Experience

My engineering work spans robot product architecture, hard real-time control, perception and manipulation, research prototypes and factory deployment.

Nov. 2019–Jan. 2022
Metzingen, Germany

NEURA Robotics

Founding Engineer / Group Leader, AI for Manipulation

As the AI team’s first software engineer, I independently built MAiRA’s perception–manipulation architecture and was promoted to group leader in September 2021.

  • Architecture: designed C++/ROS libraries, device drivers and communication interfaces for AI-enabled robot applications.
  • Hard real-time control: developed Xenomai/Orocos RTT tasks and actuator communication over SOEM EtherCAT.
  • Perception and manipulation: built selective pick-and-place using semantic segmentation and depth fusion; integrated voice and gesture commands.
  • Sensor fusion: developed real-time 3D human pose tracking and collision avoidance from RGB, depth and radar.
  • Leadership: became group leader for AI for Manipulation with hiring responsibility.
MAiRA voice-controlled pick-and-place previewVoice-controlled pick-and-placeMAiRA tic-tac-toe video previewRobot tic-tac-toeSafe human-detection video previewSafe human detection
July 2015–Oct. 2019
Bremen, Germany

DFKI Robotics Innovation Centre

Researcher, Robot Manipulation and Control

  • NeTTUN: solely responsible for modeling, control, communication and teleoperation of a tunnel-boring maintenance manipulator.
  • Trajectory generation: independently developed synchronized, multi-point, jerk-limited trajectories for high-DoF systems with configurable kinematic constraints.
  • Hybr-iT: developed motion planning and arm trajectory generation for mobile manipulation with the MobiPick robot system.
  • TransFit: developed reactive grasping and upper-limb motion planning for the RH5 humanoid.
  • iLEVATOR: led DFKI’s contribution, including budget, procurement and project reporting; the mobile bin-picking system was tested and deployed at the end user’s factory.
Hybr-iT / MobiPick system
MobiPick system demonstration previewMobiPick system demonstrationNeTTUN manipulator video previewNeTTUN manipulator demonstration
June 2014–Feb. 2015
Oberpfaffenhofen

DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics

MSc Thesis Researcher, Shared Autonomy

Developed adaptive shared autonomy for assistive grasping, combining automatic grasp selection with user-controlled approach direction and virtual-fixture guidance. Validated the method in full-dynamics simulation, a user study and on a real robot; the work led to an ICRA 2016 paper.

Sept. 2008–Sept. 2012
Thane, India

Siemens Ltd

Engineering and Commissioning / Senior Executive

Developed AC/DC drive controls and PLC/HMI software, commissioned industrial machinery, tuned control loops and optimized machine logic. Managed technical interfaces among clients, consultants and vendors.