I’m Alexis, a firmware engineer at Supernal working on energy storage systems for electric aircraft. I like figuring out how things work, solving problems, and above all, learning as much as I can. I’m passionate about Linux (Arch Nix btw), embedded systems, computer architecture, and robotics, and in my free time I’m probably playing guitar or out biking somewhere.
Firmware Engineer, Battery Management Systems (March 2024 - Present)
At Supernal, I’m developing safety-critical software for electric aviation battery management systems. Here I’ve worked with ARM Cortex-R5 and Cortex-M7 processors, writing core drivers and application logic that form the foundation of the BMS. This includes low-level drivers (CAN, I2C, SPI, UART), contactor control for high-voltage switching, cell- and pack-level data acquisition, and deterministic scheduling with hard real-time constraints on both RTOS and bare-metal systems. I’m also responsible for decomposing system-level requirements into actionable software specs, maintaining full traceability throughout development and testing.
Additionally, I built a Python-based tool that interfaces with the BMS over CAN/UART to support debugging, testing, and system monitoring. This tool provides critical visibility into system performance and enables rapid troubleshooting. It’s also used for formal requirements-based verification and validation of the BMS software system.
Algorithm Software Engineer, Energy Management System (November 2023 - March 2024)
Before I transitioned to a firmware role, I worked on the Algorithms & Controls team authoring requirements for energy storage system fault diagnostics, collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure full system coverage. To streamline testing and validation of diagnostics, I developed an automated testing and reporting framework for our model-based aircraft simulation system using MATLAB/Simulink, Python, and LaTeX, cutting verification and validation time by over 70%.
Ground Software Engineer Intern (June - December 2020; June - August 2021)
I interned at Maxar twice during undergrad. My primary project was automating the daily verification of telemetry for 90+ spacecraft, eliminating up to 1.5 hours of manual checks each day. I also conducted unit tests for command and telemetry processing, ensuring smooth software releases. Along the way, I gained hands-on experience with agile development, contributing to efficient project management and iterative development.
At UCSC, I earned my Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering with a concentration in digital hardware. For the majority of my time there, I worked as a tutor/grader for various courses, including: