Nico Van Duijn
Regional Software Engineering Manager at Hexagon Mining
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolNico Van Duijn is a Regional Software Engineering Manager based in Zurich with a decade of hands-on experience building embedded and robotics systems from prototype to mass production. He blends technical depth in C++, sensor fusion, and autopilot software with pragmatic leadership—having led teams at Auterion through productization and at Zühlke across customer-driven embedded projects. An active contributor to PX4 projects, he’s improved obstacle avoidance, optical flow integration, and point-cloud processing, demonstrating a rare mix of low-level driver work and higher-level autonomy algorithms. Known for clear communication with customers and cross-functional teams, he turns complex requirements into manufacturable solutions and multi-year roadmaps. His background includes a Master’s in Robotics from ETH Zurich and practical experience deploying manufacturing and testing processes overseas. Colleagues describe him as a charismatic, detail-oriented manager who leads by example and prefers measurable technical impact over bureaucracy.
11 years of coding experience
7 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor’s Degree, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bachelor’s Degree, Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Georgia Institute of TechnologyMaster’s Degree, Robotics, Systems and Control, Master’s Degree, Robotics, Systems and Control at ETH Zurich
German, English, French, Dutch
Github Skills (22)
c-language10
robotics10
px410
autopilot10
mavlink10
sys10
optical-flow10
system-integration10
sensor-fusion10
embedded10
cprogramming-language10
point-cloud10
ros10
drones9
sensor9
Programming languages (7)
Github contributions (5)
PX4/PX4-Avoidance
May 2018 - Dec 2022
PX4 avoidance ROS node for obstacle detection and avoidance.
Role in this project:
Embedded Systems Engineer / Automation Engineer
Embedded Systems Engineer / Automation EngineerContributions:2 reviews, 97 commits, 96 PRs in 4 years 7 months
Contributions summary:Nico primarily contributed to the local planner's functionality, particularly concerning obstacle avoidance in the PX4 environment. Their work involved implementing tests for core functions, refining Realsense camera integration, and automating launch file generation for different camera setups. They also optimized the code, fixed bugs, and improved overall performance, including point cloud processing, and smoothing algorithms, showing a strong focus on robotics and sensor data processing.
px4ros-node
PX4/PX4-Autopilot
Mar 2019 - May 2022
PX4 Autopilot Software
Role in this project:Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT Developer
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT DeveloperContributions:6 reviews, 22 commits, 12 PRs in 3 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Nico primarily contributes to the PX4 Autopilot software, focusing on low-level driver and estimator improvements. Their work includes integrating and improving optical flow sensor functionality, refining terrain estimation, and addressing issues related to rangefinder data. They also make modifications to the MAVLink communication protocol for radio configuration and flow control, highlighting their engagement with the communication aspects of the autopilot. Further contributions include sensor-specific implementations.
px4pixhawkuavuasdronecode
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