Luka K.

Luka Knežević – Hardware Engineer & PCB Designer I am a highly experienced Hardware Developer and PCB Designer with over 5 years of professional engineering experience and more than 50 successfully completed projects ranging from low-power embedded systems to multi-kilowatt power electronics. My background spans high-performance LED drivers, motor control, energy systems, wearable devices, medical devices, NFC solutions, industrial controllers, and advanced multi-layer PCB design. I have deep experience in designing reliable, production-ready hardware using modern MCUs (ESP32, STM32, PIC, TI, C2000, Spartan 7 (AMD)), high-power topologies, battery systems, and a wide range of communication protocols. My lab is fully equipped for prototyping, testing, and validation, including oscilloscope work, precision measurements, firmware bring-up, and full board bring-up. ________________________________________ Professional Background • 5+ years of hardware engineering experience • 50+ completed projects, including: o Buck, boost, flyback, and PFC buck converters o BMS systems (1–16 cells) o E-bike inverter, motor control boards, motor drivers o E-bike chargers and high-efficiency power supplies o Nanosatellite power supply modules o Wearable devices (ultra low power + haptics + sensors) o Medical devices (Class A/B prototyping) o Industrial control cards (TI, ESP32, STM32, C2000, Spartan 7 (AMD)) o Wireless systems (BLE, Wi-Fi, LoRa, NFC) o Toys and consumer electronics o Rigid and rigid flex PCBs (2–16 layers) o Screen sterilization system controllers I have designed boards ranging from 1 to 16 layers, including rigid flex adapters, ultra compact wearable PCBs, motor control boards, high voltage/current power stages (up to 3 kW), and RF capable layouts. ________________________________________ Technical Expertise Hardware & Power Electronics • Topology selection: buck, boost, flyback, SEPIC, PFC buck, forward, synchronous drivers • Wide range power design up to 3 kW, switching frequencies up to 200 kHz • Battery systems: BMS, balancing, charging, MOSFET drivers • Motor control drivers (BLDC, brushed DC, E bike) PCB Design • Professional PCB layout using: o Altium Designer (primary) o KiCad, OrCAD, PCAD, EasyEDA • High density, mixed signal, high current, HV, and EMC safe design • Rigid flex, flex adapters, microcontroller modules, RF layouts • Full DFM/DFT optimization for production Communication Protocols • CAN, I²C, SPI, UART, RS485 • Bluetooth, Wi Fi, BLE Mesh, ESP NOW, LoRa • Ethernet LWIP, NFC, custom short-range communication Software & Simulation • MATLAB, Simulink, PSpice • LTspice, TINA, Altium simulations • Firmware bring up (ESP-IDF, STM32 HAL, Arduino) Prototyping & Testing • Soldering, rework, fault analysis • Gate driver tuning, feedback loop stabilization • Load testing, thermal evaluation, EMC preparation ________________________________________ Achievements • 1st Place – IFEC 2019 (E-bike drive) • 2nd Place – IFEC 2020 (Nanosatellite power supply) — Team Leader & Hardware Lead • Former CTO of a hardware startup (2 years) • Project Manager for solar power plant automation (1 year) • Over 50 projects and 1300+ billable hours on Upwork ________________________________________ Notable Project Types • Screen sterilization controllers (UV / chemical) • Wearable devices (IMU + LRA haptics + battery optimization) • Medical device prototyping • Power supplies (industrial, consumer, nanosatellite grade) • Custom rigid flex boards & adapters • NFC-triggered activation devices • Motor control & drive boards ________________________________________ Let’s Work Together Best regards, Luka Knežević