Vlad Bogdan, Developer in Brussels, Belgium
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Vlad Bogdan

Verified Expert  in Engineering

Software Developer

Location
Brussels, Belgium
Toptal Member Since
August 13, 2019

Vlad is a seasoned software engineer with over eight years of experience using various programming languages and technologies. The bulk of his work has been with mobile development and he's at ease working with mobile platforms and embedded systems using Java, Objective-C, Swift, and C. Vlad also brings to the table fantastic communication and management skills along with a customer-oriented attitude.

Portfolio

Fitbit
Bluetooth LE, ELK (Elastic Stack), Docker, Node.js, JavaScript, Python, C...
Vector Watch
ARM, Objective-C, Swift, C
Clever Taxi
HTTP, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), Objective-C

Experience

Availability

Part-time

Preferred Environment

Vim Text Editor, Visual Studio, Xcode, Git, MacOS

The most amazing...

...project that I’ve been a part of was Vector Watch; we built a smartwatch with 30-day battery and a complete set of features. It was later acquired by Fitbit.

Work Experience

Staff Engineer

2017 - 2019
Fitbit
  • Worked on the Fitbit SDK project (the iOS mobile app portion).
  • Developed the Bluetooth Low Energy communication layer between devices and mobile app.
  • Helped grow the Bucharest team from five to more than 20 mobile engineers by interviewing, onboarding, and mentoring new team members.
  • Worked with various protocols, e.g, BLE, IP, UDP, TCP, DTLS, and TLS.
  • Built an integration test framework to validate the transport layer.
  • Prototyped diagnostics infrastructure to catch problems in production faster.
  • Intensively worked with various frameworks and technologies: RxSwift, PromiseKit, Quick, Nimble, Jenkins, linters, ELK, and Docker.
  • Played a key role in solving the iOS mobile app's performance issues.
Technologies: Bluetooth LE, ELK (Elastic Stack), Docker, Node.js, JavaScript, Python, C, Objective-C, Swift

Lead Software Engineer

2015 - 2016
Vector Watch
  • Developed modules for the smartwatch’s operating system; this included the screen driver, Bluetooth driver, application management module, and more.
  • Worked with SPI, I2C, serial communication interfaces and with DMA system.
  • Implemented extremely efficient algorithms in order to minimize power consumption.
  • Interacted with different communication protocols over BLE, e.g., iOS ANCS.
  • Implemented a set of efficient algorithms for the screen driver that was eventually patented (Patents.justia.com/patent/9891595).
  • Built a low-level crash report system for the smartwatch's operating system and mobile platforms. This helped with debugging and finding various bug fixes.
  • Composed unit tests for every module implemented.
  • Built the system's architecture.
  • Actively involved in the development procedure design (Git workflow, Jira, releases, and more).
  • Performed code reviews for each of the three mobile platforms iOS, Android, Windows Phone; also encourage the teams to create quality code.
  • Recruited and retained talented people; also supervised the development process of my team.
Technologies: ARM, Objective-C, Swift, C

iOS Mobile Engineer

2013 - 2014
Clever Taxi
  • Designed and implemented an iOS application.
  • Implemented local data storage using the SQLite database.
  • Determined the user location and Maps SDK for the using Core Location framework.
  • Used Google Places and other location-based APIs.
  • Implemented TCP Sockets to efficiently communicate with the server.
Technologies: HTTP, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), Objective-C

iOS Mobile Engineer

2012 - 2013
iRewind
  • Used RTSP protocol to get a stream of data from an Axis camera.
  • Implemented a prototype for the system to prove that it is feasible.
  • Integrated an FFmpeg library into the iOS mobile application to manipulate the videos.
  • Communicated with the server using the REST API.
  • Used AVFoundation framework to play and edit the videos.
  • Submitted the application to the App Store and managed the iTunes Connect account.
  • Found innovative solutions to optimize the applications as much as possible as they were very power-intensive.
  • Used Core Data to save some of user's data locally.
Technologies: FFmpeg, C, Objective-C

Mobile Engineer Contractor

2012 - 2012
Arnia Software
  • Created the iOS and Android applications for an existent content management system.
  • Implemented the API for the content management system server.
  • Fixed bugs in the existing PHP code of the content management system.
Technologies: PHP, Objective-C, Java

Fitbit SDK

https://dev.fitbit.com
Using JavaScript, CSS, and SVG, developers can quickly build apps and clock faces for the Fitbit OS using the Fitbit SDK. I had the opportunity to be part of the team that was responsible for making this platform.

IP Workshop Summer School

http://www.ipworkshop.ro
IP Workshop is an NGO that organizes different workshops and courses for students. I am the Vice President of this NGO and I taught and held presentations on different topics, such as web technologies, firmware programming, and mobile development.

Bluetooth Low Energy for Starters at CocoaHeads Bucharest

https://github.com/CocoaHeadsBucharest/Event-Material/blob/master/2018-03-05/BluetoothLowEnergyForStarters/BLE.pdf
This is a presentation about the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol for a CocoaHeads meeting in Bucharest.

Systems and Methods for Operating an Energy-efficient Display

https://patents.justia.com/patent/9891595
In this patent, the described systems and methods minimize energy use and increase the battery life of a wearable device such as a smartwatch by optimizing the way an image displayed to the user is updated in response to an event.

In some embodiments, an image of each display object—e.g., clock hand, text, weather symbol, fitness icon—is individually stored in an image cache, such as a processor register or a separate section of memory.

A new, updated on-screen image is computed dynamically, by combining cached images of the respective display objects. When the appearance of a current display object must change in response to the event, an updated image of the respective object is cached for future use.

Languages

Swift, Objective-C, Python, C, Java, PHP, JavaScript

Frameworks

Core Location, Core Bluetooth, Core Data

Libraries/APIs

PromiseKit, RxSwift, Node.js, REST APIs, FFmpeg

Tools

Xcode, Git, Crashlytics, Jenkins, Visual Studio, Vim Text Editor, ELK (Elastic Stack), Photoshop CS6

Paradigms

Agile Software Development, Unit Testing, Concurrent Programming, Functional Programming, Continuous Integration (CI)

Platforms

iOS, MacOS, Docker, Bluetooth LE, Android

Storage

MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB

Other

Lint, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), HTTP, ARM

2011 - 2015

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

University Politehnica of Bucharest - Bucharest, Romania

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