Saban Kocal, Developer in Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
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Saban Kocal

Verified Expert  in Engineering

FPGA Engineer and Embedded Software Developer

Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Toptal member since May 31, 2023

Expertise
Software DevelopmentEmbedded Software EngineeringMultithreadingFPGAEmbedded Systems EngineeringFirmwareARMRTOSBluetoothCC#GitWindows DevelopmentVerilog
Bio

Saban is an embedded software engineer who has specialized in microcontroller units (MCU), C, and C++ since 2005. He has extensive experience working with microcontroller-based systems, including STM32, ESP32, Nordic nRF, TI MSP, Arduino, and FPGA. He is highly skilled in embedded Linux—FreeRTOS, Zephyr, and PetaLinux—and bare metal (no-OS) environments. Saban's in-depth expertise spans communication protocols and device drivers, including I2C, SPI, JTAG, UART, Modbus, PCIe, SFP+, and 1-Wire.

Portfolio

Neros Technologies
Embedded C, Verilog, FPGA, ARM Embedded, Xilinx Vivado, Zynq-7000...
Bytec Med GmbH
ARM Embedded, C, C++, Real-time Operating System (RTOS), FreeRTOS, Zephyr, WiFi...
Raith GmbH
C++, C, C#, Verilog, VHDL, Embedded Linux, Communication Protocols...

Experience

  • Embedded Software - 15 years
  • C - 15 years
  • Hardware - 11 years
  • Multithreading - 10 years
  • C++ - 8 years
  • Verilog - 8 years
  • Embedded Linux - 6 years
  • Real-time Data - 4 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

C, C++, Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Communication Protocols, I2C, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), ESP32, STM32, Nordic Semiconductor, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

The most amazing...

...thing I've built from scratch is an embedded system that includes Zynq and Spartan-7 FPGAs, C and C++ on bare metal, and PetaLinux CPUs.

Work Experience

Embedded Software & FPGA Developer

2024 - 2025
Neros Technologies
  • Developed drivers for TI MSPM0 microcontrollers, Zynq FPGAs, modulators, demodulators, synthesizers, analog-to-digital converters (ADC), and 16- and 8-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC).
  • Implemented device drivers using I2C, SPI, and UART.
  • Debugged hardware issues using personal electronic lab equipment and implemented PCB fixes.
  • Utilized Notion for bug tracking, task management, and documentation.
  • Mentored a sub-team in software development on device driver implementation and facilitated daily standups.
Technologies: Embedded C, Verilog, FPGA, ARM Embedded, Xilinx Vivado, Zynq-7000, Arm Cortex-M0, VHDL, MATLAB, Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), I2C, Microprocessors, Eclipse IDE, Windows, Embedded Software, Git, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Embedded Systems, Software Development, Communication Protocols, Real-time Data, Embedded Linux, C, Sensor Data, ARM-based hardware, Serial Communication, Embedded Development, State Machines, RF Communication, Networks, Networking, IT Networking, ARM Architecture, MCU, ARM, Embedded Hardware, ARM SoC, RTL

Embedded Software Engineer

2023 - 2024
Bytec Med GmbH
  • Developed a urologic irrigation device (IoT project).
  • Worked on a device that took measurements from sensors such as load cells, color sensors, and accelerometers, processed them, and sent them to the cloud via Wi-Fi.
  • Implemented Bluetooth low-energy communication between ESP32-C6 and nRF52840 for two independent parts of the device.
  • Implemented various control loop algorithms for a hyperbaric "Blood Oxygenation Device Prototype" to control O2, CO2, blood pressure, and flow rate of the blood by using sensors such as flow and bubble sensors and controlled actuators such as valves and pumps.
Technologies: ARM Embedded, C, C++, Real-time Operating System (RTOS), FreeRTOS, Zephyr, WiFi, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), ESP32, Nordic nRF52, Cloud, Wi-Fi 6, I2C, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), STM32, Microprocessors, Windows, Embedded Software, Git, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Embedded Systems, Software Development, Communication Protocols, Real-time Data, Embedded Linux, MQTT, Sensor Data, ARM-based hardware, Embedded C++, Serial Communication, Embedded Development, State Machines, Bluetooth, IoT Security, wireless network, Networking, IT Networking, ARM Architecture, MCU, ARM, Embedded Hardware, RISC-V, ARM SoC, SystemC

Embedded Software & FPGA Engineer

2019 - 2023
Raith GmbH
  • Developed an embedded device from scratch as ZYNQ SoM communicates with Bare Metal and Yocto-based Embedded Linux.
  • Created a DMA Transfer mechanism from ZYNQ to Embedded Linux to C# GUI on PC without data loss.
  • Designed and developed own Chip2Chip communication protocol between ZYNQ and Spartan FPGAs.
  • Developed and used numerous protocols on FPGA and embedded Linux, including PCIe, SPI, I2C, 1-Wire, SPF+, JTAG, and UART.
Technologies: C++, C, C#, Verilog, VHDL, Embedded Linux, Communication Protocols, Multithreading, Real-time Data, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Xilinx Vivado, FPGA, Embedded Systems, Firmware, Low-level Programming, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Optimization, Best Practices, STM32, Eclipse IDE, Microcontrollers, STM32F4, Embedded C, Microprocessors, Real-time Operating System (RTOS), Python, Linux, ARM Embedded, Zynq-7000, Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), I2C, Windows, Embedded Software, Git, Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Software Development, Desktop App Development, Sensor Data, ARM-based hardware, Embedded C++, Serial Communication, Embedded Development, State Machines, Yocto, Networks, ARM Architecture, MCU, ARM, Embedded Hardware, RTL

Embedded Software & FPGA Engineer

2016 - 2017
Era Instruments
  • Designed and developed the software and FPGA portions of the two systems below on Linux.
  • Assisted in the creation of the Signal Intelligence System designed to collect ELINT and COMINT signals.
  • Expanded the Direction Finding System: Added DMA transfer capability over PCI-e (3.0 x8) bus. Updated the entire FPGA portion of the project according to DMA transfer over PCI-e. Modified also the Linux Device Drivers.
  • Devised communication protocols with PCI-e (3.0 x8), 10Gb, 1Gb, 100Mb, Ethernet, and UART. Used FPGA-related products such as Verilog, VHDL, DMA Transfer, JESD204, TCL, and Microblaze Linux.
Technologies: C, C#, FPGA, Verilog, VHDL, Kintex Ultrascale, Xilinx Vivado, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Multithreading, Embedded Systems, Firmware, Low-level Programming, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Optimization, Best Practices, Eclipse IDE, Microcontrollers, Embedded C, Microprocessors, Linux, Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), I2C, Windows, Embedded Software, Git, Software Development, Communication Protocols, Real-time Data, Embedded Linux, Desktop App Development, ARM-based hardware, Serial Communication, Embedded Development, State Machines, RF Communication, Networks, Networking, IT Networking, ARM Architecture, MCU, ARM, Embedded Hardware, RTL

Embedded Software Engineer

2012 - 2016
TUBITAK
  • Developed various military projects about COMINT and ELINT (Signal Intelligence).
  • Designed and implemented the National Emitter Database (SQL Server 2012) with 40 relational tables.
  • Utilized communication protocols such as PCIe, 1Gb and 100Mb Ethernet, and UART. Recorded and replayed data to and from raid systems, Linux device drivers, and multithreading with C#, C++, and C.
Technologies: C, C#, SQL Server 2008, .NET, FPGA, Verilog, VHDL, Jira, Jenkins, TestComplete, Git, Embedded Systems, Firmware, Low-level Programming, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Optimization, Best Practices, Embedded C, Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Windows, Embedded Software, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Software Development, Communication Protocols, Embedded Linux, Desktop App Development, Embedded C++, Embedded Development, State Machines, RF Communication, ARM Architecture, DSP, Embedded Hardware, RTL

Senior Software Developer

2009 - 2012
Turkey Finans
  • Developed various loan and credit software using n-tier architecture.
  • Implemented projects with approximately 90 software developers.
  • Served as project manager and used TFS as source control.
Technologies: C#, .NET, SQL Server 2008, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), VB, Software Design Patterns, Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Best Practices, Software Development, Communication Protocols, Desktop App Development

Experience

Motor Control (Nanometer Scale)

https://raith.com/
A Xilinx System-on-Module (SoM) controls the device I developed entirely from scratch. My responsibilities included implementing a C++ application on Yocto-based Embedded Linux, a C application on Bare Metal, and Verilog designs on Vivado. Our design incorporates a ZYNQ FPGA as the main FPGA and Spartan-7 FPGAs as sub-FPGAs.

Additionally, I created my own communication system as an alternative to Xilinx's Chip2Chip IP Core. Most of the system operates in real-time at a frequency of 50 kHz. It's worth noting that our device operates at the nanometer/Angstrom scale, highlighting its exceptional precision.

GPS Tracker for Cats

We developed and programmed a prototype tracker for a client to demonstrate their concept. My colleague designed the PCB and assembled it in-house. Initially, we used the Nordic nRF9160-DK evaluation board, then transitioned to creating our own custom PCB featuring the nRF9160 chip. I handled the programming, enabling the device to collect location data via GPS and LTE antennas and send it to the Nordic Cloud. This setup allows us to monitor location and sensor data in real time on the cloud platform. The entire project was completed in six weeks.

Education

1999 - 2005

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering

Istanbul University - Istanbul, Turkey

Certifications

FEBRUARY 2025 - PRESENT

Bluetooth Low Energy Fundamentals

Nordic Semiconductor

JUNE 2022 - PRESENT

C++

CSD

DECEMBER 2013 - PRESENT

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Istanbul Kurumsal Gelisim

JUNE 2012 - PRESENT

Enterprise Design Pattern & Architectures

Bt Akademi

MARCH 2003 - PRESENT

CCNA

Cisco

Skills

Libraries/APIs

SystemC

Tools

Git, Eclipse IDE, Zephyr, MQTT, Jira, Jenkins, MATLAB, Microsoft Project

Languages

C, C++, Verilog, C#, VHDL, Embedded C, Embedded C++, VB, Python

Paradigms

Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Best Practices, Desktop App Development, Design Patterns, RISC-V

Platforms

Embedded Linux, Windows, STM32, Bluetooth Low Energy (LE), Software Design Patterns, Linux, TestComplete

Frameworks

.NET, Blend4Web

Storage

SQL Server 2008

Industry Expertise

Telecommunications

Other

Communication Protocols, Multithreading, Direct Memory Access (DMA), FPGA, Software Development, Embedded Systems, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, Embedded Software, Firmware, Low-level Programming, Optimization, Microcontrollers, STM32F4, Microprocessors, Real-time Operating System (RTOS), ARM Embedded, Zynq-7000, ESP32, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Analog-to-digital Converters (ADC), Arm Cortex-M0, Sensor Data, ARM-based hardware, Serial Communication, Embedded Development, State Machines, Yocto, Bluetooth, RF Communication, ARM Architecture, MCU, ARM, Embedded Hardware, ARM SoC, RTL, Real-time Data, Xilinx Vivado, Hardware, FreeRTOS, Nordic nRF52, IoT Security, wireless network, Networks, Networking, IT Networking, Kintex Ultrascale, IT Project Management, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), GPS, Long-term Evolution (LTE), Nordic nRF91, nRF SDK, WiFi, Cloud, Wi-Fi 6, Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), nrf SDK, I2C, Nordic Semiconductor, Cellular Networks, Network Security, DSP, Cisco Switches, Cisco, Cisco Routers

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