Senior Software Engineer - FPGA ESS
Microchip · 2026–present
PolarFire SoC enablement: Linux, U-Boot, and Yocto.
About me
I'm Pedro Henrique Kopper, a computer engineer with a BSc from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). My work spans embedded Linux, CPU power and performance, firmware, and hardware.
Cork, Ireland & Porto Alegre, Brazil. Get in touch by email.
On this page: Experience / Education / Languages
Experience
CPU Power Engineer
Qualcomm · 2024–2026
Optimized power consumption of latest-generation ARM custom CPU cores for Snapdragon mobile SoCs. Performed root-cause analysis, power-performance studies, automation, and Linux debugging.
Associate Software Engineer
Canonical · 2023–2024
Worked with partners including NVIDIA and Intel to optimize Ubuntu for their platforms. Developed automated benchmarking infrastructure and optimized parameters for Ubuntu on Intel server platforms.
Submitted Linux kernel patches that led to up to 32% faster performance and up to 18% less energy use on Intel Xeon Emerald Rapids. Analyzed regressing tests with Intel VTune and collected and analyzed data with Python and Jupyter notebooks.
Software Developer
balena.io · 2022–2023
Developed Autokit, an automated embedded Linux test framework, using TypeScript. Prototyped automation equipment using OnShape CAD and 3D printers.
Embedded Software Engineer
DeepX · 2022
Developed Linux-based mmWave radar solutions for property defense. Used Yocto and Rust for firmware development, and performed sensor integration and characterization.
Undergraduate Researcher
Embedded Systems Laboratory · 2021–2022
Trained and optimized neural networks for intrusion detection on SmartNICs using the Xilinx Brevitas framework, supervised by Prof. Dr. Antônio Carlos Schneider Beck Filho.
Firmware and Hardware Developer
Beyond Domotics · 2021
Developed smart home devices using the ESP8266 platform and C, communicating over 802.15.4 and Wi-Fi. Assisted in circuit board testing, assembly, and debugging.
Undergraduate Researcher
Embedded Systems Laboratory · 2020
Developed fault injection software for criticality analysis of HLS code, supervised by Prof. Dr. Gabriel Nazar. Used LLVM to instrument reference implementations of numerous algorithms.
Undergraduate Researcher
CTA · 2019
Developed hardware, firmware, and visualization code for SADAPMAP at the High Pressure and Advanced Materials Laboratory of the Physics Institute.
Education
Computer Engineering
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul · 2020–2024
Undergraduate thesis: Topology-Aware Task Scheduling For Heterogeneous Architectures. GPA: 3.7/4.0.
Electrical Engineering
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul · 2019
Interrupted.
Electronics Technician
Fundação Liberato · 2014–2018
Electronics Technician curriculum alongside traditional high school. Completed a six-month internship at Versul Tecnologia de Acesso. Participated in science fairs, winning international prizes.
Foreign languages
- TOEFL iBT: 109/120, CEFR C1 equivalent (2020–2022).
- Cambridge English: First (FCE), CEFR B2.
- Test de connaissance du français (TCF), CEFR B2 (2021–2023).
Research papers and awards are on the projects page.