Nickolai Belakovski
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Nickolai D. Belakovski
107 S Mary Ave Apt 154, Sunnyvale, CA, 94086  - nbelakovski@gmail.com – (908) 635-1615

Education
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN                                                       Graduated Dec. 2011                    Overall GPA: 3.67/4.00
Bachelors degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering                                                                                 GPA: 3.81/4.00
Bachelors degree in Mathematics                                                                                                                                 GPA: 3.59/4.00

Skills
Programming (C/C++, Javascript, Python, Bash, MATLAB, FORTRAN, SVN, Git), Mechanical design and solid modelling (CATIA, NX, Inventor), 3D printing

Publications
"The little-known Soviet mission to rescue a dead space station" ArsTechnica. Sept 2014. 450,000+ page views. http://bit.ly/ZvjyR0

Work/Project Experience
Software/Firmware Engineer - Tesla Motors - Advanced Driver Assistance Systems - May 2015 to Present
  • Developed a Python regression testing framework on top of an existing C++ Software-In-Loop (SiL) system and integrated it with Jenkins and Stash (similar to Github) in order to provide immediate results to developers
  • ​Developed reference implementations for the regression testing framework and worked with developers to help them understand how they could use the tools to speed up their iteration process
  • Improved existing torque-based hands-on-wheel detection by diving down into the data, developing on-the-fly calibration algorithms in C, and doing statistical analysis of those algorithms from fleet data before deployment
  • Re-architected the core C++ simulation tools in order to remove dependencies on Driver Assistance and make the tools more available to other groups. This involves code refactoring and reorganization, and reworking build scripts
  • Supported bringup of a new hardware platform by writing the integration layer between the new platform’s firmware and our existing simulator. This involved working with various IPCs like POSIX messages queues and shared memory
  • Integrated an OpenGrok instance to index our main repositories and provide a fast and convenient way of searching through code. This involved learning about OpenGrok’s setup as well as some shell scripting and cron jobs

Financial Software Developer - Bloomberg LP - June 2012 to April 2015
  • Developed, implemented, and deployed new storage system and retrieval APIs for municipal bond credit ratings using SQL databases, multithreaded C++ applications, SVN and Git repositories, and Python and Unix shell scripting
  • Furthered the development of Bloomberg 2 by upgrading existing, high visibility, Javascript-based “web pages” to the new standard and documenting problems with the functionality to be resolved before ultimately releasing to clients
  • Led the machine selection and layout of the Bloomberg Robotics Workshop - a fabrication facility for teaching students about manufacturing and mechanical design as well as providing tools for them to work on their FIRST robots
Mentor - FIRST Robotics Competition - Team 1660 Harlem Knights - January 2014 to April 2014
  • Taught high school students to use CAD, 3D printers, various hand tools, and various manufacturing and assembly techniques
  • Created a high fidelity CAD model of the launcher mechanism and conducted FEA simulation in order to demonstrate CAE
  • Built high fidelity trajectory model in MATLAB in order to showcase a possible “break the game” strategy
Machinist/Instructor - Artisan and Fabrication Lab - September 2011 to May 2012
  • Operated and taught clients to operate CNC mills and CNC lathes in manual mode and using G-code, often achieving tolerances of up to +/-0.001”, in addition to waterjet and various other machinery
  • Brainstormed designs for a tool to facilitate installation and removal of heavy assemblies in CNC mills. Ideas included building it from scratch and modifying an engine hoist
  • Designed/modeled the necessary modifications in Autodesk Inventor and used the model for an FEA structural analysis in Autodesk, in addition to hand calculations for beam deflection
  • Built the hardware for the modifications using shop resources, an did the final integration
Designer/Builder/Operator ­ Project HAL ­ Personal project, effective dates: November 2010 ­ May 2012
  • High Altitude Launch ­ goal was to launch a high power rocket from a high altitude balloon in order to gain hands on project experience and return some really cool photos
  • Designed and integrated all electronics and performed extensive ground testing
  • Successfully launched and retrieved TWO high altitude balloons. Pictures and story on www.nickolai.me/flights.html
  • Successfully obtained level 1 high power certification from National Association of Rocketry with a kit­built rocket and later attempted level 2 certification with a custom design. Also designed the high altitude rocket and completed partial manufacture
Falcon/Dragon Propulsion Systems Intern - SpaceX - May 2010 to August 2010
  • Responsible for ensuring the completeness of documentation regarding the quality of welds of plumbing carrying toxic propellants on board Dragon spacecraft propulsion systems
  • Revised the documentation to improve workflow for future builds, in addition to developing a process flowchart to aid technicians and quality engineers understand steps needed to properly document their work. Effectively reduced time spent on documentation from weeks to days
  • Designed tooling for Dragon construction in NX 6.0 including a bulkhead simulator and a valve simulator, to allow for certain welds to be accomplished without waiting for long-lead time valves, and allow certain build up tasks to occur without having to stress flight hardware. Made proper GD&T drawings for all designs

Hobbies
Rock climbing, alpine skiing,  hackerspaces, entrepreneurism, 3D printing, space advocacy, autonomous cars
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