ktncodes.

Currently @ John Deere

Embedded engineer.
AI workflow builder.
Workshop tinkerer.

I design systems.
Human and LLM
Readable.

Position-addressed memory -- interactive desktop

02About

Kevin Nguyen

Hi, I'm Kevin Nguyen.

Embedded systems engineer at John Deere by day. Building, ideaverse-os, yt-vision-pro by night. I build the AI tooling I wish I had at my engineering workbench, then drive adoption across teams that didn't know they needed it.

Mindset

Position-addressed memory beats name-addressed. Folder structure is the API.

Craft

TDD when it earns its keep. Vertical slices. Read the source before the docs.

03Tech Stack

What I work with.

Languages and tools I reach for first.

Languages
C++14CPythonJavaScriptTypeScriptJavaSQL
AI & Agentic Engineering
Agent Instruction AuthoringMCP IntegrationPrompt EngineeringLLM-Assisted WorkflowsClaude CodeGitHub CopilotICM MethodologyVercel AI SDKFastMCPSBERTObsidian/PKM
Embedded & Platform
Gen4OSEmbedded LinuxCAN ProtocolQt5XMLCMakeJDX Build SystemMATLAB SimulinkPumba (Vehicle Simulator)
Web & Cloud
HTMLReactNext.jsTailwind CSSNode.jsAWSHugo
Debugging & Testing
GDBValgrindASANGoogle Test/MockFroglogic SquishSiL/HiL Testingcppcheckclang-static-analyzerTDD
DevOps & Tools
GitGitHub ActionsJenkinsDockerMkDocsUbuntu Linux

04Experience

Track record.

June 2024 – Present
John Deere
Embedded Software Engineer — AutoPath

Primarily focused on developing features for AutoPath. Responsibilities include design, developing, and testing supported AutoPath product lines such as Boundaries, Rows, Zones, Pro, and more to ensure high quality. Some side projects that I led for the team are applying and implementing refactoring on the most modified service class in the AutoPath codebase; Used AI to automate the process with a refactor tool combining Python scripting and agentic tooling across a 7-layer pipeline following company SDK and best practices from a book called Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers. Built a documentation system serving as the team’s and LLM’s living PRD, onboarding hub, AI-consumable knowledge base and covering 4 product Boundary, Rows, Zones, PRO. 30+ vehicle models, and 26 features. Created 6 specialized AI skills and scripts for automated test generation, requirement extraction, test coverage analysis, test-to-requirement mapping, refactoring with safety nets, and LLM architecture diagramming. Drove GitHub Copilot adoption across the team from 0% to daily interaction through multiple presentations on agentic engineering Demos, CLI workflows, prompting techniques, and AI-assisted refactoring.

EMBEDDED + AGENTIC
February 2023 – June 2024
John Deere
QA/QI Software Engineer — Guidance QI

Deep-debug specialist resolving 38 major and 60+ minor defects across Gen4OS 4060 & 4600 displays. Diagnosed SIGSEGV/SIGABRT crashes and threading defects (race conditions, deadlocks, priority inversion) using GDB, valgrind, and ASAN. Executed SiL (Software-in-the-Loop) and on-vehicle verification testing with tractors and combines; used Pumba (Java-based vehicle simulator with HTTP REST API) to drive automated system-level tests without physical hardware. Debugged vehicle defects using CAN data analysis tooling — ATPerformanceTool for live CAN bus monitoring and CAN Sniff for log-based vehicle signal analysis with MATLAB Simulink visualization. Received one of six Guidance Department Star Award for resolving the team's most complex escalated defects, standing in as team lead during manager absence, and delivering senior-level technical updates directly to department leadership.

DEEP-DEBUG SPECIALIST
July 2021 – December 2022
John Deere
Part-Time Software Engineer — Guidance QI

Conducted embedded software testing while enrolled full-time at Iowa State. Resolved 24 confirmed defects using Google Test and Froglogic Squish. Refactored AutoTrac PieState logic into an independent component. Self-taught C++ and Qt through Udemy courses within 6 months of joining.

FIRST EMBEDDED REPS
January 2022 – December 2022
Hinckley Medical
Front-End Developer

For my Senior Design Project, I decided to team up and work with a startup that needed custom built inventory site. Within this 5 man student led team, I Led front-end development for an internal inventory and shipment tracking web app for a medical device startup, replacing manual Excel workflows with a full-stack React application.

FRONTEND LEAD
February 2020 – July 2021
ISU Endpoint Technologies
IT Technical Assistant

Primary Apple technician deploying Jamf Pro and writing custom Python scripts for device management. Administered software licenses, performed equipment installations, OS imaging, and hardware/software troubleshooting for staff workstations and portable devices. Coordinated with full-time IT staff remotely for advanced troubleshooting. Led new part-time technicians on help desk tasks including hardware/software installations, macOS system administration, and inventory management and deliveries.

FOUNDATION

05Beliefs

What I work by.

Four principles. Earned the hard way.

📍 POSITION OVER NAMES

Folder structure is the API.

Position-addressed memory beats named imports. Names rot when you rename things; positions don't. The whole site is built on this idea — your folder paths ARE your routing, your taxonomy, your contract. ICM makes this explicit.

📝
DOCUMENT THE WHY

Code shows what. The why goes in CLAUDE.md, the wiki, the commit body. Future-you needs both.

🚀
SHIP BEFORE POLISH

Vertical slices ship. Horizontal slices die in PR review. Cut through every layer first, optimize after.

🤖
MAKE AI USEFUL

An AI tool that ships your work matters more than one that demos well. Workflow over wow.

06Contact

Let's talk.

Hiring, collaborating, or just want to nerd out about embedded systems and AI workflows? Open to all of it.