Iulian Popa

Starting in 2019, I transitioned from employed roles to long-term freelance engagements, working directly with clients on complex software projects. This period marked a clear shift from a pure development role to a software delivery mindset, with ownership spanning architecture, technology selection, estimation, and client communication.

I contributed to a wide range of projects, from embedded and firmware development on bare-metal microcontrollers to system-level and user-centric applications, adapting solutions to project constraints while ensuring reliable, production-ready outcomes and strong value for money.

Key Responsibilities & Contributions

End-to-end responsibility for software delivery, from technical design to implementation

Architecture definition and technology selection based on project constraints

Client-facing communication, estimation, and technical decision-making

Development of embedded firmware, system-level software, and supporting applications

Technologies

Embedded / Firmware: C, C++, Assembly, STM32Fx, Renesas RH850, Bare-metal, RTOS

Systems & Connectivity: Linux, Windows, USB, WDF, KMDF, MQTT

Applications & UI: Qt (QML), .NET / C#, Java, React, Angular, Node.js

As Software Technical Lead, I contributed to the development of medical devices within a regulated environment. My role focused on evaluating and implementing technical solutions across embedded firmware and system-level software, ensuring reliable, compliant, and production-ready outcomes.

I worked closely with multidisciplinary teams to balance technical innovation with regulatory, quality, and delivery constraints, contributing to products designed to improve medical therapies.

Key Responsibilities & Contributions

Technical leadership in the development of embedded and system-level software for medical devices

Evaluation and validation of technical solutions with a focus on safety, reliability, and compliance

Development of cross-platform graphical user interfaces and embedded firmware

Technologies

Embedded & Firmware: C/C++, bare-metal development, STM32 microcontrollers

GUI & Systems: Qt / QML for Windows and Embedded Linux (i.MX6 SOM)

Platforms & Tools: Embedded Linux (Yocto), Windows, Eclipse (STM Workbench), Git

Standards & Compliance: ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 62304

I returned to ENEA as a senior embedded software engineer, leveraging prior domain knowledge to join complex system-level projects in telecom environments. This return reflected both prior domain knowledge and the need for experienced engineers capable of contributing quickly to long-lived, technically demanding systems.

In this role, I worked across a wide technical scope, from DSP-based development to ARM-based virtualization and the creation of a custom Embedded Linux distribution, contributing to large-scale codebases developed under structured engineering processes.

Key Responsibilities & Contributions

Development of embedded and system-level software in C/C++

Work on DSP-based systems (TI C66x) in performance-critical environments

Contribution to ARM-based virtualization solutions using open-source technologies

Development and customization of Embedded Linux distributions based on Yocto

Technologies

Languages & Tools: C, C++, Bash, GCC, GDB, ClearCase, Git

Architectures: ARM, PowerPC

DSP: TI C66x

Operating Systems: Embedded Linux, custom Yocto-based distributions

Virtualization: OpenStack (Nova, Neutron, Keystone, Glance)