A few words about me

My name is Jakub Rakus. I'm an embedded software developer and electronic engineer based in Lower Silesia, Poland. I have 14 years of a professional experience in various areas like sensors, programmable controllers, energy meters, high voltage power converters, IoT devices with cloud connectivity and semiconductor manufacturing. I have BSc degree in Electrical Engineering and MSc degree in Electronics and Telecommunication.

In my professional career I've been working for several companies, huge, middle and small ones, operating in various industries such as railway rolling stock, energy infrastructure automation, passenger information systems, gas appliances, IoT and semiconductors. Every of these sectors has its own specific needs, e.g. safety and reliability are critical in devices used in railway, while manufacturing costs and time-to-market are the most important factors in smart home appliances. Thanks to these various experiences I've gained an ability to solve design problems taking care of everyone's needs. But do not trust marketers, ideal devices do not exist - good, fast, cheap, you can pick only two options!

In most of my professional projects I was responsible for the whole process of electronic devices development. I was involved in all activities needed to deliver a market ready product: gathering requirements, drawing schematics, PCB design, hardware tests, writing firmware, legal approvals and creating documentation. In recent years however I moved more into software development, mainly using C programming language. I also do some programming in Ada and Python.

Electronics and coding are also my passion. In my spare time I make many side projects for my own needs or for my friends. Especially I love to tinker with an audio equipment and vacuum tubes: old radios, turntables, amplifiers, speakers etc. But I'm not an audiophile, I don't believe that wires can "play".

My non-electronic activities include mainly woodworking and house renovation - for a few years I've lived in very old cottage house and I've been slowly restoring it. Because I'd like to do as many things as possible by myself, it was quite unavoidable to gain a knowledge about making various objects from wood. And to be honest I found it a very appeasing activity and a source of strong relief, especially after hours spent fighting with computers.