# Derek Cheng

> Software & AI @ Standard Bots

Location: New York City Metropolitan Area, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/derekcheng

Motivated and ambitious software engineer with a passion for designing autonomous technologies that leave a lasting impact. Seeking to leverage work experience & research background in robotics, AI, & software to generate innovative solutions at a fast-paced technology company.

## Work Experience
### Senior Software Engineer - Robotics & AI @ Standard Bots
Jan 2024 – Present | New York, New York, United States
Bridging the gap between the industry and research world to help bring robots to the AI revolution! Built data processing pipelines and training infrastructure for robot learning (diffusion transformers) to solve real-world customer tasks.

### Research Assistant @ Kumar Robotics Lab @ University of Pennsylvania
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | Philadelphia
First author of ICRA research paper for precision agriculture addressing the counting and mapping of trees in forests and orchards by providing ground-truth diameter and semantic labels for over 1,800 trees

Thesis: Multi-Modal Deep Learning NeRFs for 3D Reconstruction of Tree Branching Factors Analysis
Research Areas: Deep learning, semantic segmentation, and LiDAR-inertial odometry

### Lead Robotics Software Engineer @ OffWorld
Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | Greater Los Angeles Area
Built robots that were deployed for underground platinum mining in South Africa. Worked on motion planning, control systems, SLAM, and ROS for our highly versatile robotic platform.

### Software Engineer @ OnRobot
Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | Los Angeles
Robotics HW/SW integration at Perception Robotics, then after we were acquired by OnRobot I worked on robotic grippers and embedded systems. Traveled to Automatica 2018 in Munich and IMTS 2018 in Chicago as our technical trade show coordinator.

### Flight Software & Controls Engineer Intern @ Millennium Space Systems
Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Greater Los Angeles Area
Flight software (C++) for satellite telemetry and embedded Linux drivers for avionics modules, and Monte Carlo simulation tools for satellite control algorithm failure analysis.

### Robotics Engineer Intern @ Grabit Inc.
Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Santa Clara, CA
First professional exposure to robotics with gyroscope integration, vacuum gripper control systems, and robotic arm control.


## Education
### Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) in Robotics
University of Pennsylvania
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024

### Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science
University of Southern California
Jan 2013 – Jan 2017


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/derekwcheng

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Source: https://flows.cv/derekcheng
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/derekcheng/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-20