Panelization AOI Machine Vision Schematic Capture DFA Pick-and-Place BOM / POS gerbonara

/07 Systems & Backend

Relational DB Design Web APIs Excel / openpyxl Git CLI Tooling Scheduled Jobs
[05]

Dossier

// cv.v2
// CLASSIFIED — CV.v2
SUBJECT: SAUMYA SHAH  //  FIELD: HARDWARE + FIRMWARE + MFG AUTOMATION  //  DOC_REV: 2026.05  //  ACCESS: PUBLIC
Saumya_Shah_development_eng.pdf
// full experience · education · projects · references
download_pdf

Education

M.S. Electrical Engineering
The University of Texas at Dallas
Jan 2023 – Dec 2024 · GPA 3.78/4.00

B.E. Electronics & Communication
Nirma University · Jul 2018 – Jun 2022

Certifications

· Basic Static Timing Analysis (Cadence)

Location

Lexington, Kentucky
Open to relocation across US for hardware, firmware, and manufacturing-automation roles.

[06]

Signal

// contact.open

Open to hardware, firmware, and manufacturing-automation opportunities. Reach out — let's build where hardware, firmware, and the factory floor meet.

Email

saumyashah02000@gmail.com

LinkedIn

/in/saumya-shah-ss

GitHub

/saumyatshah