# Alvin S.

> Robotics Software Engineer

Location: South San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/alvins

I'm a Masters student studying Imitation and Reinforcement Learning at CMU.

After taking courses and doing research in graph-based search for  motion planning, I've realized a new passion for human-robot collaboration in household and factory settings. I'm excited to build robots that can quickly learn new, complex tasks simply from observing someone once or twice. 

Interesting topics around this include:
- human motion prediction with semi-adaptable neural networks
- one or few-shot learning for complex behavior
- feedback controls and parameter estimation to handle objects of unknown mass

## Work Experience
### Robotics Software Engineer @ Armstrong Robotics
Jan 2022 – Present | San Francisco, California, United States

### Student Researcher @ Carnegie Mellon University
Jan 2020 – Jan 2022

### Graduate Teaching Assistant - Deep Reinforcement Learning 10703 @ Machine Learning Department at CMU
Jan 2021 – Jan 2021

### Software Engineer Intern @ Uber ATG
Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Optimized GPU runtime of trajectory cost functions for Motion Planning Team
- Built full pipeline and interface using CUDA and Tensorflow in C++
- Achieved 238x speedup to make costing real-time
- Presented 1-hour talk comparing various approaches using Nvidia’s profiling tools

### Robotics Software Engineering Intern @ Canvas Construction (We're Hiring!)
Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area
- Compared LiDAR accuracy with point-to-plane projections in Python
- Developed point cloud feature extractor for obstacle avoidance in C++ with PCL
- Designed 2D, grid-based path planner for max area coverage with obstacle avoidance in Python and C++
- Integrated the above with global map for full perception and planning pipeline

### Full Stack Engineering Intern @ Tempo Automation
Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | San Francisco Bay Area
- Worked one-on-one with factory technicians to identify problems in production cycle
- Created a live dashboard with Python showing machine errors, part-loss, and usage efficiency
- Wrote API in Python/C++ with Django to store collect, decode, and store factory machine data on remote database
- Gained experience in writing detailed unit tests, docs and testing code on multiple servers
- Gained experience in Git practices: rebasing and merging, making PR's, and squashing commits


## Education
### Master's degree in Robotics
Carnegie Mellon University

### Bachelor of Science - BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

### Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/alvinshek
- GitHub: https://github.com/Alvinosaur
- Portfolio: https://alvinosaur.github.io/AboutMe/

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Source: https://flows.cv/alvins
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/alvins/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-29