Work

I build high-reliability systems at the intersection of hardware and software — from DAC plant controls to distributed Wasm orchestration.

Engineering

Abstract Machines

Software Engineer II

Remote · 2023 –

  • Core contributor to Propeller, an open-source WebAssembly orchestrator for Cloud–Edge–IoT workload execution in Go and Rust; ran 24 concurrent Wasm instances on a $4 ESP32-S3 running Zephyr RTOS, validating cloud-to-microcontroller execution parity.
  • Extended the Rust Proplet runtime with WAVE-encoded component invocations, ELASTIC HAL interfaces, and attestation/TEE validation paths — moving the platform from executing Wasm modules to running portable components across hardware boundaries.
  • Contributed to Magistrala (400+ deployments, 2,500+ GitHub stars) across authorization, access control, and deployment infrastructure — improving rollout velocity 5× and CI/CD 3× while maintaining zero production downtime across 30+ services.
Octavia Carbon

Deputy Head, R&D / I&C Engineer

Nairobi · 2023 – 2026

  • Joined as employee #24 — the company's first electrical, instrumentation, and controls engineer — at a pre-revenue climate startup with no local blueprint for what it was building.
  • Broke a two-year purity deadlock through RTD instrumentation, control redesign, and vacuum path improvements, achieving 99.9% CO₂ purity and the Global South's first deployed commercial Direct Air Capture system.
  • Led transition from off-the-shelf PLCs to an in-house PCB-based control stack, reducing CAPEX by 63% and removing the core commercialisation barrier.
  • Redesigned the regeneration cycle, increasing daily CO₂ throughput 3.6× and cutting cycle time 83%; validated scale-up from a 2 ton/year TRL6 pilot to a 60 ton/year commercial field unit.
  • Grew engineering team to 9 full-time contributors through structured onboarding and cross-functional mentorship; 3 PCT patents filed; supported $3.1M Series A.

AMT Technologies

Electronics & Software Engineer

Nairobi · 2022 – 2023

  • Built an AI driver-assistance system using sensor fusion and embedded C for real-time driver monitoring and alert generation.

Qualislabs

Software Engineer

Remote · 2020 – 2023

  • Won IBM's Call for Code global competition out of 180,000+ developers across 165 nations — MEA regional winner, then global title — with an AI-powered climate solution built end-to-end.
Nakuja Project

Propulsion Engineer

Nairobi · 2020 – 2022

  • Designed and static-tested solid rocket motors across the N-2 and N-3 programmes; improved motor efficiency 5% and thrust output 15% through propellant composition and grain geometry optimisation.
  • Built a Python data-acquisition pipeline for static-fire test data, cutting post-test analysis time by 50% and enabling faster design iteration cycles.
  • Co-authored two peer-reviewed papers presented at the SRI Conference; both received Best Presentation awards — the first student-led work to earn that recognition in over a decade.

Community & Leadership

JKUAT Society of Engineering Students

Vice-President

Nairobi · Jan 2021 – Jan 2022

  • Grew club funding from Kshs 5,000 to Kshs 210,000 through partnerships with Microsoft East Africa ADC, Moringa School, Africa's Talking, and others.
  • Organised a STEM day for 308 high-school students from 7 schools — 35 received Moringa School scholarships worth $2,000 each.
  • Managed an executive board of 16 members across 28 meetups, giving 100+ engineering students a regular platform.
Nakuja Project

Publicity Manager

Nairobi · Feb 2021 – Nov 2022

  • Grew membership from 6 to 100+; established the Kenya Space Agency partnership; expanded the programme to the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University.
  • Launched two annual 12-week internship programmes absorbing 60+ students per cohort.

Thrive Con 2021

VP, External Relations

Nairobi · Aug 2021 – Jan 2022

  • Secured 5 senior speakers from Goldman Sachs London, BAT East Africa, Deloitte East Africa, EY, and London Business School for the Career Kickstart Session.
  • Spearheaded a week-long conference for 200+ students in partnership with AIESEC in JKUAT.

Education

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

BSc, Mechatronics Engineering

Nairobi · Graduated 2023

  • Five-year programme spanning embedded systems, control theory, and robotics.
  • Thesis: Design and Fabrication of an Autonomous Bird Deterrent Robot — YOLOv5s computer vision pipeline on a custom rover for field deployment.

For awards and recognition, see awards. For talks and papers, see research and talks.