Resume

Rickey Fehr Link to heading

Senior Embedded Software Engineer – BSP, Kernel, and Systems Expert
Seattle, WA | [email protected] | 775-527-0176 | rf3.xyz

Summary Link to heading

Embedded software engineer with 10+ years owning complete embedded stacks from board bring-up to field updates. Specialist in Linux kernel & userspace, RTOS, and bare-metal systems on ARM, Cortex-M, and heterogeneous SoCs. Known for delivering production-ready BSPs, secure OTA pipelines, and optimized driver stacks that accelerate time-to-market and improve reliability.

Core Capabilities Link to heading

BSP & OS Bring-up – Linux (kernel & userspace), FreeRTOS, Zephyr, Azure RTOS, bare-metal
Processor Architectures – ARMv7, ARM64, Cortex-M0/M33, ARM+FPGA (Zynq, Jetson)
Bootloaders & OTA – U-Boot, custom bootloaders, secure boot, A/B partitions, Mender OTA
Driver Development – I2C, SPI, UART, USB, I2S, GPIO, PCIe, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, BLE
Hardware Platforms – NXP i.MX6/7/8, Xilinx Zynq MPSoC, Jetson Xavier NX, Raspberry Pi CM4, LPC55S69, SAMD21, Renesas MCU
Build Systems – Yocto, Buildroot, CMake, Meson, Make, Docker, Zephyr West
Languages – C, C++, Rust, Python, Bash, Java
Integration & Debugging – JTAG, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, kernel traces, protocol analyzers
Collaboration & Delivery – Git, Jira, Confluence, agile/iterative delivery

High-Impact Achievements Link to heading

BSP Migration – Ported i.MX8 Yocto BSP from Linux 2.11 to 6.11, unlocking modern driver support & security features
Hardware Abstraction – Rebuilt MCU firmware stack as Linux userspace library over I2C/PWM, enabling faster feature rollout without kernel rebuilds
Secure OTA – Architected Mender-based A/B OTA system with secure boot enforcement on ARM SoCs, improving update reliability and field recovery
Full-Stack Delivery – Delivered Zynq MPSoC, Jetson, and i.MX BSPs with integrated drivers (Wi-Fi, BLE, SPI, I2C) from hardware bring-up to production
Cross-Platform MCU Development – Built and shipped firmware on FreeRTOS, Azure RTOS, and bare-metal for Cortex-M0/M33 and Cortex-A7 MCUs
Manufacturing Tooling – Automated firmware flashing & validation (Python/JavaFX), reducing production cycle time by ~30%

Professional Experience Link to heading

Senior Software Engineer – IDEXX Link to heading

Oct 2024 – Present

Migrated BSP for i.MX8 SOM from Linux 2.11.xx → 6.11.xx under Yocto
Implemented Linux userspace hardware abstraction for I2C/PWM devices

Senior Software Engineer – Amazon Kuiper Link to heading

Jun 2024 – Oct 2024

Designed validation workflows for Yocto-based power distribution hardware
Built automated image test pipelines for faster QA turnaround

Embedded Software Engineer – Witekio Link to heading

Jul 2020 – Apr 2024

Delivered production BSPs for Zynq MPSoC, NXP i.MX6/8, RPi CM4, Jetson NX
Integrated Linux drivers for Wi-Fi, BLE, SPI, I2C; implemented OTA using Mender
Built FreeRTOS/Azure RTOS stacks for Cortex-M and Cortex-A MCUs
Developed drivers for I2C, SPI, UART, Ethernet, and GPIO subsystems

Software Engineer – Sierra Nevada Corporation Link to heading

Sep 2017 – Jul 2020

Developed high-throughput Linux kernel & application code for data aggregation systems
Built GUI-based manufacturing tools for firmware flashing and validation (Python/JavaFX)
Developed petalinux based BSP for use in ELINT systems

Research Assistant – University of Nevada, Reno Link to heading

Aug 2015 – May 2017

Developed and implemented intelligent control algorithms for UAVs in uncertain dynamic environments
Designed distributed connectivity control systems for multi-agent UAV swarms with low-computation constraints
Published 4 peer-reviewed papers (IEEE & Elsevier) on intelligent tracking, multi-agent coordination, and UAV control
Worked hands-on with real and simulated UAV hardware for algorithm validation

Education Link to heading

B.S. Electrical Engineering – University of Nevada, Reno | GPA: 3.7