# Ricardo J. Saborio Borbon > Senior Software Engineer at Pyka Location: Oakland, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/ricardojsaborioborbon I am a second-year Aerospace Engineering master’s student at Georgia Institute of Technology with 4 years of research experience in space systems, embedded systems, and software development. I have excelled in graduate courses in space systems and controls, including Orbital Mechanics, Kalman Filtering, Spacecraft Controls, and Mechatronics. I have also succeeded in developing my skills outside of the classroom, through independently learning software development for various research projects in my undergraduate institution and working as a graduate teaching assistant for five classes, some of which involved subjects I had never previously studied. I was recognized for my research achievements with a scholarship in my undergraduate institution, where I co-led flight software development for two CubeSat missions and led payload design teams for two NASA high-altitude balloon flights. I am currently collaborating with the Space Systems Design Laboratory to modify a third-party software-defined radio for use in future satellite missions. After the modifications, the radio’s firmware will conform to amateur radio specifications, providing an affordable communication solution for University teams developing satellites worldwide. The majority of this software is coded in C, and past projects I have worked on used C++, Python, and Matlab. While my research experience has mainly revolved around space systems, my interests also include robotics, aviation, and unmanned aerial vehicles. I am passionate about aerospace engineering and have taken every opportunity to learn and improve my skills in various areas of the field. Through 8 years of involvement in the remote control aircraft community, I have picked up skills in circuit design and assembly. I have also refined my programming skills through the independent development of a multirotor flight controller from scratch. ## Work Experience ### Senior Software Engineer @ Pyka Jan 2026 – Present | Alameda, California, United States ### Software Engineer II @ Pyka Jan 2025 – Jan 2026 | Alameda, California, United States ### Flight Test Software Engineer II @ Pyka Jan 2023 – Jan 2025 | Oakland, California, United States ### Flight Test Software Engineer @ Pyka Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | Oakland, California, United States ### Research Assistant @ Georgia Institute of Technology Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | Atlanta, GA Currently collaborating with the Space Systems Design Laboratory to modify the firmware of the OpenLST software-defined radio developed by Planet Labs. The modifications aim at making the software conform to amateur radio specifications, providing an affordable communication solution for University teams developing small satellites worldwide. My responsibilities within the project included: • Modify the C code of the on-board TI CC1110 chip to make it compatible with G3RUH scrambled, AX.25 amateur radio packets. • Implement a KISS Terminal Node Controller (TNC) for the radio interface with a flight computer. • Add new commands and functionalities to the default software. ### Graduate Teaching Assistant @ Georgia Institute of Technology Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 | Atlanta, GA Teaching Assistant (TA) for the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I have helped teach the Dynamics and Controls Laboratory (AE 4610), Design and Systems Engineering Methods (AE 3340), and Space Flight Operations (AE 4361) courses. My responsibilities have included: • Directing weekly laboratories for the Dynamics and Controls course. • Grading student assignments and exams. • Creating homework assignments and solutions. • Creating exam questions and solutions. • Holding office hours. ### Research Assitant @ University of Minnesota - Roadway Safety Institute Jan 2018 – Jan 2019 | Minneapolis, MN Assisted in research aiming to characterize the errors present in low-cost GNSS antennas to produce a software capable of mitigating the effects of such. My responsibilities included: • Designing and constructing the experimental setup utilized for field data collection. • Collecting and preparing the field data for further analysis to be performed by principal investigators. ### Command Data Handling (CDH) Co-Lead @ Small Satellite Research Laboratory - University of Minnesota Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 | Minneapolis, MN Co-led the development of the scratch-built flight software for two 3U CubeSat missions: EXACT and SOCRATES. The missions are intended to study GPS denied navigation utilizing pulsars and the Coronal Heating Problem linked to particle acceleration during solar flares. My responsibilities included: • Developing the C, C++, and Python libraries utilized for hardware interfacing with GPS, IMU, Radio, GOMSpace Hardware, and I/O interfaces for the two satellites. • Overseeing, organizing, and documenting the hardware interfacing and testing activities for the Command Data Handling (CDH) subteam. These activities were part of the Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews with NASA and Nanoracks representatives prior to the launch of SOCRATES. ### High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) Lead @ Small Satellite Research Laboratory - University of Minnesota Jan 2017 – Jan 2018 | Minneapolis, MN Coordinate the development of two CubeSat engineering units tested in two NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flights. The flights were intended to works as "dress rehearsals" for the day-in-the-life operations of the EXACT and SOCRATES missions. The flights included a week-long thermal vacuum testing campaign in the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Palestine, TX. My responsibilities included: • Directing the development of the two engineering units and combining the efforts of five sub-teams during such. • Coordinating communications with NASA representatives and producing required documentation for each flight. • Managing the team during the thermal vacuum testing campaign. ### Teaching Assistant @ University of Minnesota Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Minneapolis, MN Teaching Assistant (TA) for the Aerodynamics (AEM 4202) course. My responsibilities included: • grading student work and examinations. • holding office hours. • proctoring examinations. ### Research Assistant @ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Laboratory - University of Minnesota Jan 2018 – Jan 2018 | Minneapolis, MN Assisted in the development of an emulator for an in-house developed flight computer utilized on a 1/2 scale model NASA's X-56 aircraft. The emulator aimed to replicate the data collection microcontroller utilized by the flight computer. This allowed for ground testing and validation of flight software. My responsibilities included: • Creating a Python library that emulated the data collection microcontroller. • Linking the emulator to a flight simulator to feed raw data into the code to verify flight computer performance. ## Education ### Master of Science - MS in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Jan 2019 – Jan 2021 ### Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with Distinction in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics University of Minnesota Jan 2015 – Jan 2019 ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ricardo-j-saborio --- Source: https://flows.cv/ricardojsaborioborbon JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/ricardojsaborioborbon/resume.json Last updated: 2026-03-23