Tesfa Zenebe

Results-driven Electrical Engineer with hands-on experience as a Design Engineer in the radiation detection industry. Skilled in firmware development, microcontroller programming, analog/digital circuit design, PCB design, and technical documentation. Passionate about collaborating with cross-functional teams, assisting customers, and supporting manufacturing—from prototype through production. Proven ability to deliver reliable instrumentation, including manuals and quick-start guides, that meet rigorous performance and compliance standards.

Hand‑Held Radiation Detection Instrument

• Context:
• Developed firmware and electronics for a compact, battery-powered radiation detector featuring a TFT display, USB, and BLE connectivity.
• Contributions:
• Firmware & Power Management:
• Wrote embedded firmware in C using Code Composer Studio for TI Tiva TM4C. Implemented SPI, I²C, UART, and BLE interfaces, along with TFT GUI control and USB communication.
• Low‑Power Design:
• Implemented a cooperative task scheduler utilizing the SysTick timer interrupt to periodically wake the device, execute scheduled tasks, and return to sleep mode, optimizing energy efficiency.
• Circuit Simulation & Design:
• Modeled and validated high-voltage and charging circuits—including Cockcroft–Walton multiplier and charge-control loop. Also designed custom click‑audio hardware circuit for real-time radiation event detection. All circuits were simulated in LTspice to ensure timing and component reliability.
• PCB Design with Altium:
• Created detailed schematics and multilayer PCB layouts using Altium Designer, following best practices for manufacturability and EMC compliance.
• Results:
• Power Efficiency:
• Reduced average power draw by ~30%, extending device autonomy by approximately 6 hours.
• Production Readiness:
• Completed first-pass manufacturing prototypes that passed regulatory/testing benchmarks.
• User Experience:
• Enhanced usability through integrated real-time graphical display and audio cues.

Project: Automated Board Checkout System

Context:
Designed a custom test board interfacing with a Raspberry Pi to automate the verification of hardware functionality during production.

Contributions:

• Developed a plug-in test board compatible with Raspberry Pi GPIO, SPI, and serial interfaces.
• Programmed the Raspberry Pi in Python to execute automated diagnostics, including component testing and feature verification.
• Implemented a user-friendly interface displaying real-time pass/fail results to assist technicians.
• Streamlined the testing process, reducing manual intervention and ensuring consistent quality control across production.

Results:

• Accelerated the board checkout process, enhancing throughput.
• Minimized human error, leading to more reliable hardware validation.
• Standardized testing procedures, improving overall production efficiency.

Project: Portable Shower System (Engineers Without Borders)

• Collaborated with an Engineers Without Borders team to develop a portable shower prototype. I selected and integrated a 12V diaphragm water pump, designed a lithium-ion battery pack with overcharge protection, and engineered a solar-powered charging circuit. Additionally, I specified appropriate cable gauges for power delivery and designed an automatic water-level detection system using capacitive sensing to prevent overflow. These contributions ensured the system's reliability and efficiency, supporting the team's goal of providing sustainable sanitation solutions in remote areas.

Project: Autonomous Mail Delivery System 

• Constructed autonomous rover using integrated circuits, transistors, and sensors Built circuits & generated Verilog code

Project: Solar-powered Weather Station 

• Designed Weather station capable of measuring multiple environmental conditions integrated variety of sensors with microcontroller to receive and store weather datas

Project: Synchronous AM Receiver 

• Designed and constructed a synchronous AM receiver to detect, demodulate and output the message signal of a local AM Radio broadcast Engineered multiple stages of filters in order to produce sound through a speaker

Project: DC to AC Inverter 

• Developed an inverter with 85% power efficiency using a Half-Bridge circuit Stepped-up DC voltage using a Flyback converter

• OCCM -Orthodox Christian Campus Minister
• FCCLA - Family, Career, and Community Leader of America
• NSBE - National Society of Black Engineers