Nick Rathfelder

I'm

About

My name is Nick Rathfelder and I am a 3rd year electrical engineering student currently studying at the University of Waterloo. I am an adaptable and results driven student in search of opportunities to explore my passions for PCB and chip design. My skills in circuit design and programming are constantly being improved through my design team work and various side projects.

Electrical Engineering Student

  • Birthday: 21 October 2004
  • City: Waterford, Ontario
  • Phone: Available upon request
  • Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering
  • Graduation Date: June 2027
  • Email: nhrathfe@uwaterloo.ca

Skills

Altium Designer 100%
LTspice 90%
STM32 Cube 75%
Embedded C 80%
C++ 90%
Python 55%

Resume

Education

Bachelor of Applied Science & Electrical Engineering

2022 - 2027

University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON

GPA: 3.82

Term Distinction: 2A, 2B, 3A

Design Teams: UW Baja SAE

Professional Experience

FPGA Engineering Intern

September 2025 - December 2025

Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, Kanata, ON

  • Developed RTL and integrated 3rd party IP to support the design, simulation and testing of mission-critical aerospace and defense systems
  • Implemented a UART-based debug interface to provide visibility into internal hardware states during restricted-access environmental testing

Controls and Electrical Engineering Intern

January 2025 - April 2025

Musashi AI, Waterloo, ON

  • Updated electrical drawings and developed PLC/robot programs for AI automotive inspection machines
  • Upgraded the Automate 2025 tradeshow inspection cell to allow for onboard chatter inspection of automotive camshafts

Electrical Engineering Intern

September 2023 - December 2023

Martinrea, Tillsonburg, ON

  • Provided support for the engineering team in the maintainence and improvement of the assembly line
  • Integrated GPIO-triggered serial messaging into the in-house weld inspection system to improve system response time

Process Engineering Intern

January 2023 - April 2023

Stelco, Nanticoke, ON

  • Provided the operating team at the Hot Strip Mill insight into daily operations through the creation of Microsoft Power BI reports
  • Started the development of a MATLAB and PLC based image analysis program to monitor slag build up on the walls of the BOF

Projects

Electromagnetic Projectile Accelerator

Designed and prototyped a 5 stage battery-powered coil gun. This device uses an STM32 controlled timing sequence to accelerate the projectile throughout each of the 5 stages until it exits the barrel.

Completed: April 2025

Skills Used:

  • PCB Design
  • Embedded Systems Programming
  • Mechanical Design
Control PCB
Schematic
Prototype Board
Wire Harness
Schematic
Coil Assembly
Microcontroller Programming
IOC File
Main Control Loop
Mechanical Design
Primary Coil Design
Loading Coil Design

Water Resevoir Control System

Designed and prototyped an STM32-based water distribution system, utilizing several motors and sensors to automatically irrigate each zone on a user-defined schedule.

Completed: December 2024

Skills Used:

  • PCB Design
  • Embedded Systems Programming
  • Prototyping
Control PCB
Schematic
3D Model
Embedded Systems
IOC File
Main Control Loop

Portfolio

Collection of various personal PCB design projects designed in Altium Designer and simulated using LTspice.

Download Full Portfolio (PDF)

Contact

For any and all professional inquiries, please text or email me using the contact information below.

Location:

200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1

Call:

Available upon request