About Me

Hi, I'm Aaron Brunckhurst. I build software for systems that interact with the physical world — tracking hardware deployed on 19 university buses, robotic arms that respond to plain-language commands, and autonomous navigation for forklifts.

My work spans C, C++, C#, and Python, across embedded firmware, cloud backends, robotics middleware (ROS2), and computer vision — from bare-metal microcontrollers up to Google Cloud.

Current Role – BrightAI

Firmware Engineer

Palo Alto, California · May 2026 – Present

• Developing firmware for the Workforce AI Wearable — integrating audio, visual, and environmental sensors for hands-free field data capture on infrastructure job sites.
• Building embedded systems for on-device AI inference, enabling voice-interactive copilot features (“AI Foreman”) that deliver step-by-step guidance to field technicians.
• Implementing sensor fusion and connectivity for real-time data streaming to the BrightAI Stateful Platform, supporting autonomous inspection and asset visibility workflows.
• Contributing across the full stack — firmware, mobile integration, and cloud data pipelines — for a product deployed across 250,000+ endpoints in power, water, oil & gas, and manufacturing.

Previous Experience

As a Software Engineer at Think Circuits (Oakland, CA · July 2025–May 2026), I developed perception, motion planning, and control logic in Python and ROS2 for a semi-autonomous forklift, led hardware design for an IP68 weatherproof helmet camera, built an embedded DSP hearing protection device, and delivered a wildfire detection system for drone or fixed deployment.

As Co-Founder and Lead Software Engineer at PinpointAVL, I developed an AVL system deployed on 19 UCSC loop buses — creating firmware for the Raspberry Pi Pico, a .NET cloud backend, and integrating GPS, LTE, SD storage, and CAN communications. I also built a hardware-in-the-loop testing system that simulated real bus routes in the lab, catching firmware bugs before they reached deployed hardware.

Our team earned first place and a $10,000 prize in the 2022 UCSC Launchpad competition. I also built Confab Agora — a real-time chat and voice platform I developed for my own games, running since 2018 — and led a 10-person team at Slugbotics to design and build a fully custom robotic arm — from CAD and 3D printing through to software. I implemented reverse kinematics for precise end-effector control, a computer vision pipeline with OpenCV, and LLM tool-calling with Llama 3.2 for natural language task commands (e.g. “pick up the red screwdriver”). At the UCSC Rocket Team I built a Python optical-flow tool to estimate ground speed from a downward-facing onboard camera, providing GPS-independent telemetry.

Skills & Technologies

Education

• B.A. in Computer Science (Honors) — University of California, Santa Cruz
• A.S. in Computer Information Systems (Honors) — Mission College
• A.A. in Science & Math (Honors) — West Valley College