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Kacper Kowalski-Senior Embedded Software Engineer / Lead Contributor

Kacper Kowalski - Senior Embedded Software Engineer / Lead Contributor - profile avatar
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Solingen, Germany

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Experience

Mar 2026 - May 2026

Author

Position Summary
Author
Industries
Media and Entertainment
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Seqnaut and Sycosm (WIP) – Embedded Audio DSP & Synthesis Platform

  • Embedded audio DSP framework — synthesizers, effects, drum machines; modular audio graph
  • Sequencing: PianoRoll, StepGrid, MasterClock; 8-voice polyphonic synth; CLI + OSC
  • Transient Detector — dual-envelope adaptive threshold, guitar attack detection
  • Hardware: Teensy 4.1, custom AFE design tapping BOSS GX-100; MIDI FX integration

Label: C++23, C, Python, CMake, FreeRTOS, Teensy 4.1 (ARM Cortex-M7), Teensy Audio (Stoffregen), DaisySP, I2S/SAI, OSC, MIDI

Jan 2025 - Mar 2026

Lead Embedded Software Developer – SIL2 Safe Human Detection System

Position Summary
Lead Embedded Software Developer – SIL2 Safe Human Detection System
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
Quality Assurance
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  • Drove firmware architecture for a multi-platform SIL2 safety-critical human detection system combining mmWave radar, thermal imaging, and human detection algorithm
  • Designed modular CMake-based build infrastructure with cross-compilation toolchains; established unified testing infrastructure (Unity + Catch2)
  • Developed safety-critical communication modules (OSSD, FSI, RS485 ring protocol); ported firmware across evaluation boards and production hardware
  • Acted as primary code reviewer, guiding architectural decisions; coordinated with hardware teams; onboarded new team members

Label: C++17, C, Python, FreeRTOS, CMake, ARM Cortex-R5F, AM64x, AM263Px, IWR6843, TI MCU+ SDK, TI mmWave SDK, Unity, Catch2, Nanopb, Protobuf, OpenCV, FSI, RS485, Docker

Jan 2024 - Oct 2024

Senior C++ / Build Systems Engineer – Build & Toolchain Optimization

Autokroma

Position Summary
Senior C++ / Build Systems Engineer – Build & Toolchain Optimization at Autokroma
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Operations
Product Development
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  • Optimized a large-scale C++ / CMake build system, reducing compilation times across local and CI environments
  • Refactored CMake configuration using target-based design and improved dependency hygiene
  • Analyzed build performance using ccache, vcperf, and pytracing

Label: C++, CMake, Ninja, ccache, vcperf, pytracing, Windows, CI/CD

Jan 2024 - Apr 2024

IoT Firmware Engineer

Position Summary
IoT Firmware Engineer
Industries
Information Technology
Transportation
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Sensorsuite – Container Monitoring Device

Label: C++20, ESP32, FreeRTOS, LoRaWAN, Satellite, CAN Bus, GNSS, NFC/RFID, Docker, GitHub Actions

Oct 2023 - Nov 2023

Author – LLVM-based Refactoring Toolset

Position Summary
Author – LLVM-based Refactoring Toolset
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Tsepepe & TsepepeVim

  • C++ refactoring tool built on LLVM/libclang: automated function definition generation, header/source pairing, interface scaffolding
  • TsepepeVim: Vim plugin frontend for Tsepepe

Label: C++, LLVM, libclang, CMake, Vim script

Oct 2023 - Nov 2023

Contributor

Position Summary
Contributor
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology

LLVM / clangd Contributions Code Actions for C/C++ in clangd

Aug 2023 - Oct 2023

Embedded Linux / Video Engineer

Position Summary
Embedded Linux / Video Engineer
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
  • Implemented RTSP streaming (Live555) and H.265/HEVC hardware encoding via Xilinx VCU
  • SDI video capture and RAW recording using mmap; low-level YUV/RGB format handling

Label: C++, CMake, Xilinx VCU, H.265/HEVC, Live555, RTSP, SDI, OpenSSL, mmap, Embedded Linux

May 2023 - Jul 2023

Embedded Software Engineer

Position Summary
Embedded Software Engineer
Industries
Manufacturing
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Industrial Cleaning Robot

Label: C, C++20, FreeRTOS, ARM Cortex-M4, CMake, Docker, GitLab CI, SonarQube, Google Test

Mar 2023 - Present

Author & Maintainer

Position Summary
Author & Maintainer
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Portable Bitfields

  • Modern C++ bitfield abstraction library with correctness, portability, and compile-time guarantees
  • Ongoing maintenance and community contributions

Label: C++20, CMake

May 2022 - Oct 2022

Embedded Firmware Engineer – Freelance

Position Summary
Embedded Firmware Engineer – Freelance
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
Explore Embedded Software Engineers in Germany Learn more
  • Designed full firmware in C++20 on ARM Cortex-M4 with FreeRTOS and LTE-M connectivity
  • Cloud communication via MQTT, LwM2M/CoAP, TLS; implemented secure bootloader and OTA update
  • Drivers for NFC (TRF7970A), barcode scanner, proximity sensors, battery fuel gauge

Label: C++20, C11, FreeRTOS, ARM Cortex-M4, CMake, LTE-M (u-blox SARA-R422S), MQTT, TLS/SSL, I2C, SPI, UART, USB CDC, GDB, Unity, Catch2

May 2022 - May 2022

Embedded C++ Engineer

Position Summary
Embedded C++ Engineer
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
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OpenCV on Microcontroller

Label: C++17, OpenCV, STM32Cube, ARM Cortex-M, CMake

Dec 2021 - Present

Senior Embedded Software Engineer – Freelance (B2B)

Self-employed

Position Summary
Senior Embedded Software Engineer – Freelance (B2B) at Self-employed
Industries
Manufacturing
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Primary long-term consulting partner: HalReady GmbH (2023 – present), a German company delivering industrial safety and sensing solutions. Engaged across multiple customer projects. Additional direct freelance contracts alongside.

Nov 2021 - Present

Author & Maintainer

Position Summary
Author & Maintainer
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
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LlvmCrossCompileArmCortexM

  • Cross-compiled LLVM libraries (compiler-rt, libc++, libc++abi, libunwind) for bare-metal ARM Cortex-M targets
  • Pre-built packages for Cortex-M0/M0+/M3/M4/M7/M23/M33/M55; multiple FPU and exception configurations
  • Alternative to ARM GNU Toolchain for LLVM-based embedded development

Label: CMake, LLVM, Clang, ARM Cortex-M, Newlib, Cross-compilation

Jul 2021 - Oct 2021

Embedded Software Developer

Mittemitte GmbH

Position Summary
Embedded Software Developer at Mittemitte GmbH
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
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Label: C, Make, Qualcomm QCA4020, AWS IoT SDK

Apr 2021 - Sep 2021

Embedded Firmware Engineer – Freelance

Position Summary
Embedded Firmware Engineer – Freelance
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
Explore Embedded Software Engineers in Germany Learn more
  • Designed and implemented full end-to-end system: Embedded Linux Gateway (Raspberry Pi) managing a fleet of BLE-controlled Epaper Label devices in a one-to-many topology
  • Gateway bridges labels to cloud via MQTT; each label (nRF52840, bare-metal) supports full remote display content control over BLE

Label: C++17, Bare-metal, CMake, BLE, nRF52840, Python3, Raspberry Pi, MQTT

Dec 2020 - Mar 2021

Author

Position Summary
Author
Industries
Manufacturing
Business Areas
Product Development
Quality Assurance
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Jeff – Guitar Effect DSP guitar pedal; CMake test automation for signal validation

Sep 2020 - Mar 2021

Embedded Software Developer

HUM Systems GmbH

Position Summary
Embedded Software Developer at HUM Systems GmbH
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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Explore Software Developers in Germany Learn more

Label: ESP32, C++17, FreeRTOS, ESP-IDF, CMake, MQTT, TLS

Mar 2020 - Present

Author & Maintainer

Position Summary
Author & Maintainer
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
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JunglesOsHelpers FreeRTOS helpers library; CMake FetchContent integration

Aug 2019 - Sep 2020
Jönköping, Sweden

Software Design Engineer

Etteplan Poland (Kapsch Trafficom)

Position Summary
Software Design Engineer at Etteplan Poland (Kapsch Trafficom)
Industries
Automotive
Business Areas
Information Technology
Quality Assurance
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  • Firmware for On-Board Units for DSRC and GNSS Electronic Toll Collection in a Scrum team
  • Maintained the build ecosystem; wrote manual and automated test cases

Label: C++14, CoAP, DTLS, LwM2M, FreeRTOS, Python3, GitLab CI/CD, Docker, Robot Framework, CMake

May 2018 - Jul 2019

IoT Engineer

Lerta

Position Summary
IoT Engineer at Lerta
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development

Label: C++17, C, FreeRTOS, NB-IoT, ZigBee, CoAP, MQTT, Buildroot, Jenkins, Docker

Jan 2018 - Dec 2020

Co-author

Position Summary
Co-author
Industries
Agriculture
Business Areas
Information Technology
Product Development
Research and Development
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Aura Weather Station Precision agriculture IoT; NB-IoT, CoAP, STM32L4

Dec 2016 - May 2018

Junior Embedded Developer

Novamedia Innovision

Position Summary
Junior Embedded Developer at Novamedia Innovision
Industries
Information Technology
Business Areas
Information Technology
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Label: C, C++14, FreeRTOS, VoIP, PoE, CMake, Buildroot

Jun 2015 - Nov 2016

Radiocommunication Specialist

TELE-COM

Position Summary
Radiocommunication Specialist at TELE-COM
Industries
Telecommunication
Business Areas
Operations
Explore Communications Managers in Germany Learn more

Industry Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Telecommunication, Automotive, and Transportation.

Information Technology
Manufacturing
Agriculture
Telecommunication
Automotive
Transportation
Profile match chart

Business Area Experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Information Technology, Product Development, Research and Development, Quality Assurance, and Operations.

Information Technology
Product Development
Research and Development
Quality Assurance
Operations
Profile match chart

Summary

Senior embedded software engineer with deep expertise in modern C++, CMake-based build systems, RTOS architectures, and MCU firmware development. Delivered complex freelance projects end-to-end across resource-constrained MCUs and Embedded Linux — from SIL2 safety-critical systems to IoT connectivity and audio DSP. Strong focus on correctness, maintainability, and clean architecture.

Skills

  • Languages: C, C++, Python, Bash
  • Safety-Critical: Sil1, Sil2, Ossd
  • Mcu / Platforms: Arm Cortex-M/R, Arm Cortex-A, Esp32, Ti Am64x / Am263px, Iwr6843, Stm32, Nrf52840, Atmel Sam, Nxp I.Mx Rt, Nxp Lpc
  • Embedded: Freertos, Bare-Metal, Esp-Idf, Embedded Linux, Yocto, Buildroot
  • Build Systems: Cmake, Ninja, Make, Platformio
  • Toolchains: Arm Gnu Toolchain, Llvm/Clang
  • Network: Mqtt, Coap, Lwm2m, Rtsp, Http, Raw Tcp, Raw Udp, Tls, Dtls
  • Peripherals: Can, Fsi, Rs485, I2c, Spi, Uart, Usb, Adc, Dac
  • Wireless: Ble, Lorawan, Nb-Iot, Lte-M, Zigbee, Wifi, Nfc
  • Audio / Dsp: I2s/Sai, Midi, Osc
  • Testing: Unity, Catch2, Google Test, Robot Framework
  • Ci/Cd: Github Actions, Gitlab Ci, Docker
  • Debugging: Gdb, Openocd

Languages

English
Advanced
Swedish
Elementary

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 23
Experience in Information Technology 9 y
Avg length 1 y 5 m
Longest experience 6 y 5 m

Global Experience

Countries worked in 1 (Sweden)
Primary country Sweden

Expertise

Recent roles Author, Lead Embedded Software Developer – SIL2 Safe Human Detection System, Senior C++ / Build Systems Engineer – Build & Toolchain Optimization
Main industries Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture
Main business areas Information Technology, Product Development, Research and Development

Profile

Created

Frequently asked questions

Have questions? Find more information here.

Kacper is based in Solingen, Germany.

Kacper speaks the following languages: English (Advanced), Swedish (Elementary).

Kacper has at least 11 years of experience. During this time, Kacper has worked in at least 18 different roles and for 8 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 6 months. Note that Kacper may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Based on recent experience, Kacper would be well-suited for roles such as: Author, Lead Embedded Software Developer – SIL2 Safe Human Detection System, Senior C++ / Build Systems Engineer – Build & Toolchain Optimization.

Kacper's most recent position is Author.

In recent years, Kacper has worked for Autokroma, Self-employed, and Mittemitte GmbH.

Kacper is most experienced in industries like Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Agriculture. Kacper also has some experience in Telecommunication, Automotive, and Transportation.

Kacper is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Research and Development. Kacper also has some experience in Quality Assurance and Operations.

Kacper has recently worked in industries like Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Transportation.

Kacper has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Quality Assurance.

Kacper will be available part-time from September 2026.

Kacper's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.

To hire Kacper, click the Meet button on the profile to request a meeting and discuss your project needs.

Salary / Daily Rate Distribution

0 2 4 6 8
<€880 €960-1040 €1040-1120 €1120+

The rates shown represent the typical market range for freelancers in this position based on recent contracts on our platform.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.

Average rates for similar positions

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

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Rate comparison chart
Daily rate avg. 1025 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

1200
900
600
300
Rate comparison chart
Median rate 1000 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.