My Journey

Professional Experiences

A timeline of my professional growth, from teaching and leadership roles to hands-on technical experience in robotics and software development.

Tech

Research Associate

BCIT Centre for Welding Technologies and Metallurgy Research

2025 - PresentBurnaby, BC

Highlights

  • Developed a ROS2 Fanuc driver using Ethernet IP protocol for communication, implemented in C++ using the EIP Scanner module.
  • Developed a custom software UI in PyQt5 for the Fanuc CrX10ia – Lincoln R450 PowerWave robotic welding system.
  • Programmed background TP and Karel programs acting as 'firmware' to interface with ROS2 running programs.
  • Currently integrating an AI agent into the robotic welding loop, starting with LLMs and VLMs, and later SLMs trained specifically for welding task purposes.
  • Developed a driver for the Lincoln R450 Power-Wave using TCP/IP following the ArcLink message structure, implemented in Python.

Skills

ROS2C++PythonPyQt5EtherNet/IPKARELTCP/IPLLM/VLM

Engineer in Training — CAE / Welding Engineering

SKC Engineering Ltd

2025 - PresentVancouver, BC

Highlights

  • FEA lead on a Level 3 Fitness-For-Service assessment (API 579-1 / ASME FFS-1 Part 8) of a 1912 riveted/welded locomotive boiler firebox, supporting a regulator-facing, independently reviewed engineering report.
  • Conducted seven elasto-plastic finite-element simulations (SimScale) across four geometric configurations — design-intent, as-measured distorted, and weld-overlay repair variants — under pressure-only and coupled transient thermo-mechanical load cases at 200 psi MAWP.
  • Reconstructed the as-measured firebox geometry from a Revoscan 3D laser-scan point cloud (slicing, thickening to measured plate thickness, sweeping into a clean parametric CAD model suitable for meshing).
  • Built nonlinear material models with bilinear isotropic strain hardening and temperature-dependent conductivity/expansion, evaluated at the 350 °C design metal temperature; modelled an E7018 weld-overlay sub-material with separately calibrated properties.
  • Defined boundary conditions capturing real structural behaviour: symmetry planes, Winkler elastic supports with per-stay stiffness K = EA/L calibrated to missing stay lengths, and frictionless sliding contacts for ball-end stays with heat transfer across the contact.
  • Applied a six-zone convective heat-flux thermal BC set blending convection and radiation (1500 °C fire-side to nucleate-boiling water-side HTCs), consistent with saturation thermodynamics at design pressure.
  • Automated stress/strain post-processing in Python (PyVista/SciPy): projected analytic paths onto deformed surface meshes, computed Dijkstra geodesic worst-orientation paths, and performed pointwise local-failure (εL) and through-thickness stress-linearization checks per ASME VIII Div 2 Annex 5.A — cross-validated against native solver post-processing to within ±2 ksi.
  • Ran mesh-sensitivity studies (7× node-count refinement) demonstrating conservative capture of staybolt-anchor stress concentrations; results independently reproduced in Abaqus to within ±5%.
  • Authored the internal technical report on firebox corner-bend geometric analysis from the 3D point-cloud scan, implementing an interactive MATLAB tool for plane slicing, PCA profile ordering, bend-angle/inscribed-arc extraction, and stay-pitch measurement.
  • Analysis supported return-to-service at the full historical 200 psi MAWP with no derate, avoiding a repair estimated at $200,000+.
  • Conducted welding experiments using the cobot system at BCIT, and performed laser scan and point-cloud processing of parts before and after welds to detect distortion.
  • Developed frontend software tools for use by welding engineers (JavaScript); managed the website and database for a Fleet Management system (Ruby on Rails); CAD drafting for engineering deliverables.

Skills

FEAAPI 579-1 / ASME FFS-1ASME VIII Div 2SimScaleANSYSAbaqusElasto-Plastic AnalysisThermo-Mechanical FEAPython (PyVista/SciPy)MATLABSolidWorksAutoCADLaser ScanningPoint CloudJavaScriptRuby on Rails

Graduate Research Assistant

SFU Motion and Power Electronics Control Lab

May 2022 - Dec 2024Surrey, BC

Highlights

  • Helped build an in-pipe welding robotic arm as part of the lab team — owned the control software, embedded systems, and seam-tracking algorithms, and co-led electrical wiring and assembly. The mechanical design originated with the project lead.
  • Developed and tested control software using TMS320F240 DSP (dSPACE); transitioned to Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 and NXP ARM S32K144 MCU for final implementation.
  • Derived the full kinematic and dynamic model — Denavit–Hartenberg forward kinematics, analytical Jacobian, workspace analysis, and closed-form inverse kinematics solved two independent ways and cross-verified in Simulink.
  • Formulated rigid-body dynamics by the Lagrangian method with inertia tensors extracted from SolidWorks, and used the model to design and tune a computed-torque controller benchmarked against an independent-joint PI speed controller.
  • Prototyped on dSPACE with Hardware-in-the-Loop testing via Simulink, then migrated to a portable MPU/MCU architecture — Raspberry Pi CM4 for laser processing and NXP S32K144 for real-time motor control, linked over SPI.
  • Built the motor drive stage: BTS 7960 dual H-bridge drivers for six DC arm axes (43 A, PWM speed and direction, current-alarm handling) and a SOLO UNO v2 controller for the BLDC rotation axis.
  • Integrated a Wenglor weCat3D MLSL143 3D profile laser sensor over raw TCP/IP sockets — ASCII command handshake, encoder-mode scanning, and unpacking of FPGA-packed binary profile frames in Python — feeding a real-time seam-tracking loop.
  • Achieved measured closed-loop accuracy of ±0.13 cm in height control and 0.4° in rotation; validated seam tracking and multi-pass welding emulation experimentally.
  • Applied K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithms for point-cloud filtering and enhanced edge detection using piecewise-linear fitting with differential evolution optimization.
  • Designed a trajectory-based control system for smooth, jerk-free robotic motion leveraging advanced motion planning techniques.
  • Developed a responsive FreeMaster HMI interface (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON-RPC) for real-time robot control and MCU parameter tuning.

Skills

C++PythonROS2Raspberry Pi CM4NXP S32K144TMS320F240 DSPdSPACE / HILSimulinkMATLABDH KinematicsLagrangian DynamicsComputed-Torque ControlTrajectory GenerationSPITCP/IPKNNDifferential Evolution3D Profile Laser SensingJSON-RPCOpenCV

Leadership

Teaching Assistant — Mechatronics & Robotics

Simon Fraser University

Sep 2022 - Dec 2024Surrey, BC

Highlights

  • Designed and introduced lab and lecture materials for Mechatronics Design Studio (MSE 112), utilizing a robot kit with Mecanum wheels, a 4-DOF robotic arm, Raspberry Pi 5, and an MCU-based expansion board.
  • Supervised and guided students in experiments involving motors, motor drivers, waveform generators, oscilloscopes, and power supplies.
  • Facilitated use of Simulink, LabVIEW, Python, and C++ for real-time simulation and embedded systems programming.
  • Provided technical mentorship to students, assisting with lab projects, debugging code, and resolving hardware issues.

Skills

TeachingSimulinkLabVIEWPythonC++MechatronicsMentoringCurriculum Design

Education

PhD student, Mechatronic Systems Engineering

Simon Fraser University

Jan 2026 - PresentBurnaby, BC

Highlights

  • Research focus: Physical AI and robotic welding systems, in collaboration with BCIT's Centre for Welding Technologies and Metallurgy Research.
  • Qualifying exam in progress. Awarded the PhD Research Scholarship for Spring and Summer 2026.

Skills

Physical AIRobotic WeldingLLM/VLM AgentsResearch

Master of Applied Science (MASc), Mechatronic Systems Engineering

Simon Fraser University

May 2022 - Jun 2025Burnaby, BC

Highlights

  • Thesis: Development of an In-Pipe Welding Robotic Arm for Seam Tracking and Multi-pass Welding (completed December 2024, degree conferred June 2025).
  • GPA 4.17 / 4.30.
  • Awarded SFU Graduate Fellowship (2023 and 2024) and the SFU Graduate Entrance Scholarship (2022).
  • Relevant coursework: CMPT 726 Machine Learning; CMPT 983 Trustworthy Deep Learning.

Skills

RoboticsControl SystemsEmbedded SystemsMachine Learning

Graduate coursework — Robotics, Automation and Industrial Control

Concordia University

Aug 2021 - May 2022Montreal, QC

Highlights

  • Graduate coursework in industrial control systems and robotics; 6 credits (MECH 6621 Microprocessors & Applications, MECH 6021 Design of Industrial Control Systems) transferred into the SFU MASc. Not a completed degree.
  • Also completed ENGR 6411 Robot Mechanics and MECH 6631 Industrial Automation.

Skills

Industrial ControlMicroprocessorsRobot Mechanics

BSc, Mechanical Engineering

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

Feb 2017 - Aug 2021Daejeon, South Korea

Highlights

  • Full KAIST Scholarship recipient (2017).
  • Relevant coursework: ME440 Engineering Design via FEM; ME460 Automatic Control; ME491/492 Autonomous Mobile Systems; CoE202 Big Data Analysis & Machine Learning.

Skills

Mechanical DesignFEMAutomatic ControlAutonomous Systems