# Dan S. > Software engineer with a passion for robotics and automation Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/dans ## Work Experience ### Lead Software Engineer @ dolaGon Jan 2024 – Present | New York City Metropolitan Area • Managed the creation, from the ground up, of a complex autonomous vehicle platform from high-level architecture to code • Deeply involved in the company’s leadership: milestone setting, priority planning, and structuring to scale with growth • Built teach-and-repeat navigation system using Extended Kalman Filter with RTK to achieve sub-centimeter localization • Created hardware drivers (for radar, GNSS, drive-by-wire system, etc.) in C/C++ using CAN, UART, and TCP/IP • Developed client-facing software and custom communication protocol to lay out plan for and control vehicle remotely • Developed a suite of visual and analytic tools to validate and present progress to investors using FLTK/OpenGL/C++ • Integrated almost two dozen software modules across devices, from drivers to planners, using ROS 2 on Linux • Rigorously field-tested vehicle to spur QOL improvements and incremental upgrades to software and user experience • Wrote in-depth technical and non-technical documentation for engineers and investors using Markdown, Word, and Excel • Performed key administrative functions: sourcing hardware, recruiting/onboarding newcomers, performing investor demos ### Autonomous Systems Engineer @ Caterpillar Inc. Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Peoria, Illinois, United States • Developed ROS-like middleware-agnostic (MWA) software framework to manage complex, concurrent positioning system • Designed and built Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation bench from ground up to expedite validation process • Created library to generate vehicle trajectory from fiducial markers using modern polyline-offsetting algorithm • Implemented feature to record and analyze runtime metrics from MWA system, for ease of testing • Created client-facing OpenGL tool to visualize fiducial markers in 3D environment around autonomous vehicle in real-time • Created multiple validation-assist tools and HUD elements using OpenGL and FLTK, and performed field testing with them • Scripted several data analysis tools using Bash to generate useful metrics on logged field data collections • Outlined in-depth regression test plan from scratch on Azure DevOps to validate team progress after every Agile sprint • Read research papers monthly to keep up with state-of-the-art algorithms and held seminars to present findings to team • Improved localization time and scope by suggesting and implementing new algorithm to replace inefficient system ### Software Engineer Intern @ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Jan 2021 – Jan 2021 • Confirmed viability of autogenerated Guidance Navigation & Control (GNC) C++ code to be used for new Orion spacecraft • Implemented changes to Mode Transition and State Transfer systems in Orion to suit Software Requirement Specifications • Read through all source material to familiarize myself with specific Orion systems and general architecture ### Software Engineer Intern @ Ziphycare Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Brooklyn, New York, United States • Made video capturing/recording software for GenICam-integrated cameras using C#, C++, and Python • Built user-friendly UI to interact with camera software using C#/WPF, which was deployed in the final release • Rigorously debugged software using .NET, Visual Studio, and Windows 10 tools ### Software Division Lead @ NYU Robotic Design Team Jan 2018 – Jan 2021 | Greater New York City Area • Managed a team of 18 programmers using the Scrum framework to delegate tasks and integrate different software features • Enforced documentation/Git workflow standards to harmonize integration of features into each other and into the robot • Made, scheduled, and delivered lectures on topics in robotics (up to 3 per week) to newcomers to the team • Made wireless communication protocols (robot to Intel Nuc) using MQTT/C/Python for the ESP8266 chip • Implemented robot localization with stereoscopic camera and ARTags, OpenCV; integrated using Robot Operating System • Improved robot stability while operating autonomously using a PID controller • Participated heavily in robot design and strategy planning (including proofs of concept and autonomous strategy) ### Software Engineer Intern @ Resideo Jan 2020 – Jan 2020 | Brooklyn, New York, United States • Made long range (10km) wireless communication software using the LoRa protocol and tested it with range trials • Wrote embedded C code for the STM32WL series of chips as part of a distributed home security application • Developed, debugged, and compiled C code using IAR EWARM toolchain for ARM microchips • Jury-rigged transmitter and receiver testing apparatus to get accurate range and bandwidth usage data ### Research Assistant @ Sounds of NYC (SONYC) Jan 2018 – Jan 2020 | Greater New York City Area • Surveyed construction sites with GoPro/Sennheiser Ambeo to build training data for urban noise-identifying ML program • Made Python scripts to equalize, merge, and augment video clips using moviepy while maintaining statistical integrity • Made Progressive Web App using React Native to crowdsource training data labels through Amazon Mechanical Turk • Annotated all collected video clips to make “ground truth” data for comparison with crowdsourced data ### Research Assistant @ Wellesley College Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Greater Boston Area • Developed website using React.js to display -omic data to non-medically trained users in a concise and understandable way • Participated in design phase, producing mockups to make website interface as user-friendly as possible • Participated in development of augmented reality program to identify average bacterial properties of household items ### Programming Division Lead @ FRC Team 334 - TechKnights Jan 2014 – Jan 2018 | Greater New York City Area • Used OpenCV to make a robot autonomously detect and target brightly colored obstacles • Wrote code to teleoperate the robot with keyboard/Xbox controller using sensor data • Established communications between devices through a wire using UART and I2C, experimented with SPI • Worked on a parts database for the robotics lab which helped to prevent overspending of limited resources • Found nuances in competition rules and suggested changes in robot design and strategy ### Student @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Beaver Works Summer Institute Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Greater Boston Area • Coded state controller to switch autonomous racecar’s state between obstacles, integrated all components with Robot Operating System • Implemented line follower using OpenCV, • Coded and fine-tuned PID controller to stabilize car • Used 180° LIDAR and made a mathematical formula to localize car ### Research Assistant @ CUNY New York City College of Technology Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Greater New York City Area • Worked on design of a 3D printed prosthetic hand using electroactive materials in place of artificial muscles • Conducted material research on electroactive materials • Programmed components of hand using MyoWare Arduino sensors. • Contributed to CAD of hand using Autodesk Inventor ### iOS Developer @ Rentah.com Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Greater New York City Area • Developed parts of iOS app using separately made mockups and Xcode/Swift • Took over full iOS development for the remainder of my employment after lead iOS developer left unexpectedly, since only Android devs remained in the company • Worked in a small team of engineers, designers, and managers following the Agile workflow ## Education ### BS - Computer Science in Computer Science NYU Tandon School of Engineering Jan 2018 – Jan 2021 ### Brooklyn Technical High School Jan 2014 – Jan 2018 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/danshafman --- Source: https://flows.cv/dans JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/dans/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-23