Solutions Engineer

Hi, I'm Koundinya Vinnakota.

Solutions Engineer passionate about power systems, automation, and AI‑driven tooling. I turn complex hardware–software interfaces into reliable, production‑ready solutions.

Portrait of Koundinya Vinnakota

About

I'm an engineer who loves the seam where software meets hardware. My recent focus is end‑to‑end validation of EV charging systems and PLC‑driven automation. I enjoy building clean tools that make testing faster, safer, and traceable.

Experience

Siemens — Components Application Engineer Peachtree Corner, GA · Sep 2025 – Present
  • Pre‑sales SME for Circuit Protection & Controls (CP&C); translate requirements into applications that accelerate adoption.
  • Collaborate with R&D, Product Management, and Sales to influence roadmaps and safety compliance.
  • Provide remote/on‑site technical support; troubleshoot field installs and returned products to improve reliability.
  • Author application guides and white papers to enable seamless customer integrations.
  • Deliver trainings for internal/external teams; create demos and support trade‑show engagements.
  • Contribute to standards committees to shape global requirements; ensure Siemens products meet/lead standards.
  • Apply PLC (TIA Portal), C programming, and industrial protocols (Modbus, Profinet, Profibus, Ethernet/IP) for advanced controls.
  • Use KPI‑driven insights to monitor field performance and guide iterative product improvements.
Siemens — R&D System Test Engineer Peachtree Corner, GA · Sep 2023 – Sep 2025
  • Led system testing and product validation for SiCharge UC UL across development, product care, and integration.
  • Owned interoperability testing and OCPP backend integrations with EV service providers and cloud platforms.
  • Executed UL type testing and authored test plans for SiCharge UC UL accessories to ensure full product validation.
  • Built the Test Lab from the ground up and developed automated frameworks to increase throughput and reduce manual cycles.
  • Partnered with hardware, firmware, and cloud teams for system‑level debugging and verification of multi‑backend support.
  • Contributed to testing of additional EVSE and power distribution products to expand portfolio coverage.
Magna Electronics — System Engineer Auburn Hills, MI · May 2023 – Sep 2023
  • Designed and executed system/performance tests for ADAS features (Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane‑Keeping Assistance).
  • Built test architectures for real‑world and simulated validation, including sensor calibration and detection accuracy.

Skills

PLC & Automation

Siemens S7‑1500, TIA Portal, WinCC Unified, SCADA/HMI, Ladder, SCL

Programming

Python, C++, Java, Shell, MATLAB

Testing & Validation

GTest/GMock, TestStand, LabVIEW, Jira, Git, TeamCenter

Protocols

Modbus RTU/TCP, OPC UA, Profibus, RS‑485, TCP/IP

OS & Networking

Windows Server, Linux, VLAN/IP setup, remote debugging

Tooling

Docker, Embedded scripting, Automation frameworks

Projects

Autonomous Warehouse Inspection (Turtlebot3, ROS2 Nav2)

Built an autonomous warehouse inspection module using Cartographer mapping and Nav2 path planning. Created a custom warehouse with ArUco ‘defect’ tags and reported abnormalities to the operator.

C++ROS2Nav2Cartographer

Human Detection & Tracking (YOLOv3 + OpenCV)

Implemented human detection and tracking with YOLOv3 and OpenCV. Added NMS post‑processing and localized detections in the robot frame; CI with AIP/test‑driven methods.

C++OpenCVYOLOv3

Monocular Visual SLAM

Achieved SLAM with a monocular camera. Calibrated via Zhang’s technique; used ORB features and bundle adjustment to estimate camera pose and depth.

PythonSLAMORBCalibration

8×3 Puzzle Solver (BFS)

Programmed BFS with backtracking via parent/child relations; generated solution path and visualized it with NumPy.

PythonSearchBFS

Path Planning with Dijkstra

Implemented Dijkstra’s algorithm with semi‑algebraic obstacle models; visualized motion using OpenCV and computed optimal paths.

PythonOpenCVPlanning

Maze Solver (DFS, C++)

Navigated a maze with DFS using OOP design; leveraged stacks/vectors for efficient traversal and visualized the run in a simulator.

C++DFSOOP

Urban Search & Rescue (Multi‑Robot)

Coordinated two Turtlebots for exploration and victim rescue. Used ROS for communication and Move Base for navigation.

C++ROSGazeboRViz

4‑Wheeled Autonomous Robot (Raspberry Pi)

Integrated ultrasonic sensors and IMU on a Pi; implemented perception/avoidance in OpenCV and a framework for localization.

PythonOpenCVROS

Delivery Robot Simulation (RRT*)

Simulated multi‑stop delivery on Turtlebot with RRT* and a custom Gazebo world; visualized half‑plane paths with RViz.

PythonRRT*GazeboRVizROS

Fetch Mobile Manipulator (MoveIt)

Planned motion for a 7‑DoF manipulator; validated IK/FK and achieved ~40% faster pick‑and‑place cycles in simulation.

PythonMoveItRVizROS

Malaria Detection (ResNet)

Trained ResNet variants (18/34/50) in PyTorch with augmentation, dropout and L2 regularization; reached ~96% test accuracy.

PyTorchCUDAResNet

AR Tag Detection & Overlay

Detected AprilTags via homography and bit‑level orientation; applied morphological filtering and overlaid custom images onto tags.

OpenCVHomographyAprilTag

Education & Certifications

  • M.Eng, Robotics — University of Maryland, College Park · Robot Modeling, Control Systems, Autonomous Robotics, ML, SW Dev for Robotics
  • B.Tech, Mechanical Engineering — JNTU, India

Contact

Open to roles in test/validation, automation, and embedded tooling. For quickest response, email me.

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