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Rachad El Moutaouaffiq — project illustration

Build, baby, build 🛠️

I love to build things
that do things.

I'm Rachad, a Computer Engineering student at the University of British Columbia.

Previously an Embedded Software Engineering Intern at Atomic Semi (Fab2) and Analytic Systems.
Avionics Lead at UBC Orbit, building satellite hardware and firmware.

Illustration of Rachad beside the Golden Gate Bridge
Explore projects Résumé

When the laptop closes.

A few postcards from outside.

Exploring a red-rock canyonMountain views at Mount RainierSnorkeling above a Hawaiian reef

Selected projects

Engineering in practice

More from the workbench Pick a project below and see how it came together.



PCB test automation / Hardware + software

Flying probes 🎯

During my co-op, I noticed a manual-testing bottleneck and proactively proposed an automation jig. I presented my manager with a plan covering cost, timeline, and estimated savings, and he approved it.

The Jig

  • 2 probes, with 6 I²C-controlled stepper motors - X/Y/Z per probe.
  • Coordinated through a master - slave architecture.
  • Reliable access to pins at 0.4 mm pitch.
Animated close-up of a flying probe accessing fine-pitch IC pins 3D model of the dual-probe mechanism
Animated overview of the dual-probe tester operating with the production test app
Production Test App showing PCB connections and instrument controls

Test App

    Delivered a centralized App that orgnizes:
  • Interracting with Altuim and get the schematics and nodes
  • User build test sequence by selecting a pair of nodes expected voltage, resistance...
  • Host App ccordinates and talks to hte LFying Probe, Psower suply and Multimeter
  • Takes the measurements and logs
  • Alert the user if needed
  • Upload the board test to a cenetralizsed databse, for Data analysis (most defects..)
A320 sidestick controlling a flight simulator
Rachad holding the recovered sidestick

A320 sidestick ✈️🕹️

  • Repurposed a genuine 1990 Airbus A320 sidestick for use with a computer.
  • Reverse-engineered its internal circuitry with a friend.
  • Adapted microcontroller firmware to make the sidestick work as a USB HID device.
  • Integrated the sidestick with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
  • Next: explore an FPGA interface with custom digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters.

Racing setup 🏁

  • Built a custom seat, frame, and spring-loaded handbrake around a Logitech G920.
  • Wired the handbrake to a wheel button and mapped it in-game, with no additional programming required.
Custom racing setup
Animated custom handbrake demonstration
Close-up of the custom handbrake mechanism

Job scripts

Automating repetitive email and call-logging tasks from my IT customer service role.

Email automation


  • Generated formatted emails from Word templates using Python and DOCX.
  • Sent emails through Outlook with win32com.client and managed local files with pathlib.
Python email automation screenshot

Google Sheets automation


  • Automatically recorded call timestamps and calculated duration when a call type was selected.
  • Added live delivery tracking using customized Package Tracker outputs.
Automated Google Sheets call log
Canada Welcomes hackathon project
McGill-Hacks · Canada Welcomes

Canada Welcomes

The idea: Help newcomers choose a Canadian city based on city size, climate, jobs, and cost of living.

The build: Used Numbeo and Statistics Canada data with manually categorized parameters and a match-scoring algorithm.

Prototype limits: Java logic and the front end remained separate; live data was dropped because the API was paid.

Devpost ↗
Better Delivery robotic-arm prototype
uOttawaHacks

Better Delivery

The idea: Combine route planning with an in-truck robotic arm to organize delivery packages.

My contribution: Helped design 3D parts and integrate the mechanism with Arduino-controlled servo motors.

Prototype: The arm supported vertical motion and gripper control. But the X motion and app-to-Arduino integration were incomplete.

Devpost ↗
Automatic plant-watering project
Complete watering setup
Homemade water pump and reservoir with orange wires
Homemade pump & reservoir
FABLAB · Printemps des Sciences · 2017

Automatic plant watering 🌱💧

What it does:A soil-moisture sensor tells an Arduino when to start and stop watering.

My contribution:Built the entire project, including a homemade water pump using a syringe and a toy-car DC motor.

What I learned:A hands-on introduction to sensors, control logic, and making useful hardware from everyday parts.

Cleaning robot project
Vacuuming & water-cleaning robot
FABLAB · Printemps des Sciences . 2018

Cleaning robot 🧹🤖

What it does:A vacuuming and water-cleaning robot controlled over Bluetooth from an Android app.

My contribution:Built a syringe-and-DC-motor water pump and an MIT App Inventor controller for speed, direction, water, and the vacuum fan.

Hand-drawn diagram showing the cleaning robot's vacuum chamber, fan, and water system

What I learned:Connecting an Android app to real hardware, Bluetooth, and a homemade pump integration.

Engineering design team / UBC Orbit

Satellite avionics 🛰️

I was Avionics Lead at UBC Orbit, working on sensors, actuators, and flight software for satellite attitude determination and control.

UBC Orbit team integrating satellite hardware
Satellite integration
Rachad testing hardware with laboratory instruments
Hardware testing
Rachad experimenting with a hardware test rig
Helmholtz cage

Contributions

  • Led avionics work across sensors, actuators, and flight software.
  • Drove design reviews, state-machine design, and system-wide integration.
  • Developed TI MCU flight firmware using FreeRTOS and HALCoGen.
  • Configured I2C/SPI peripheral drivers, tuning ISRs and task priorities.

Magnetic interference testbed

3 Axis Gimbal Magnetic interference testbed

  • The problem: Magnetorquer interference can affect magnetometer readings used for satellite attitude determination.
  • What I built: A three-axis gimbal with two magnetometers, ESP32 wireless streaming, and a switchable solenoid, making it easy to experiment with various physical rejection methods and disturbance profiles in real time
Three-axis gimbal testbed with laptop-side sensor plots and attitude visualization

The approach

Reproduce the disturbance. Test the response.
  • Use a switchable solenoid to introduce a magnetic disturbance while rotating the gimbal.
  • Stream IMU data over Wi-Fi to observe how motion and interference affect the readings.
  • Develop and compare candidate noise-rejection methods on a laptop, with the goal of protecting attitude estimates from magnetorquer interference.

Work / Teams / Community

Experience, at a glance.

Jan–Sep 2026

Atomic Semi — Fab2

Embedded Software Engineer Intern

Firmware · Precision motion · Calibration

  • Developed bare-metal and RTOS firmware for custom hardware, alongside PCB rework and electrical troubleshooting.
  • Built motion-control software for wafer and mask handling, with custom motion profiles and synchronized actuation.
  • Implemented PID control of piezo actuators using capacitive feedback for precise mask alignment and writing.
  • Owned software for a pressure gauge calibration station and drove a hardware redesign to address near-vacuum errors.

Analytic Systems

Sep 2024–Aug 2025

Firmware & Automation Engineer Co-op

  • Delivered a PCB test application and dual-probe automation system, cutting manual testing by 80%.
  • Modernized embedded firmware for NMEA 2000 CAN communication.
  • Built ADC firmware for multiplexed 7-segment displays, tuning ISRs and digital averaging for stable telemetry.

UBC Orbit 🛰️

Sep 2024–Jan 2026

Avionics Lead & Firmware Developer

  • Led a six-member avionics team across satellite design, hardware verification, and system integration.
  • Built a three-axis gimbal testbed for magnetic-noise emulation and real-time sensor-fusion validation in MATLAB.
  • Developed TI MCU firmware with FreeRTOS and HALCoGen, including I²C/SPI drivers with tuned ISRs and task priorities.

Earlier work

IT Consultant · BMO

Aug 2021–Aug 2022

Software, VDI, and access support through CGI/TechSys.

Teams & events

UBC Thunderbots

2022–2023

Integrated C++/Python and improved robot goalie decisions.

Hackathons

McGill · uOttawa

Canada Welcomes city matcher and Better Delivery robot.

Giving back

Languages / Tools / Foundations

Programming experience.

C / C++
SystemVerilog (HDL)
ARM64 assembly
Python
OpenCV
HTML / CSS / JavaScript
Java
MATLAB

Beyond engineering

Rachad,
touching grass.

Road trips, trails, and everything outside the workbench.

Take the scenic route