Luka Knežević – Hardware Engineer & PCB Designer
I am a highly experienced Hardware Developer and PCB Designer with over 5 years of professional engineering experience and more than 50 successfully completed projects ranging from low-power embedded systems to multi-kilowatt power electronics. My background spans high-performance LED drivers, motor control, energy systems, wearable devices, medical devices, NFC solutions, industrial controllers, and advanced multi-layer PCB design.
I have deep experience in designing reliable, production-ready hardware using modern MCUs (ESP32, STM32, PIC, TI, C2000, Spartan 7 (AMD)), high-power topologies, battery systems, and a wide range of communication protocols. My lab is fully equipped for prototyping, testing, and validation, including oscilloscope work, precision measurements, firmware bring-up, and full board bring-up.
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Professional Background
• 5+ years of hardware engineering experience
• 50+ completed projects, including:
o Buck, boost, flyback, and PFC buck converters
o BMS systems (1–16 cells)
o E-bike inverter, motor control boards, motor drivers
o E-bike chargers and high-efficiency power supplies
o Nanosatellite power supply modules
o Wearable devices (ultra low power + haptics + sensors)
o Medical devices (Class A/B prototyping)
o Industrial control cards (TI, ESP32, STM32, C2000, Spartan 7 (AMD))
o Wireless systems (BLE, Wi-Fi, LoRa, NFC)
o Toys and consumer electronics
o Rigid and rigid flex PCBs (2–16 layers)
o Screen sterilization system controllers
I have designed boards ranging from 1 to 16 layers, including rigid flex adapters, ultra compact wearable PCBs, motor control boards, high voltage/current power stages (up to 3 kW), and RF capable layouts.
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Technical Expertise
Hardware & Power Electronics
• Topology selection: buck, boost, flyback, SEPIC, PFC buck, forward, synchronous drivers
• Wide range power design up to 3 kW, switching frequencies up to 200 kHz
• Battery systems: BMS, balancing, charging, MOSFET drivers
• Motor control drivers (BLDC, brushed DC, E bike)
PCB Design
• Professional PCB layout using:
o Altium Designer (primary)
o KiCad, OrCAD, PCAD, EasyEDA
• High density, mixed signal, high current, HV, and EMC safe design
• Rigid flex, flex adapters, microcontroller modules, RF layouts
• Full DFM/DFT optimization for production
Communication Protocols
• CAN, I²C, SPI, UART, RS485
• Bluetooth, Wi Fi, BLE Mesh, ESP NOW, LoRa
• Ethernet LWIP, NFC, custom short-range communication
Software & Simulation
• MATLAB, Simulink, PSpice
• LTspice, TINA, Altium simulations
• Firmware bring up (ESP-IDF, STM32 HAL, Arduino)
Prototyping & Testing
• Soldering, rework, fault analysis
• Gate driver tuning, feedback loop stabilization
• Load testing, thermal evaluation, EMC preparation
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Achievements
• 1st Place – IFEC 2019 (E-bike drive)
• 2nd Place – IFEC 2020 (Nanosatellite power supply) — Team Leader & Hardware Lead
• Former CTO of a hardware startup (2 years)
• Project Manager for solar power plant automation (1 year)
• Over 50 projects and 1300+ billable hours on Upwork
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Notable Project Types
• Screen sterilization controllers (UV / chemical)
• Wearable devices (IMU + LRA haptics + battery optimization)
• Medical device prototyping
• Power supplies (industrial, consumer, nanosatellite grade)
• Custom rigid flex boards & adapters
• NFC-triggered activation devices
• Motor control & drive boards
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Let’s Work Together
Best regards,
Luka Knežević
PCB Design
Altium Designer
MATLAB
Multilayer PCB
Hardware Testing
Hardware Prototyping
Test Results & Analysis
PSPICE
Hardware Design
Hardware Troubleshooting
Jovan B.
Obrenovac, Serbia
$45/hr
5.0
5 jobs
An PCB Engineer skillful with IoT product design.
- Have designed lots of Carrier Board/HAT for CM5/CM4.
- Proficient in microcontrollers (Arduino, ESP8266/ESP32, STM32, Raspberry Pi), SoCs, FPGAs and troubleshooting hardware/software issues.
- Well-versed with hardware integration, sensor interfacing
- Specialize in designing, analyzing, optimizing, and implementing PCB using tools like Altium Designer, EasyEDA and KiCad/OrCad.
- Ensure signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal management in complex and multi-layer PCB designs.
- Experienced with low-power electronics for battery-operated IoT devices and consumer products with power optimization strategies.
- Designed several drones and IoT products with ESP32.
- Familiar with BLDC motor contollers.
- Experienced with GaN-based high power and SMPS
-Excel in high-speed interfaces - USB3.x/HDMI/DP/MIPI(CSI, DSI)/Ethernet/PCIe/4G/LTE
PCB Design
Altium Designer
EasyEDA
Internet of Things
Arduino
Raspberry Pi
Analog Circuit
Multilayer PCB
STM32
Bill of Materials
Electronic Circuit Design
Power Electronics
Single-Board Computer
Motherboard
ESP32
Dusan M.
Belgrade, Serbia
$60/hr
5.0
11 jobs
I am Senior Engineer with 20 years' experience in product Research and Development, management of R&D, Embedded system design, specialized PCB design, technical consulting, production organization & product certification assistance.
Providing the following services to the clients world-wide:
✔ Product R&D and design problem solving,
✔ Embedded system design (schematic, PCB design, firmware development),
✔ Specialized PCB design and optimization:
➕ Hi-speed industrial computers
➤ USB, ETH, HDMI, MII/RMII, miniPCIe, SDIO etc.
➕ Power electronics
➕ EMC optimization and problem solving
✔ Product cost evaluation and BOM optimization,
✔ Proof of concept & experimental devices,
✔ Technical consulting in system design and RF related solutions,
✔ Production organization & product certification assistance.
PCB Design
Altium Designer
Circuit Design
Electronic Design
Embedded System
Embedded C
C
Product Development
Multilayer PCB
Digital Electronics
Research & Development
Hardware Design
Printed Circuit Board
Power Electronics
Procurement
Zelimir T.
Novi Sad, Serbia
$60/hr
4.4
16 jobs
I design reliable, production-ready hardware for embedded systems and connected devices.
With over 10 years of experience in PCB design, I’ve completed more than 50 successful projects for 30+ satisfied clients, ranging from low-power IoT devices to complex, high-speed multilayer boards.
My work is guided by clarity, attention to detail, and long-term maintainability, from schematic capture and layout to testing and DFM optimization. While I occasionally write simple firmware for validation purposes, my true expertise lies in crafting robust, efficient, and well-documented hardware platforms.
🔧 Core Expertise:
🛠️ PCB Design – Up to 12 layers, impedance-controlled, HDI and rigid-flex
📶 High-Speed Interfaces – PCIe (Gen1–Gen4), USB 2.0 / 3.x, HDMI, MIPI CSI/DSI, DDR2/3/4, LPDDR4, SATA, eMMC, SDIO, RGMII, SGMII, QSPI, LVDS
📐 Signal Integrity – Length matching, differential pair tuning, impedance control, eye diagram and crosstalk simulation
🔌 Power Systems – DC-DC converters, LDOs, PMICs, battery management, multi-rail sequencing
📊 Test & Bring-Up – Lab validation, accessible layout for probing, test firmware and diagnostics
⚙️ Design for Manufacturing – BOM and layout optimization for reliable and cost-effective production
I’ve contributed to projects in consumer electronics, industrial automation, medical devices, agriculture, automotive systems, and even space-grade electronics.
If you’re looking for a hardware designer who understands both the science behind a clean layout and the real-world demands of scalable production, I’d be happy to support your next project.
PCB Design
Altium Designer
Electrical Engineering
Multilayer PCB
Research & Development
Embedded C
Internet of Things
Hardware Design
Design for Manufacturing
Digital Electronics
Embedded System
Automotive Design
Nikola R.
Novi Sad, Serbia
$60/hr
4.8
35 jobs
I design reliable, production-ready hardware for embedded systems and connected devices.
With over 10 years of experience in PCB design, I’ve completed more than 50 successful projects for 30+ satisfied clients, ranging from low-power IoT devices to complex, high-speed multilayer boards.
My work is guided by clarity, attention to detail, and long-term maintainability, from schematic capture and layout to testing and DFM optimization. While I occasionally write simple firmware for validation purposes, my true expertise lies in crafting robust, efficient, and well-documented hardware platforms.
🔧 Core Expertise:
🛠️ PCB Design – Up to 12 layers, impedance-controlled, HDI and rigid-flex
📶 High-Speed Interfaces – PCIe (Gen1–Gen4), USB 2.0 / 3.x, HDMI, MIPI CSI/DSI, DDR2/3/4, LPDDR4, SATA, eMMC, SDIO, RGMII, SGMII, QSPI, LVDS
📐 Signal Integrity – Length matching, differential pair tuning, impedance control, eye diagram and crosstalk simulation
🔌 Power Systems – DC-DC converters, LDOs, PMICs, battery management, multi-rail sequencing
📊 Test & Bring-Up – Lab validation, accessible layout for probing, test firmware and diagnostics
⚙️ Design for Manufacturing – BOM and layout optimization for reliable and cost-effective production
I’ve contributed to projects in consumer electronics, industrial automation, medical devices, agriculture, automotive systems, space-grade electronics, and even radiation-tolerant systems developed for CERN's HL-LHC.
If you’re looking for a hardware designer who understands both the science behind a clean layout and the real-world demands of scalable production, I’d be happy to support your next project.
PCB Design
Altium Designer
Electrical Engineering
Electronic Design
Multilayer PCB
Research & Development
Embedded C
Internet of Things
Hardware Design
Design for Manufacturing
Power Management
Digital Electronics
Embedded System
Automotive Design
Aleksandar T.
Belgrade, Serbia
$30/hr
5.0
1 jobs
Hi, I’m Aleksandar – an embedded hardware engineer who helps companies turn ideas into real, reliable PCBs and embedded systems for motor control, IoT, robotics, audio and consumer products.
For the past 10+ years I’ve been designing electronics that actually ship: from early block diagrams and first schematics, through PCB layout and firmware, all the way to tested prototypes and manufacturing files. I like owning the whole hardware + firmware stack so there are no gaps between disciplines.
I don’t see this as a “one-off gig” type of work. I try to work as part of your team: asking the right questions, pushing back when something is risky, and making sure what we design is something you can build, test and maintain.
What I do
• Motor drivers for brushed and BLDC motors in high-precision actuators and motion systems
• Embedded and single-board computer hardware + firmware (STM32, ESP32, SAM E5x/SAMD, etc.)
• IoT devices with a focus on low power consumption and long battery life
• Consumer electronics and small product PCBs (wearables, controllers, audio and wireless devices)
• Communication and interface design: RS-232, RS-485, CAN, Ethernet and industrial buses
• Bootloaders and firmware update solutions for different MCUs and transports
• System design for multi-axis robotic systems: electronics, PCB and cabling
• Manufacturing preparation: BOM cleanup, DFM, and coordination with vendors/CMs
Tech stack
• MCUs: STM32, SAM E5x/SAMD, ESP32, 8-bit MCUs
• Tools: Altium Designer, KiCad, Fusion 360
• Firmware: C / Embedded C, RTOS
How I work
• Clear, staged milestones: requirements → schematic → PCB layout → prototype → bring-up → test report
• Regular updates with screenshots, logs and measurements, so you always know where things stand
• Careful documentation so another engineer can open the files months later and understand the design
I work efficiently and aim to reduce total project cost by avoiding redesigns and dead ends.
If you need someone who can take responsibility for both the electronics and the embedded side – and deliver something your team can build on – I’d be happy to talk.
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