Saban is available for hire

Saban Kocal

Verified Expert in Engineering

FPGA Engineer and Embedded Software Developer

Witten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Toptal member since May 31, 2023

Expertise

Embedded Software Multithreading FPGA Embedded Systems Firmware C Windows C++Verilog VHDL Embedded Linux Linux C#Python Software Development STM32

Bio

Saban, an Embedded Software & FPGA Engineer since 2005, specializes in systems with FPGA, ADC, and DAC. He excels in Embedded Linux, Yocto-based Petalinux, and Bare Metal (No-OS) CPUs. Saban develops robust software solutions and is proficient in C and Modern C++ (11, 14, 17). His FPGA expertise extends to Verilog and VHDL, including simulation. Saban possesses deep knowledge of communication protocols such as PCIe, SFP+, I2C, SPI, JTAG, UART, and 1-Wire.

Portfolio

Raith GmbH

C++, C, C#, Verilog, VHDL, Embedded Linux, Communication Protocols...

Era Instruments

C, C#, FPGA, Verilog, VHDL, Kintex Ultrascale, Xilinx Vivado...

TUBITAK

C, C#, SQL Server 2008, .NET, FPGA, Verilog, VHDL, Jira, Jenkins, TestComplete...

Experience

Embedded Software - 15 years Hardware - 11 years C - 10 years Multithreading - 10 years Verilog - 8 years C++ - 8 years Embedded Linux - 6 years Realtime - 4 years

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Xilinx Vivado, C, C++, Verilog, VHDL, C#, Yocto, Embedded Linux, Hardware

The most amazing...

...embedded system I've built from scratch involves ZYNQ, Spartan-7 FPGAs; C, C++ on Bare Metal, and Petalinux CPUs.

Work Experience

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. Some were PCI-e, SPI, I²C, 1-Wire, SPF+, JTAG, UART.

Technologies: C++, C, C#, Verilog, VHDL, Embedded Linux, Communication Protocols, Multithreading, Realtime, 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

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

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

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

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.

Education

1999 - 2005

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering

Istanbul University - Istanbul, Turkey

Certifications

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 - MARCH 2007

CCNA

Cisco

Skills

Tools

Eclipse IDE, Jira, Jenkins, Git

Languages

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

Paradigms

Object-oriented Programming (OOP), Best Practices, Design Patterns

Platforms

Windows, STM32, Embedded Linux, Software Design Patterns, Linux, TestComplete

Frameworks

Realtime, .NET

Storage

SQL Server 2008

Other

Communication Protocols, Multithreading, Direct Memory Access (DMA), FPGA, Embedded Systems, Embedded Software, Firmware, Low-level Programming, Optimization, Microcontrollers, STM32F4, Microprocessors, Xilinx Vivado, Hardware, Software Development, Kintex Ultrascale, Digital-to-analog Converters (DAC), Oscilloscopes & Tester Equipment, IT Project Management, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Real-time Operating System (RTOS)

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