CV
Education
Virginia Tech — MS, Computer Engineering · Aug 2024 – May 2026 Thesis: FUSE: Single-Pass Binary Co-Instrumentation for Accurate Vulnerability Detection Advisors: Prof. Binoy Ravindran, Prof. Freek Verbeek Committee: Binoy Ravindran (Chair), Freek Verbeek, Kendall Giles Coursework: Computer Architecture · Multiprocessor Programming · Compiler Optimization · Advanced Linux Kernel Programming · Advanced Real-Time Systems · Operating Systems · Digital Design
UIET, Panjab University — BE, Electronics and Communication Engineering · 2016 – Sep 2020
Research experience
Graduate Research Assistant — Systems Software Research Group, Virginia Tech · Dec 2024 – May 2026 Binary instrumentation and program analysis under Prof. Binoy Ravindran, in collaboration with Prof. Freek Verbeek (Open University Netherlands). Work on FUSE and on compiler metadata for decidable disassembly, within the LLRM project.
Embedded Systems Researcher — ARTPARK @ IISc Bangalore · May 2023 – Jul 2024 Under Prof. Shishir Kolathaya. FOC-based BLDC motor drivers for quadruped actuators, real-time CAN-FD control firmware, and safety-critical embedded Linux motor control with thermal monitoring and fault detection.
Industry experience
Embedded Systems Supervisor — VNX Robotics · Jun 2025 – present Low-level system development for quadruped robots on a Linux and ROS 2 stack; real-time performance and firmware optimisation.
Embedded Systems Engineer — Flux Auto · Jun 2021 – Mar 2023 Decentralised CAN networks and FreeRTOS firmware for autonomous vehicle control. OBD-II diagnostics and automotive IC libraries. Three-time Best Employee of the Quarter.
Embedded Firmware Engineer — Futuristic Labs · Jan 2020 – May 2021 Safety-critical firmware for autonomous cooking systems; FreeRTOS multitasking and RTOS-to-compute bridges.
Publications
See the publications page.
Selected awards
- 2019 — Google Summer of Code, BeagleBoard.org
- 2019 — ROSCon-19 Scholarship holder, Macau, China
- 2019 — Mentor, winning team, Smart India Hackathon, IIT Hyderabad
- 2019 — Award for excellence in technology, presented by Mrs. Kirron Kher (MP, Chandigarh)
- 2019 — 1st place, Design and Idea Competition, IIC, Panjab University
- 2018 — Winner, PocketBeagle at the Mouser Electronics event, IIT Roorkee
- 2021–2022 — Best Employee of the Quarter (×3), Flux Auto
Contact
Email: pranavkumar@vt.edu GitHub · Google Scholar · LinkedIn