YOONG KHAI JIE, NATHANIEL
Electrical and Electronic Engineering (2024)
TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
I am a Hardware and Firmware Engineer in the Guided Systems Division. My role varies from project to project, involving a mix of hardware and software responsibilities. Currently, I am tasked with schematic design of custom PCB boards, firmware design for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and coding on Microcontroller Units (MCUs) in C.
Beyond the design tasks, I also handle simulation, testing, debugging and board bring-up for these boards and FPGA/MCU implementations. As a side project, I am exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be integrated into our current workflows. With the rapid advancement of AI technologies, I am piloting the use of these tools to enhance productivity in the design and implementation phases of projects.
WHAT MADE YOU PURSUE A CAREER IN THIS INDUSTRY?
My first encounter with DSO happened during my time at Temasek Polytechnic, where I had the privilege of receiving the DSO Diploma Scholarship. This scholarship offered me the opportunity to intern at DSO, where I first gained practical experience and discovered my passion for R&D in the defence sector. I thoroughly enjoyed contributing to live projects alongside the team. As such, taking up the DSO Merit Scholarship for university was an opportunity I could not refuse. These scholarships have enabled me to jumpstart my career in defence and set me on a path I am excited to continue pursuing in the foreseeable future.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THIS ROLE?
I was pleasantly surprised when my supervisors entrusted me to work on Full Scale Development (FSD) projects even as a new staff member. The trust and expectation placed on me to contribute to these projects is something I do not take for granted. Another part of the job I enjoy is the nature of the work itself, where we design custom PCB boards and custom firmware/software for our clients. Given the nature of designing new circuits and code, the work is rarely repetitive and there is always something exciting to experiment with or research. Moreover, this workflow also challenges us in debugging and troubleshooting, which often leads to developing new solutions in our field.
WHAT WERE SOME CHALLENGES YOU FACED AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
In my first project as a full-time employee, I was tasked with developing a custom schematic design for an FPGA board and its peripherals for a large-scale project. As a fresh graduate whose last experience in schematic design was in Polytechnic, I had to refresh my knowledge and learn a new software program and relearn best practices. In addition, as the FPGA had over 670 pins, drawing out the custom symbol and ensuring the correct connections was challenging. Additionally, I faced numerous micro-decisions, such as determining capacitor and resistor values for certain FPGA pins that control voltage references. Moreover, I had to be diligent in component selection to ensure compatibility and a healthy lifecycle for each component. It took considerable time and effort to research and refine portions of the schematic from the ground up, but by focusing on these tasks and consulting my supervisor for advice and vetting, we successfully completed the final schematic after several iterations.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE?
To succeed as an electronics engineer working on FPGA and electronics design, you need a combination of technical expertise, problem-solving skills and collaborative abilities. Some key areas include proficiency in HDL languages like VHDL or Verilog, knowledge of microcontrollers and System-on-Chip (SoC) and programming in C for embedded applications. A solid understanding of analog and digital circuit design, as well as proficiency in schematic capture and PCB layout tools, is also essential.
Other valuable soft skills include being meticulous in your work to avoid costly design or documentation errors, communicating clearly to collaborate with different functions in the team, and managing time effectively while prioritising tasks across multiple projects. A bonus would be to stay curious and motivated to contribute to the team by keeping up with the latest trends in the field (FPGA, MCU, AI) and assessing how they can be implemented in future projects.
SHARE YOUR ADVICE WITH STUDENTS WHO ARE KEEN TO PURSUE A CAREER IN YOUR INDUSTRY.
For students who have a passion for defence R&D and want to pursue a career in DSO or the defence sector, I would highly encourage them to take up internships with DSO or apply for the DSO Merit Scholarship. Both avenues provide valuable exposure to DSO’s work and offer a taste of what defence R&D is like. Most importantly, they will gain hands-on experience across different aspects of engineering, ranging from hardware and firmware to software and beyond — all of which will be beneficial to their professional growth.
SOME SKILLS AND TRAITS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR THE ROLE
- Soft skills: Cross-functional communication, presentation skills, learning agility, project/personal time management, critical thinking
- Hard skills: MATLAB, C, Digital Signal Processing, microcontroller knowledge, testing and verification methods/best practices, VHDL/Verilog expertise