Bringing Up My First Custom PCB
May 2025
2024 - Present
Embedded Software Engineer
TP-Link Systems Inc. · Irvine, CA
Developing embedded software for consumer networking products — firmware, drivers and the tooling around them.
About Me
Hi, I'm Alvin La — an embedded software engineer at TP-Link Systems in Irvine, CA. I spend my days writing firmware and my free time designing PCBs and flashing bootloaders onto whatever microcontroller is within arm's reach.
I studied at UC Irvine (Campuswide Honors Collegium, 2021–2024) and I enjoy work that lives close to the hardware: bring-up, drivers, and the occasional magic smoke evacuation.
Download CVC / C++0%
Embedded Systems0%
Python & Tooling0%
PCB Design0%
0+
Projects Completed
0+
Cups of Coffee
0+
MCUs Programmed
0+
PCBs Designed
Experiences & Educations
Before that
Internships & Student Projects
Details on LinkedIn
Full history of roles, internships and coursework over on my LinkedIn profile.
2021 - 2024
Undergraduate Studies
UC Irvine
Campuswide Honors Collegium. Graduated 2024.
2018 - 2021
First Steps in Engineering
Pre-UCI coursework
Where the foundation was laid before transferring to UC Irvine — see LinkedIn for details.
Services
Embedded Firmware
Firmware and drivers in C/C++ for microcontrollers — bring-up, peripherals and over-the-air updates.
PCB Design
Schematic capture and board layout for development boards and small products.
Tooling & Automation
Test scripts, build pipelines and flashing tools that make embedded work less painful.
Looking for a custom service? Click here to contact me!
Recent Works
STM32F030RCT6 Dev Board PCB
KiCad · STM32 · Custom dev board
Nucleo F401RE Bootloader
C · Firmware updates over serial
IoT Sensor Node
ESP32 · MQTT · Low power
Peripheral Drivers
C · I²C / SPI / UART
Test & Flash Tooling
Python · Automation · CI
Personal Portfolio Website
Vanilla JS · You're looking at it
Client Reviews
Latest Posts
Bootloaders, Explained Simply
Apr 2025
From UC Irvine to TP-Link: Lessons So Far
2024
Get In Touch
Let's talk about everything!
Don't like forms? Send me an email. 👋