Dipl.-Ing. Tolga KIZILIRMAK
Systems Engineering · Automotive Semiconductors · MBSE
I connect architecture, requirements, functional safety, and verification to turn complex product needs into coherent engineering decisions. My background combines Staff-level automotive semiconductor RnD experience with hands-on robotics, embedded systems, and mechatronic architectures.
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
I am Tolga Kizilirmak, a Senior Systems Engineer based in Graz-Umgebung, Austria. Over more than eight years at Infineon Technologies Austria AG, I worked across requirements-driven development, verification, and concept engineering, progressing to Staff Engineer. My latest work included defining architectures and safety concepts for battery-management and power-management ICs, establishing product requirements with technical marketing, and introducing cross-site model-based systems engineering methods.
My foundation spans electrical and electronics engineering and a master’s degree in computer science. Building competitive robots, developing robotic control electronics, and integrating a humanoid robot gave me a practical understanding of how hardware, software, sensing, actuation, and mechanics meet. At Easelink, I applied that perspective to SysML-based architecture for automated conductive V2G charging.
I work where disciplines meet: clarifying interfaces, making trade-offs explicit, and keeping requirements, architecture, and verification connected. I value technical depth, constructive collaboration, and solutions that remain understandable as products evolve.
Functional, logical, and technical architecture, interface definition, and system decomposition. Daily use of SysML v2 and practical work with SysML v1.5 and Enterprise Architect; model transformation builds on that experience.
Translate product needs into structured requirements, verification objectives, and traceable evidence. Connect development domains through allocation, coverage, and change-impact analysis.
System architectures and safety concepts for automotive ICs, supported by DFMEA, FTA, FMEDA, and DFA. Experience with ISO 26262 development and cross-functional risk discussions.
Python and requirements-tool APIs for traceability checks, reporting, and engineering data analysis. A JAMA dashboard supported assessment preparation in projects with more than 2,000 requirements and 30 contributors.
A systems perspective spanning automotive ICs, embedded interfaces, sensing, actuation, and automated charging. Hands-on robotics projects complement professional architecture work.
Firmware and hardware–software trade-offs, from an automotive ASIC master’s thesis to robotic control electronics and embedded prototyping.
Methods and tools from professional systems engineering, cross-disciplinary projects, and ongoing technical exploration.
FROM INTENT TO EVIDENCE
Good system decisions connect purpose, interfaces, architecture, risk, and verification—not just a collection of components.
Clarify application needs, operating conditions, constraints and the questions the architecture must answer.
Define functions, interfaces and responsibilities across hardware, software, and the physical system.
Consider behavior, technical risks, diagnostics and safety alongside implementation and verification needs.
Connect requirements to architecture and verification so decisions and change impacts remain traceable.
From requirements and verification to system architecture, mechatronic products, and hands-on robotics. Latest experience first.
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Easelink GmbHApplied model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methods to the architecture of a multidisciplinary mechatronic system and its SysML v1.5 product model in Enterprise Architect.
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Infineon TechnologiesLed systems and concept engineering across automotive IC development, driving multiple products from feasibility through production ramp-up, including ASIL C- and ASIL D-relevant BMS and PMIC products.
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Infineon TechnologiesDefined requirements-driven development and verification processes for automotive IC projects in an ISO 26262 context.
ElektrolandFrom 2011, alongside undergraduate studies, contributed to robotics hardware and image-processing work for nondestructive testing.
TU Wien
Blue Danube RoboticsContributed to encoder and controller-board work, test-setup design, and servo/sensor control scripts within a collaborative social-robot research placement.
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TU Graz / Inno-EBSProfessional development covering EMC, PCB/interconnection design, environmental effects on electronics, IC design, power electronics, system testing, SPICE simulation, and digital signal processing.
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TU GrazStudies spanning pervasive systems, IoT, fault-tolerant systems, hardware/software co-design, robotics, and functional safety. The Master’s thesis in firmware engineering and hardware/software co-design received Sehr Gut (grade 1).
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Ankara UniversityGraduated with honours. Final-year project integrated a humanoid robot across mechanical, electronic, embedded, and software domains.
Trainings in functional safety and reliability, requirements engineering and management, verification methods and planning, design, and modeling with Enterprise Architect.
ENGINEERING PROJECTS
Selected professional work and earlier university projects show how I connect architecture, requirements, embedded control, and physical systems. Professional examples are summarized at a high level.
Built a model-based representation of a battery-management IC from feasibility through production ramp-up, establishing a connected product-model foundation for digital-twin development.
Automotive BMS · Digital Twin Foundations
Developed a Python and JAMA API dashboard for traceability checks and reporting, supporting assessment preparation in projects involving more than 2,000 requirements and 30 contributors.
Python · Requirements-Tool API Integration
Prototyped transformation concepts using the SysML v2 library to evaluate a more open and automation-friendly modeling approach.
SysML · Exploratory Prototype
Defined a practical architecture direction for a low-cost ARM Cortex-M0 in an automotive alternator-control IC: firmware for regulation, independent hardware for protection. Backed the recommendation with fault-injection simulation, safety analysis, and requirements traceability.
The engineering question. How could a cost-sensitive automotive IC use a Cortex-M0 while addressing an ASIL B target for overvoltage protection? My Master’s thesis at TU Graz, conducted with Infineon, investigated which functions belonged in firmware and which needed dedicated hardware, considering chip area, development effort, and the work needed to substantiate safety.
The architecture decision. The study favored running complex regulation functions in firmware under the supervision of simpler, independent hardware safety mechanisms. For the overvoltage case study, this retained the flexibility of the Cortex-M0 without the overhead of duplicating the processor and its supporting resources for a firmware-based safety approach.
From concept to evidence. Combined firmware with C models of the physical circuitry in a closed-loop simulation. Tested normal regulation and injected faults into the voltage-measurement path to demonstrate the independent protection mechanism taking over when firmware received incorrect measurements.
A wider investigation. Examined fault-tolerant processor architectures, hardware and software safety assessment, safety design patterns, Goal Structuring Notation, and verification methods. Connected safety goals to detailed requirements, hardware and software allocations, and verification activities in JAMA; demonstrated change-impact analysis and a reference fault tree.
The contribution. An evidence-based architecture recommendation and a structured foundation for further safety engineering, bringing together embedded development, system design, and requirements management in one industrial case study.
Completed Master’s Thesis · Sehr Gut (Grade 1)
Designed a wall-following research prototype combining PID control, redundant sensing, and environmental monitoring. A PIC controller handled time-critical sensing and actuation, with a Raspberry Pi supporting sensor fusion, supervision, and spoken status reporting.
Control architecture. A Microchip PIC16F-family controller ran the fast sensing and actuation path, while a serially connected Raspberry Pi supported sensor fusion and higher-level supervision. PID feedback converted wall-distance error into steering corrections, connecting the sensing architecture to the robot’s physical behavior.
Sensor diversity and diagnosis. Sharp infrared proximity sensing around the chassis was complemented by left- and right-side ultrasonic sensing. On the wall-following side, two-out-of-three majority voting combined two digital Sharp channels with an ultrasonic channel. Cross-checks within the digital pair and between infrared and ultrasound applied homogeneous and heterogeneous duplex patterns to detect inconsistent measurements.
Environmental awareness. Flame, smoke/gas, light, and microphone inputs extended the platform beyond navigation. The speaker provided spoken information about sensor and environmental state, together with an audible alarm when fire was detected. Developed for a TU Graz seminar in 2017, the project brought feedback control, diagnostic reasoning, and hardware/software partitioning into one research prototype.
PID Control · Sensor Diversity · Fault-Aware Architecture
Built a humanoid research platform integrating articulated arms, a mobile base, and partitioned PIC/Raspberry Pi control. Combined responsive sensing and actuation with wireless operation and OpenCV-based eye tracking.
Architecture and interfaces. A PIC-based controller board handled fast sensing and control functions, while the Raspberry Pi supported wireless communication and higher-level software. A serial interface linked the devices. This allocation kept timing-sensitive control separate from interaction tasks and formed part of the project’s approach to fault-tolerant operation.
Interaction and perception. A Java operator interface enabled wireless control and viewing of system information. The head-mounted tablet also ran an OpenCV-based eye-tracking function; this feature is not shown in the demonstration.
System integration. Developed for my 2014 bachelor’s thesis at Ankara University, Childoid brought mechanisms, actuators, sensor interfaces, power distribution, and software together as one platform. It provided practical experience in interface design, task allocation, and integration across mechanical, electronic, and software boundaries.
Partitioned Control · Wireless Interaction · Computer Vision
Applied forward and inverse kinematics to an articulated servo arm: mapping joint configurations to gripper pose, and calculating candidate joint configurations for a desired position and orientation.
From geometry to motion. Kinematic transformation matrices represented the chain of joints and links. Forward kinematics mapped a joint configuration to end-effector pose; inverse kinematics sought one or more feasible joint configurations for a specified target pose.
Connecting calculation and hardware. The implementation combined direct servo-position commands, recorded/replayed motion, and kinematic calculations. This linked the mathematical model to the arm’s geometry, actuation, and reachable configurations. The gripper is not fully assembled in the footage.
Built in 2010 during my university years, this was my first practical application of robot kinematics and an early exercise in translating an analytical model into physical behavior.
Forward And Inverse Kinematics · Servo Actuation
Developed a competition-winning line follower around a PIC18F2550, analog reflectance sensing, and fast PID control. Custom silicone-based tires complemented the controller with the traction needed for sharp, fast turns.
Line-position estimation. A front-mounted Pololu reflectance array provided analog sensor readings. A weighted average of those responses estimated lateral line position; deviation from a calibrated center became the tracking error for the PID steering loop.
Timing and control. The PIC18F2550 ran at its highest supported clock setting. Firmware execution speed and controller tuning were treated together, shortening the sense–compute–actuate cycle to support rapid correction through sharp bends.
Traction as part of the system. I developed custom silicone-based tire compounds to increase grip, with regular cleaning forming part of the practical track setup. Built during my university years in 2011, The robot won multiple line-following competitions and became a focused exercise in estimation, feedback control, and the mechanical limits of high-speed motion.
Competition Wins · Analog Sensing · PID Control And Traction
View Photograph ↗
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
An academic laser-scanning project at TU Graz, investigating mainsail curvature measurement for sailing-route optimization. A practical meeting point between sensing, electronics, and software.
Academic Project · Sensing And Integration
Explore Catrobat on GitHub
COLLABORATIVE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE
Catrobat is a nonprofit, open-source project creating free educational apps that help people learn programming by making and sharing interactive stories, games, and animations. As part of its Android education-software student team, I contributed to Java and Android development through agile ticket-based work, code reviews, and iterative delivery.
Catrobat is developed by the free/libre open source non-profit Catrobat project catrobat.org.
Student-Team Contribution
COLLEAGUES, PARTNERS & PROFESSORS
Selected excerpts from employment references and academic recommendations. Roles and affiliations refer to the time of writing; these personal assessments do not imply current institutional endorsement.
“Mr. Kizilirmak immediately recognizes complex as well as cross-functional interrelationships and immediately sets the right priorities. He has a clear overview of his area of responsibility and is characterized by the ability to often pursue new solutions and to implement them in the best way possible.”
Architecture And Modeling
Requirements And ALM
System Simulation
Software Foundations
Automation And Data
Development Environments
Operating Systems
Electronics And PCBs
Automotive IC Products
Semiconductor Architecture Knowledge
Robotics
RTL And FPGA Prototyping
Digital Verification
Safety Concepts And Analysis
Safety Cases And Assessments
Verification And Assurance
Development Rigor
Quality And Tool Governance
Firmware Development
Interfaces And Communication
Memory Concepts
Embedded Platforms And Prototyping
Process And Collaboration
Version Control
Technical Communication“Durch seine fundierten Kenntnisse im Systems Engineering, in der modellbasierten Systementwicklung (MBSE) und in der sicherheitsorientierten Systemarchitektur konnte Herr DI Kizilirmak einen wertvollen fachlichen Beitrag zu den genannten Entwicklungsaktivitäten leisten.”
“Throughout his internship, Mr. Kizilirmak has conducted himself with utmost professionalism, dedication and dependability. Working as a trainee student for a short period of time requires a quick learning curve and adaptability. Tolga Kizilirmak exceeded expectation and was given nice reviews by his co-workers. He is a reliable and disciplined person.”
“He has a great ability to solve problems. He always came up with creative ideas and simple solutions. He is confident and knows what he is doing. I have called him "Junior" since the time he started working here because of his incredible abilities for a young man like him.”
“I feel that his dilligence and pragmatic analysis represent his competency towards research. He is highly motivated, eager for cognizance and is always on the lookout to learn something new. He ranked in top %10 in my Electromagnetics lectures.”
“Tolga is one of the most excellent students whom I have met in our department. … Tolga is diligent and intelligent.”
“He displays profound understanding of different subject. He has a brilliant, inquisitive mind and shows remarkable grasping power.”
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Topics I explore include system architecture, MBSE, verification, functional safety, robotics, firmware, and practical automation.
Interested in bringing systems architecture, functional safety, or model-based development into your team? I welcome conversations about engineering roles and focused technical collaborations.
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